After any election—and the election of 2016 will go down in American history as one of the worst—there needs to be a time for the country to come together once again. Healing is a normal， healthy part of any good relationship.

在任何的選舉之后，尤其是在將成為美國(guó)歷史上最糟糕的一屆選舉的2016大選之后，國(guó)家再次達(dá)成一致需要一定時(shí)間。這段恢復(fù)期是任何良好關(guān)系中正常的、健康的一部分。

Healing after an election may not be easy for everyone， and it may be especially difficult this election year. But people must heal in order to move forward.

選舉后的恢復(fù)期可能不是對(duì)每個(gè)人都很容易，尤其在這個(gè)選舉年，可能會(huì)特別困難。但人們必須渡過這段恢復(fù)期，繼續(xù)前進(jìn)。

Historically， Americans have always been fairly good at letting bygones be bygones and moving on. Americans forgave （their brothers） after the terrible devastation1 wrought by the Civil War. A presidential election， all things considered， should be much easier.

從歷史上看，美國(guó)人一直很擅長(zhǎng)于讓過去的就那樣過去并繼續(xù)向前。美國(guó)人在可怕的毀滅性的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)后原諒了（他們的兄弟們）。而一次總統(tǒng)選舉，從各方面來考慮的話，應(yīng)該要容易得多。

Many ordinary Americans find the election process—and government in general—frustrating， and uncaring of their needs and challenges. Elections give them a time to let out frustrations with the economy and governments seeming inability to “get things done”. No matter who is in power and who is nominated2， Americans pretty much complain about the same things every election cycle： taxes， lack of jobs， the economy， government interference3 in peoples lives， and so on.

許多普通的美國(guó)人發(fā)現(xiàn)選舉過程和政府總體來說同樣讓人沮喪，都不關(guān)心他們的需求和挑戰(zhàn)。選舉給了他們時(shí)間來發(fā)泄對(duì)于經(jīng)濟(jì)方面以及政府似乎無法“把事情做好”上的沮喪。無論誰執(zhí)掌權(quán)力和誰被任命，美國(guó)人都會(huì)抱怨很多每個(gè)選舉周期里反復(fù)提到的東西：稅收、就業(yè)不足、經(jīng)濟(jì)、政府干預(yù)人們的生活等等。

Smart Americans know that government is there to perform the basic functions that help guarantee their access4 to life， liberty， and the pursuit of happiness. Its not there to make sure people dont do dumb things， or make bad choices.

聰明的美國(guó)人知道政府要執(zhí)行的基本功能在于幫助保障人們的生命安全、自由和追求幸福的權(quán)利，而不在于確保人們不做出愚蠢的事情，或者不做出錯(cuò)誤的選擇。

People also know that the ability to effect real change in America lies not with a President （who has specific， limited powers）， but with the legislative body—Congress5. If Americans really wanted the change they seem to clamor6 for every election cycle， theyd spend more time voting out the incumbents7 who failed to bring about the change desired.

人們也知道，真正有影響美國(guó)變化的能力的不在于有一個(gè)（有明確限制的權(quán)力的）總統(tǒng)，而在于立法機(jī)構(gòu)——國(guó)會(huì)。如果美國(guó)人真的想改變，他們似乎要在每一個(gè)選舉周期呼吁，他們會(huì)花更多的時(shí)間投票讓未能帶來預(yù)期改變的現(xiàn)任者下臺(tái)。

Healing Begins at Home

家中的恢復(fù)期

If youve been on a different page than your spouse， partner， or kids during this election， its best to make amends and heal these interpersonal wounds first. Sometimes we say things we dont really mean in the heat of an argument. Now is the time to apologize for such remarks. But it is no excuse not to treat others with the same respect we all want and deserve.

如果在這次選舉中你和你的配偶，同伴，或孩子的選擇不同，最好首先開始彌補(bǔ)并治愈這些人際上的傷口。有時(shí)我們說出口的東西并不真的意味著要給一場(chǎng)爭(zhēng)論火上澆油?，F(xiàn)在是時(shí)候?yàn)檫@樣的言論道歉了。但沒有理由不以相同的尊重對(duì)待別人，而這些正是我們都想要的和應(yīng)得的尊重。

Do you really want to sink a whole friendship—based upon years or even decades of shared experiences—over a single election？ For most people， the answer is no.

你真的想讓一份友誼僅只是因?yàn)橐粓?chǎng)選舉就此完全沉沒，哪怕這段友誼有著幾年甚至幾十年的共同經(jīng)歷嗎？對(duì)于大多數(shù)人來說，答案是否定的。

Healing Continues at Work & with Neighbors

工作場(chǎng)所和鄰里之間的恢復(fù)期

Maybe youve had one of those yard signs on your front lawn that stood out among a sea of your opponents signs. Maybe youre the only one person in your office or on the job site who seemed to be for your candidate8. Its time to say， “Hey， that was some election， but Im glad its over and we can all get on with our lives”.

也許在你的草坪上有一個(gè)標(biāo)志，在你對(duì)手的標(biāo)志海洋中獨(dú)樹一幟。也許你是你的辦公室或工作場(chǎng)所里唯一一個(gè)支持你候選人的人。是時(shí)候說，“嘿，那就是個(gè)選舉，但我很高興它終于結(jié)束了，我們可以繼續(xù)我們的生活了”。

Theres no need to apologize for your choice of candidates or your passion in arguing for your candidate （as long as you were respectful when doing so）. If you did cross a line， you should try to find a quiet， private place to make your apologies to those you may have offended.

沒有必要為選擇你的候選人或?yàn)槠渑c人爭(zhēng)論的熱情道歉（只要你在這樣做時(shí)是有禮貌的）。如果你確實(shí)做得過分了，你應(yīng)該試著找一個(gè)安靜的、私人的地方，向那些你可能冒犯過的人道歉。

Healing Occurs in Government

政府的恢復(fù)期

Americans didnt elect politicians to sit in their chairs and make speeches that nobody listens to. They elected them to do their job of running this nations business and getting the job done. Any politician who refuses to do his or her job needs to resign or face not being re-elected come next election. Citizens have said time and time again that they want a government that does its job—not one that just obstructs work from being accomplished.

美國(guó)人沒有選擇讓政治家坐在椅子上做沒有人聽的演講。他們選舉出那些人去履行他們的職責(zé)，管理這個(gè)國(guó)家，完成各自的工作。任何拒絕做他或她本職工作的政治家必須辭職或者面臨下次選舉不再當(dāng)選的情況。公民們已經(jīng)一次又一次地表明他們希望政府能履行它的本職工作——而不是妨礙工作的完成。

Heres to the next four years of coming together again， standing behind their President and elected officials， and moving forward. Because it is only together that they can make simple work of hard， complicated issues.

未來四年再次齊心協(xié)力，支持他們的總統(tǒng)和所選官員，并向前邁進(jìn)。因?yàn)橹挥性谝黄?，他們才能使困難、復(fù)雜的問題變得簡(jiǎn)單。