第6章 这里是美国(5)

To the 21st century， the information age came， Microsoft's Bill Gates， Yahoo's Jerry Yang and the three founders of GOOGLE become the new idol of American Dream. They accumulated huge assets-billions of dollars at young by their wisdom.The living story seems to indicate that， anyone who has the wisdom and genius can succeed in the United States.

南北战争前后，美国开始了工业化。欧洲来的移民更多地进入纽约、芝加哥、底特律和其他一些新兴的工业城市。从此，“美国梦”有了新的内涵。

这一时期，出现了许多奋斗起家的工商业巨子。比如依靠个人发明而创立通用电气公司的爱迪生、采石油的洛克菲勒、开银行的摩根、发明汽车生产线的福特。他们的共同特点是：出身寒微、白手起家，但通过勤奋终于创立了自己庞大的事业，成为传奇人物。

也许，这些“传奇”多少带有后人美化的成分，甚至所谓的“爱迪生发明”也有不少是助手们的成果。梅勒更是认为，当时美国已处于经济急速膨胀时期，到第一次世界大战前，美国已成为世界经济实力最强的国家，国内的经济运行也处于“无序到有序”的变化阶段，各行业出现巨富寡头。

到了21世纪的信息时代，微软的比尔·盖茨、雅虎的杨致远以及GOOGLE的三个创立者变成了美国梦的新偶像。他们凭借自己的智慧，年纪轻轻就积累了数百亿美元的庞大资产。他们活生生的故事似乎表明，只要有智慧、有才能，在美国就可以成功。

●The Dream Faded and Sour 褪色和变味的梦想

What is the real driving force behind American Dream？Some historians believe that is the desire and pursuit of wealth. Connecticut State University history professor Matthew Woxiao Er said： "The pursuit of money is the component of American Dream.However， it is precisely the excessive pursuit of wealth， that makes the American Dream become sour， and gradually lost its attraction for people around the world.Woxiao Er observed the changes in society over the decades in his article Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-changing American Dream concept.

Early Americans promote "honest and hard" to get rich， but they looking for "get rich quick" today. For example， most Americans now respect this way to get rich： they fight big business for compensation with the lawsuit， go to Las Vegas gambling or lottery， and participate in TV game show.Woxiao Er contend， this shows that the people of American society gradually lose the force of hard-working.

Early European immigrants believe the equality of political rights and religious. Today， the United States has also been evolved into a political money game.Woxiao Er contend Bush family success in political is "the success of the oil and money." In the religion field， freedom advocated by the United States only exist within the Christian denominations， but Islam， with little money to support， only stay in a highly vulnerable position in the United States.

Maybe， in changing times， the American dream attractive to the world getting smaller and smaller. U.S.hegemony in world politics and arbitrary make many foreigners that are full of resentment when refer to "United States".An anti-terrorism bill blocks a lot of chances for immigrants to enter the United States.Speculative and bubble economy make the ordinary people fear that their wealth suddenly will disappear suddenly.

“美国梦”背后的真正动力是什么？一些历史学家认为，它是对财富的渴求和追逐。康涅狄格州立大学历史学教授马修·沃肖尔指出：“对金钱的追求，是美国梦中不变的成分。然而，恰恰是对财富的过度追逐，使美国梦也在变味，并逐步丧失了对世界各地人们的吸引力。”沃肖尔在他的文章《谁想成为百万富翁——变化中的美国梦概念》中敏锐地观察到美国社会风气这几十年的变化。

如果说早期的美国人还提倡“诚实和勤奋”来致富，今天则是越来越热衷于寻求“快速致富”。比如，现在美国人最推崇的致富方式是：与大企业打赔偿官司、去拉斯维加斯赌博或买彩票以及参加有奖电视竞赛节目。沃肖尔认为，这表明了美国社会正在逐渐丧失勤奋劳动的动力。

早期来美国的欧洲移民，信奉政治权利平等和宗教平等。而今天，美国的政治也在演变成为金钱的游戏。这一点沃肖尔也不否认：布什家族在美国政治上的成功就是“石油金钱的成功”。在宗教领域，美国所提倡的自由仅限于基督教各教派内部，而少有金钱支持的伊斯兰教，在美国只能处于极度弱势的地位。

或许，在时代的变迁中，美国梦对世界的吸引力可能越来越小。美国在世界政治中的霸权地位和独断专行，使不少外国人一提及“美国”这个词就心生反感；一个反恐法案堵住了不少移民进入美国的门路；经济的投机化、泡沫化使普通人永远害怕自己的财富突然消失。