20200427a

Why Americans share the pain of Kennedy tragedies
为何美国人会对肯尼迪家族悲剧的痛苦感同身受？
Maeve Kennedy McKean's body was recovered while her 8-year-old son, Gideon, is presumed dead after going missing Thursday night in the Chesapeake Bay. McKean and her son were isolating from coronavirus with their family and playing kickball in the yard when the ball went into the water. The pair took a canoe to retrieve it and never came back.
梅夫·肯尼迪·麦基恩（音）和她 8 岁的儿子吉迪恩（音）于周四晚（4 月 2 日）在切萨皮克湾失踪。麦基恩的遗体已被找到，而吉迪恩被被认为已经死亡。事发当日，麦基恩和她的儿子正和家人们一起因新冠病毒进行隔离。他们在后院踢球时，球落入了海水中。母子二人乘独木舟去取球，再也没有回来。
It is the latest tragedy to afflict the Kennedy family. The notion of a "Kennedy curse" dates back to 1969, when the late US Senator Ted Kennedy, drove his car off a bridge on Martha's Vineyard, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne along with Ted's hope for a presidential run. In the half century since, the family has lost members to drug overdoses, plane crashes, and freak accidents.
这是折磨肯尼迪家族的最新一起悲剧。“肯尼迪诅咒”这个说法始于 1969 年，已故的美国参议员泰德·肯尼迪当年驱车行驶在玛莎葡萄园岛的一座桥上时坠桥，造成同车的玛丽·乔·科贝琴（音）死亡，泰德的总统竞选也因此告吹。此后的半个世纪中，肯尼迪家族陆续有成员死于吸毒过量、飞机失事及其他不寻常的事故。
The news of yet another family Kennedy tragedy always strikes a chord. Their misfortune ignites in us a sense of compassion, one that's often missing in the context of rich and famous families, and reminds us that, despite class differences, we are all very much the same.
肯尼迪家族再度发生悲剧的消息总能引起人们的共鸣。他们的不幸会激起我们内心的同情，而这样的共情，在人们看待权贵家族时往往罕见。他们的不幸也提醒着我们，尽管阶级不同，我们其实没有什么差别。
Their lives were far from perfect, and the irony of the imagined "Kennedy curse" has long gripped the American psyche. In life, the Kennedys embodied the American Dream — proof that hard work and love of family can bring success, even for an immigrant, but that with success can come complications, too: affairs, addictions, avarice, and, far too often, tragic death.*** They are proof that privilege doesn't shield anyone from catastrophe.
他们的生活远非完美，“肯尼迪诅咒”这一臆想的讽刺意味也一直紧抓着美国民众的心。肯尼迪家族以他们的人生诠释了美国梦——他们证明了，就算身为移民，努力工作和对家庭的热爱也能够带来成功。但是成功也会带来许多复杂的问题：风流韵事、毒瘾、贪念、以及发生得过于频繁的死亡惨剧。他们证明了特权无法保护任何人免遭灾祸。
Their losses make them relatable and offer undeniable proof that terrible things can happen even to the most seemingly blessed among us; that most of us really can't have it all.
他们的惨剧让别人能够感同身受，并佐证着一个不争的事实：即使是我们当中看似最幸运的那些人，也会遭受厄运；我们大多数人都无法坐拥一切。