笨蛋 关键是美国 （中英双语）
来源：人大重阳
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编者按：“关键是美国，笨蛋！”环球时报英文版4月7日刊发“变局”专栏第32篇，作者中国人民大学重阳金融研究院执行院长王文希望用尖锐的话语，“奇迹般”逆转更多美国人与世界民众的想法。
本文英文版在Global Times的版面截图
这篇新专栏用这个标题，显然是借鉴了当年比尔克林顿先生的创意。1992年，他用“笨蛋，关键是经济！”（It’s Economy, Stupid！）作为竞选口号，爆冷逆转了此前获冷战、海湾战争胜利的对手老布什先生的优势，奇迹般地当选为美国史上最年轻的总统之一。现在，我希望用类似尖锐的话语，也能“奇迹般”逆转更多美国人与世界民众的想法。
诚如大家所知道，4月2日，作为发起倡议人，我与100位中国学者在知名国际期刊《外交学人》上刊发《致美国社会的公开信》，呼吁全球与中美两国团结，反对新冠疫情的政治化、污名化。一天后，美国百名前政府高官与专家也写了一封公开信，同样呼吁中美两国搁置分歧，共同抗击疫情。
两封信引起国际社会的高度关注。三天来，已超过20多个国家的政要名流公开呼应，支持中国学者的公开信，期待合作团结，不要指责与争吵。有意思的是，两封公开信都是写给美国的，一封给美国社会，一封给美国政府。这正是下一步全球团结的关键所在。
关键是美国，笨蛋！（It’s U.S, Stupid!）
如果看过我五周以来从《如果美国爆发大规模疫情》一文开始的各篇专栏，读者会理解，我是关心美国民众、提醒防护。我骂“笨蛋”，不是对美国的恨，更不是来自中国的傲慢，而是对那些未听我诚挚劝告建议的婉惜，是对某些至今仍在指责与甩锅中国的愚蠢美国政客与媒体的唤醒。
关键是美国精英，笨蛋！不要再试图转移公众的视线，不要再说什么中国隐瞒疫情、没有通报美国人等废话。稍微用脑子想一想，现在资讯那么发达，那可能吗？更重要的是，那有助于美国当下的抗“疫“吗？现在需要做的是，救人！救人！救人！连特朗普最近一周都已不再对中国抱怨，而聚焦在本土抗疫。那么愚昧的美国媒体、政客们，尤其是蓬佩奥先生，你们应该想各种办法寻求包括中国在内的世界各国的物资援助与经验分享，实在不愿意的话，你可以闭嘴！
关键是美国社会，笨蛋！来自14亿人自我隔离、出门即带口罩已两个多月的国度，我真的很难理解，美国感染人群已超过30万、纽约疫情超过武汉的时候，在纽约中央公园里，仍有那么多人在嬉戏，在运动，且不戴口罩。这就是美国社会的公民意识吗？这就是所谓的自由民主价值观吗？你不为自己生命负责，也应该为防范感染他人负点责任吧？看看同样是1000万人口的城市武汉是怎么做的？他们所有人都呆在家里足足两个月！幸好，明天，4月8日，他们解禁了！
关键是美国思想，笨蛋！百年来引领全球学术界的美国国际关系研究，都在聚焦着国家安全、区域冲突、经济兴衰、金融危机，很少有人研究传染病对当今世界与文明未来的致命冲击。要知道，即使到了医学发达的20世纪，死于战争的约为1.1亿人，而死于传染病的约为14亿。过去30年，战乱已从北美大陆消失，但传染病、灾难却让上百万美国人死亡，如果美国仍让疫情继续蔓延，这场抗击病毒的世界大战不会停止。是时候改变国际关系的研究范式了（paradigm）。
希望这场疫情提升我们人类的思想。从地球史的角度看，人类是年轻的，是脆弱的，是这个地球的后来者。地球存在46亿年，人类才出现仅500万年，文明史不到1万年。诚如细菌学家汉斯辛瑟尔所说，这1万年里，人类做的核心工作，是在地球上与不同物种之间进行民族主义斗争。
人类看似在进步，却从未占据上峰。没有多少人记得，是传染病打败了雅典、加速罗马帝国的崩溃、毁灭了阿兹特克帝国、印加帝国，14世纪让欧洲1/3人丧失性命。1918年，流感令世界1/4的感染，5000万人死亡的记忆似乎也在淡化。
还记得20年前世界卫生组织的呼吁吗？如果让最贫困60个国家的居民人均卫生支出增加 25美元，到2015年每年将有800万人的生命得到拯救。但当初我们没有做。
现在，我们可以做，还不晚！改变我们的固有观念与治理方式，从团结与合作做起！
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以下为英文版
It"s the US, stupid!
"It"s the economy, stupid!" Former US president Bill Clinton"s 1992 campaign used the phrase to show that the well-being of the economy was the key issue people cared about. It helped cement Clinton"s near miraculous victory of George H. W. Bush. Now, I want to use a similar phrase to wake up the world and show that the US is the key to defeating the pandemic.
One hundred Chinese scholars, including me as the initiator, published on Thursday"An Open Letter to the People of the United States from 100 Chinese Scholars" in The Diplomat. It appeals for solidarity between China and the US and calls for an end to politicizing the pandemic and demonizing other countries. On Friday, more than 90 prominent figures in US security, diplomatic, business and academic circles also signed a letter calling on the Trump administration to work more closely with China to end the pandemic.
The two letters echo each other. Officials and prominent figures from more than 20 countries have expressed their support for the Chinese scholars" letter seeking solidarity and stopping of the blame game.
It"s the US, stupid!
I care about the US and its people, and my only intention is to warn them about the importance of following science-based protocols for self-protection. I use the phrase not because I dislike the US or because I"m arrogant. I only want to wake up stupid US politicians and media outlets that are still passing the buck and refusing to accept responsibility, and continuing to find fault with China.
It"s the US elites, stupid!
The buck-passers should stop trying to shift the public"s focus and stop smearing China by suggesting it provided less than the most credible information and data. Is it even possible for China to deceive the US and its vast intelligence gathering apparatus? Complaints about China are not helping the US control the spread of COVID-19, which is the country"s most urgent task. Given that US President Donald Trump has cooled his picking-holes-in-China rhetoric and is to focusing on COVID-19 prevention, the US media and some politicians and officials - especially US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - should be concentrating on how to get more aid from other countries. If they can"t do that, at the very least they could just shut up.
It"s the US society, stupid!
After months of self-isolation and social distancing practiced by 1.4 billion people in China proved so effective in containing the virus, I just can"t fathom why US people are still hanging out in groups, gathering for church services, going to the beach and balking at wearing a face mask. Do they really not know that the US is the world"s most highly COVID-19-infected country? Do they think they are somehow spiting a deadly virus by showing off their so-called freedom and individual rights? They should at least respect other people"s lives, and take a look at what people in China"s Wuhan have done in the past two months by self-isolating and protecting each other.
It"s the US mind-set, stupid!
For decades the US has led researches in the world"s academic circles, especially in international relations, focusing on national security, regional conflicts, economic ups and downs and financial crises. Researches into the impact of pandemics on human civilization have been lacking.
Even in the 20th century with the rapid development of medical technology, more people died from infectious diseases than from wars. About 110 million people died in wars around the world, while infectious diseases have killed some 1.4 billion people. The US has fought a war on its soil for more than 150 years, but 1 million Americans have died from infectious diseases. If the US fails to fully come to grips with the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world war against the virus will never end. It"s time to change the paradigm of international relations.
I hope the COVID-19 pandemic updates the mind-set of humanity. Our planet was formed some 4.5 billion years ago, with humans of today evolving about 200,000 years ago and civilization as we know it isn"t much older than 6,000 years. Humans seem to be progressing but have yet to get the upper hand on nature. Infectious diseases have caused the collapse of many ancient empires. About a third of Europeans died of epidemics in the 14th century and the 1918 flu killed at least 50 million people around the world.
Does anyone remember the World Health Organization"s appeal from 20 years ago?
It was estimated in 2009 that if the per capita health expenditure of the 60 most underdeveloped countries could increase from $13 to $38, then about 8 million people would be saved annually by 2015. The WHO"s call was basically ignored, but that doesn"t mean we can"t begin to act now. We need to start by changing the deep-rooted mind-set of existing governance paradigms and begin showing global solidarity.
The author is professor and executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, and executive director of China-US People-to-People Exchange Research Center. His latest book is Great Power"s Long March Road.