????但美國(guó)不能等著下一場(chǎng)體育盛會(huì)或下次颶風(fēng)促使我們?cè)俅螖y起手來(lái)。不幸的是，據(jù)洛克稱，形成“自己人”圈子通常要求有發(fā)自內(nèi)心的共同目標(biāo)——真正觸動(dòng)我們內(nèi)心、而不是理智的東西。政治廣告和公開攻擊很管用，因?yàn)樗鼈冇|動(dòng)了情感反應(yīng)。這么講很奇怪，但為了讓政黨攜手合作，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人們或許不得不繼續(xù)使用聳人聽聞的語(yǔ)言，但從相互攻擊轉(zhuǎn)向應(yīng)對(duì)共同威脅。

????弗吉尼亞大學(xué)（University of Virginia）達(dá)頓商學(xué)院（Darden School of Business）商業(yè)管理教授克里斯廷·貝法爾表示，他們可以低調(diào)處理先前的分歧。“討論一個(gè)分歧很大的總統(tǒng)大選時(shí)，或許可以轉(zhuǎn)向其他國(guó)家進(jìn)行比較，它們的大選存在一些我們所沒有的問(wèn)題，”她說(shuō)。“這樣，可以讓這里的流程和行為看起來(lái)比‘完全不同的那個(gè)國(guó)家’要好。”

????奧巴馬總統(tǒng)上周三早些時(shí)候回答了這個(gè)問(wèn)題。他在演講中表示，嚴(yán)峻的經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢(shì)總是會(huì)引發(fā)分歧。“我們絕不能忘記，就在我們講話的時(shí)候，在遠(yuǎn)方國(guó)家的人們正在冒著生命危險(xiǎn)，才能就重大問(wèn)題發(fā)表主張，才能像我們一樣獲得投票的機(jī)會(huì)。”換句話說(shuō)，這次競(jìng)選是一場(chǎng)丑陋的比賽，但“不同的那一個(gè)”更惡劣。

????當(dāng)然，演講只是讓兩極化的民眾重新攜手而邁出的第一步，也是很小的一步。現(xiàn)在，國(guó)會(huì)需要冰釋前嫌。如果眾議院發(fā)言人約翰·博納在上周三的新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上的表態(tài)是真實(shí)可信的，我們或許正在接近這樣的緩和。他說(shuō)：“我們比很多人認(rèn)為的都更加接近能讓稅改法案得以通過(guò)。”他說(shuō)。時(shí)間將告訴我們，國(guó)會(huì)的接近達(dá)成協(xié)議是否會(huì)產(chǎn)生行動(dòng)，而且，更重要的或許是，公眾是否會(huì)頌揚(yáng)那些愿意與對(duì)手冰釋前嫌的政治領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人。

????譯者：早稻米

????But America cannot wait for a sports event or another storm to get us to work together. Unfortunately, according to Rock, forming a new in-group often requires a visceral common goal -- something that taps into our gut instinct rather than our intellect. Political ads and public jabs work well because they trigger an emotional response. It's strange to say, but to get political parties to work together, leaders may have to continue to use alarmist language, but shift it away from each other and direct it a common threat.

????They can also play down previous disagreements, says Kristin Behfar, a professor of business administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. "When talking about a very divisive campaign, you might change the comparison to what happens in countries where elections and campaigns are fraught with problems we don't have," she says. "Therefore, you make the process and behavior here look better than a 'different other.'"

????President Obama brought the point home early on Wednesday, arguing in his acceptance speech that tough economic conditions will always create controversy. "We can never forget that as we speak, people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today." In other words, this was an ugly race, but the alternative, a "different other," would be worse.

????Of course, speeches are just a first, small step towards reconnecting a polarized population. Now Congress needs to unfreeze. It might even be approaching that necessary thaw, if House Speaker John Boehner spoke honestly during a press conference Wednesday: "We're closer than many think to the critical mass needed legislatively to get tax reform done," he said. Time will tell if Congress' proximity to agreement will lead to action and, perhaps more importantly, if the public is ready to reward political leaders who are willing to redefine their adversaries as colleagues.