It was almost painful the other night to hear Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young sing about a war whose purpose Americans never really understood, started by a president who didn’t tell the truth and then waged the war ineptly. And that was before they sang about Iraq.
前幾天晚上，聽到克羅斯比、史提爾斯、納許和楊所組的樂團唱有關戰爭的歌，美國人素未真正了解其中深意，委實令人心痛。歌詞開始說，總統撒謊，後又不智無能的出兵，但這是在他們唱到伊拉克戰爭之前。

The audience rose for Neil Young's blast at George Bush, “Let's Impeach the President,” and sang the words displayed on a huge TV screen, even the 20-something had been text-messaging throughout the concert. That same screen also displayed thumbnail photos of slain soldiers while a counter ran up the most recent toll. It takes longer than you might think to count to 2,600.
當尼爾‧楊向布希總統嗆聲：「讓我們彈劾總統」時，觀眾起立，並唱出超大電視螢光幕上打出的歌詞，連廿來歲的粉絲整場演唱會都在傳簡訊。同一個螢光幕也不斷放映被殺害士兵拇指大小的一幀幀照片，同時有個計數器，不斷秀出最新死亡士兵人數，要數到兩千六百人比想像中要久。

It was a surprisingly political moment for a rock concert in 2006. But when those four men sang their protest songs four decades ago, their lyrics echoed and personified a powerful political movement sweeping America. Now they are entertainment, something to leave behind in the concert hall.
這是二○○六年一場特別帶有政治氛圍的搖滾演唱會，但當這四位歌手四十年前唱抗議歌曲時，歌詞和當時橫掃美國的一場狂飆政治運動相唱和，現在他們充其量只是娛樂，只能空留音樂廳裡。

This, perhaps, is the ultimate difference between the Vietnam generation and the Iraq generation: When you hear the Company sing of “four dead in Ohio,”it’s hard to imagine anyone on today’s campuses willing to face armed troops. Is there anything they care about that much
這也許是越戰世代和伊拉克戰爭世代最大的差異：當你聽到這個樂團唱出「俄亥俄州死了四個人」時，很難想像今天校園會有任何人願意挺身而出，面對軍隊。說穿了，有什麼他們真正在乎的事嗎？

Student protesters helped drive Lyndon Johnson — in so many ways a powerful, progressive president — out of office because of his war. In 2004, George W. Bush — in so many ways a weak, regressive president — was re-elected despite his war. And the campuses were silent.
就因為越戰，學生抗議示威，幫忙把詹森總統趕下台。在很多方面，他是強勢有力前瞻性的總統。到了二○○四年，布希在很多方面是個軟弱退化的總統，但儘管發動伊拉克戰爭，他仍再次當選，而且校園一片沈默。

Vietnam never had the moral clarity that the 9/11 attacks provided to this generation’s war. But in Iraq that proved to be a false clarity, and a majority of Americans now say they oppose the war and no longer trust Mr. Bush’s leadership of it.
越戰從未有九一一恐怖攻擊給這個世代戰爭的道德正當性。但伊拉克戰爭證明，這是錯誤的道德正當性，絕大部分美國人現在說，他們反對這場戰爭，也不再信任布希的領導統御。

The pressure to be silent is great. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld compared critics of Mr. Bush’s Iraq policy to those who appeased Adolf Hitler. And antiwar protesters are told they’re un-American, cowardly and lending aid and comfort to terrorists.
沈默的壓力無與倫比。國防部長倫斯斐把批評布希伊拉克政策的人和姑息希特勒的人相提並論，反戰示威人士也被警告，他們不是美國人，懦弱，不啻給恐怖分子奧援和鼓舞。
  

詞解
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 是四位民謠搖滾樂界好手寇斯比、史提爾斯、 納許與楊（David Crosby，Stephen Stills，Graham Nash，Neil Young）組成，越戰時代以唱抗爭歌曲知名
impeach彈劾                    text-messaging 傳簡訊
rock concert 搖滾音樂會     protest songs 抗議歌曲
progressive 前瞻性            regressive 退化
moral clarity 道德正當性     appease 姑息
terrorists  恐怖分子      
Vietnam generation 越戰世代
Iraq generation 伊拉克戰爭世代