It's not the greatest country in the world, professor, that's my answer.

美國不是一個最偉大的國家。教授，這就是我的答案。

Fine. [to the liberal panelist] Sharon, the NEA is a loser. Yeah, it accounts for a penny out of our paychecks, but he [gesturing to the conservative panelist] gets to hit you with it anytime he wants. It doesn't cost money, it costs votes. It costs airtime and column inches. You know why people don't like liberals? Because they lose. If liberals are so fuckin' smart, how come they lose so GODDAM ALWAYS!

(面對自由派) 好，莎倫，美國藝術基金會(NEA National Endowment for the Arts)是個廢物。沒錯！它花了不少稅款，但給他機會(指著保守派)，一次次讓他拿這個來咬妳。

它不是消耗錢，而是花掉一次次的選票，消耗廣播時間跟專欄報導的篇幅。

妳知道人們為什麼不喜歡自由主義者嗎？因為他們總是輸！

要是他們夠聰明，又怎麼他媽的沒有一次贏過！

And [to the conservative panelist] with a straight face, you're going to tell students that America's so starspangled awesome that we're the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom, Japan has freedom, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, Belgium has freedom. Two hundred seven sovereign states in the world, like 180 of them have freedom.

而你(面對保守派)真夠厚臉皮，有面子對這些學生說「美國已經強到爆炸了，是世界上唯一的自由國家」嗎？加拿大有自由、日本有自由、英國、法國、義大利、德國、西班牙、澳洲，連比利時都有自由！

全球兩百零七個主權獨立的國家中，大概有一百八十個都是自由的。

And you—sorority girl—yeah—just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day, there are some things you should know, and one of them is that there is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest country in the world. 

還有妳(指發問者)——這個姐妹會的女生(sorority 姐妹會、女聯會)——以免妳哪天不小心散步到投票所，有些事情妳應該要知道：妳說美國是最強國家這個論點是完全毫無根據可言。

 

We're seventh in literacy, twenty-seventh in math, twenty-second in science, forty-ninth in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, third in median household income, number four in labor force, and number four in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: 

number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next twenty-six countries combined, twenty-five of whom are allies. 

我們識字率排第七、數學排27、科學排22、平均壽命排49、嬰兒死亡率排178、平均家庭收入排第三、勞動力排第四、出口額排第四，只有三項我們排榜首；

被關在監獄裡的人數、相信天使的成年人數、以及國防開銷，這開銷比後面的26個國家總和還多，其中25個還是同盟國。

None of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student, but you, nonetheless, are without a doubt, a member of the WORST-period-GENERATION-period-EVER-period, so when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about?! Yosemite?!!!

當然這不是妳這個二十歲大學生的錯，但妳卻無庸置疑的活在這史上最糟糕的年代！所以當妳問我是什麼造就了這個最偉大的國家？我真不懂妳他媽的妳在講什麼狗屁！優勝美地嗎？(美國的一個壯麗的國家公園)

We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right! We fought for moral reasons, we passed and struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were, and we never beat our chest. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and cultivated the world's greatest artists and the world's greatest economy. We reached for the stars, and we acted like men. We aspired to intelligence; we didn't  belittle  it; it didn't make us feel inferior. We didn't identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election, and we didn't scare so easy. And we were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed. By great men, men who were revered. The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one—America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.

我們的確輝煌過。

我們維護正義，我們為道德而戰，我們透過道德遏止惡法、建立良法。

我們對貧窮開戰，而不是對窮人。

我們犧牲奉獻，我們敦親睦鄰，我們腳踏實地，而不是空口說白話。

我們有過偉大的發明，先進的科技，探索太空，治療疾病和造就史上最傑出的藝術家，把經濟推上了世界巔峰。

我們野心勃勃，即使身為凡人。

我們渴求知識，並不引以輕視，這並沒有讓人感到不堪。

我們並不借由選票來定義自己為何物，也不輕易畏懼。

之所以能做到這些，只因為我們了解……

有個大人物說過：「解決問題的的第一步，就是承認它視個問題。」

美國不再是最強大的國家了。