“Freedom and independence are today in jeopardy the world over. If the forces of conquest are not successfully resisted and defeated there will be no freedom, no independence and no opportunity for freedom for any nation.” Thus did Franklin Delano Roosevelt commemorate the first anniversary of the Atlantic Charter, which had been agreed between him and Winston Churchill on August 14 1941. Half a century later, with the fall of the Soviet Union, it was at least reasonable to hope that these ideals might be realised across much of the globe. That was not to be. Today, not only are autocracies increasingly confident. The US is moving to their side. That is the lesson of the last two weeks. Freedom is not in as much danger as it was in 1942. Yet the dangers are very real.
「今天，在全世界範圍內，自由和獨立受到了威脅。如果不能成功地抵抗和打敗佔領軍，那麼，在任何國家都不會有自由、獨立或者實現自由的機會。」富蘭克林•德拉諾•羅斯福(Franklin Delano Roosevelt)在紀念《大西洋憲章》(Atlantic Charter)簽署一週年時這樣說道。《大西洋憲章》是他與溫斯頓•丘吉爾(Winston Churchill)在1941年8月14日簽訂的。過了半個世紀後，隨著蘇聯解體，至少有理由期待這些理想在全球很多地區也許會實現。這樣的願望並未成真。今天，不僅威權國家長了志氣，美國還在倒向他們那邊。這就是我們從過去兩週中得到的教訓。自由不像1942年時那麼岌岌可危，但確實面臨著危險。