美国着手提高青年的动手能力
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One thing the financial crisis shows is that the United States is in trouble because Americans have stopped making stuff.
It used to be that we made a lot of stuff： televisions， clothes， washing machines， radios， typewriters， shoes， telephones， and furniture. And we also used to make the stuff out of which stuff was made： steel， aluminum， plastic， rubber， glass， and electrical components. Today that’s largely made overseas. They send us their stuff and we send them our money.
It also used to be that Americans liked to make stuff. Think of all the things Thomas Edison invented. Or consider Henry Ford， who made the car affordable， perfected the assembly line， and paid workers a decent wage. Countless others， such as my grandfather， worked as toolmakers and machinists because they liked to work with their hands. Today we rely on people around the world to do that innovation for us.
To be sure， outsourcing has some benefits， but the danger in abrogating our desire to make things is that， in doing so， we forget what made America great. It wasn’t manipulating money； it was hard work and persistence. It wasn’t “flipping houses”； it was having a dream and being patient and self-sacrificing to achieve that dream. It wasn’t speculative gambling； it was belief in a line of labor that rewarded honest risk. Forgetting that contributes to America’s deterioration.
Nowadays， young people want to work in the financial industry （at least until recently）. While money managers may be worthy occupations—we do need capital to meet payroll and buy the goods and machinery used to make stuff—focusing solely on such jobs removes us from the mainstream of making useful things， which， in turn， provide jobs and help to make everyday life more enjoyable and productive.
This is where we have to start questioning what’s at stake. Are we truly satisfied with letting someone else make everything we need？ If so， when the time comes for repair and maintenance， who will do the work？
Young people today are not encouraged to work with their hands. It’s thought to be demeaning. But working with your hands to create something new is energizing and rewarding. It boosts self-esteem. Even better， it helps you see how something can be improved. Let’s not forget that Ford and the Wright brothers were mechanics before they became innovators. They saw first-hand how things worked so they could make them work better.
Historically， young people were encouraged to learn a trade. This not only taught them the value of hard work， it also gave them a sense of self-reliance and community. The farmer could not only plow the ground， he could also fix the plow and help his neighbors.
Today’s schools must help teach our young people the value of manual labor and help us take advantage of the greatest place to be for innovation. A Japanese neighbor visiting a U.S. factory told me once that he envied Americans because they did not accept cultural limitations in improving the way something is made. He said that you could never go against the grain like that in Japan.
The U.S. just can’t afford to squander this perfect climate for jobs and progress by not placing value in innovation or the act of working with one’s hands.
This current financial mess brings with it a lot of challenges： energy， housing， crumbling infrastructure—to name just three. But the “can-do spirit” is still alive in America.
We just need to encourage it in our young people. We can begin by testing students for a mechanical aptitude. Those who show promise should be encouraged by a coalition of schools and industry to work on real-world projects. That step alone will help place the value back in making stuff and pave the way to return to innovation at a time when we need it most.
从金融危机中我们看到，我们已经不再动手制造东西，从而使美国陷入困境。
曾几何时，我们制造了大量的产品：电视机、衣服、洗衣机、收音机、打字机、鞋子、电话和家具。我们也曾制造了生产这些产品的原材料：铁、铝、塑料、橡胶、玻璃和电子元件。但今天，这些东西大多都由美国本土以外的国家或地区生产。他们将产品出口给我们，我们则支付美元给他们。
我们也曾乐于动手制造东西。想想托马斯·爱迪生的发明，或者想想亨利·福特——他让美国老百姓买得起汽车，使汽车装配线完善起来，给汽车工人以优厚的工资。还有数不清的其他人，这其中包括我的祖父，都曾是制造工具的匠人和机工，他们那代人都喜欢手工工作。而现今，我们依赖全世界的人们为我们做着创新性的劳动。
诚然，外包自有其益处，但是让我们不再渴望发明制造的危险在于，在这种情况下，我们会忘记是什么使美国伟大起来的。这不是操控金钱，而是艰苦卓绝的劳作和坚持不懈的精神。这不是房地产的投机买卖，而是心怀梦想和为实现梦想所具有的耐心与自我牺牲精神。这不是冒着风险的赌博，而是认为诚实的劳动者定会得到奖赏的信念。摒弃那些让美国每况愈下的错误思想吧。
现今，美国的年轻人想要在金融业谋取工作，至少直到最近是这样。基金经理也许是值得敬仰的职业，因为我们确实需要资金来支付所有员工的工资，购买用于制造产品的物资和机器。但是，只关注这样的工作，会让我们远离制造有用之物的主流。这个主流会反过来为我们提供工作岗位，帮助我们将日常生活变得更加愉悦和多产。
这就是我们不得不开始怀疑我们会有怎样的得失的原因。我们真的满足于让其他国家制造我们所需的一切吗？如果是这样的话，当遇到维修和保养的问题时，谁会来做这项工作？
今天的美国社会不再鼓励青年人动手制造，并认为这是有失身份的。但用双手去创造崭新之物，会让人焕发活力并且很有裨益，人们的自尊心会倍增。更好的是，这样做能帮助你体察事物进步之处。我们不要忘了，福特和莱特兄弟在成为发明家之前都是机械师。他们亲自看到机械是如何运作的，故而可以使其更好地运转。
从历史上看，年轻人都被鼓励去学门手艺。他们不仅要知道辛勤劳作的价值，还要培养自力更生的意识和社区意识。农民不仅会犁地，还会修理犁，并对邻居施以援手。
今天的美国学校必须教会我们的年轻人手工劳动的价值，并帮助我们在这片最伟大的土地上大展拳脚，革故鼎新。在参观一家美国工厂时，我的一个日本邻居对我说，他羡慕美国人，因为我们在推陈出新这方面不必受到文化上的约束。他说：“你们永远不会像我们日本人这样，做出有悖常理的事情来。”
美国绝不能忽视工业创新与动手能力，而浪费眼下增加工作机会与推动社会进步的绝佳时机。
当前的金融困局带来了很多的挑战：能源方面的、住房方面的，还有土崩瓦解的基础设施方面的。只举此三例，但是美国人仍然具有乐观精神。
我们正需要鼓励我们的年轻人保持这种精神。我们可以首先检验学生是否擅长机械原理。那些显示出有此潜质的学生，应该受到学校和制造业的共同鼓励，致力于实体项目。仅此一步，将有助于我们重新重视手工制造的价值，并在我们最需要之际，为我们重返革新之路创造条件。