25-A. American Men Don't Cry
American men don't cry because it is considered not characteristic of men to do so. Only women cry. Cry is a "weakness" characteristic of the female, and no American male wants to be identified with any-thing in the least weak or feminine. Crying, in our culture, is identified with childishness, with weakness and dependence. No one likes a crybaby, and we disapprove of crying even in children, discouraging it in them as early as possible. In a land so devoted to the pursuit of happiness as ours, crying really is rather un-American. Adults must learn not to cry in situations in which it is permissible for a child to cry. Women being the "weaker" and "dependent” sex, it is only natural that they should cry in certain emotional situations. In women, crying is excusable. But in men, crying is a mark of weakness. So goes the American belief with regard to crying.
"A little man," we impress on our male children, "never cries. Only girls and crybabies do." And so we condition males in America not to cry whenever they feel like doing so. It is not that American males are unable to cry because of some biological time clock within them which causes them to run down in that capacity as they grow older, but that they are trained not to cry. And so the "little man" controls his desire to cry and goes on doing so until he is unable to cry even when he wants to. Thus do we produce a trained incapacity in the American male to cry. And this is bad. Why is it bad? Because crying is a natural function of the human organism which is designed to restore the emotionally disequilibrated person to a state of equilibrium. The return of the disequilibrated organ systems of the body to steady states or dynamic stability is known as homeostasis. Crying serves a homeostatic function for the organism as a whole. Any interference with homeostasis is likely to be damaging to the organism. And there is good reason to believe that the American male‘s trained incapacity to cry is seriously damaging to him.
It is unnecessary to cry whenever one wants to cry, but one should he able to cry when one ought to cry - when one needs to cry. For to cry under certain emotionally disequilibrating conditions is necessary for the maintenance of health.
To be human is to weep. The human species is the only one in the whole of animated nature that sheds tears. The trained inability of any human being to weep is a lessening of his capacity to be human - a defect which usually goes deeper than the mere inability to cry. And this, among other things, is what American parents - with the best intentions in the world - have achieved for the American male. It is very sad. If we feel like it, let us all have a good cry - and clear our minds of those cobwebs of confusion which have for so long prevented us from understanding the natural necessity of crying.
【課文譯文】
美國男人不哭
美國男人不哭，因爲人們認爲哭不是男子漢的特徵，只有女人才哭。哭是女性特有的“軟弱”的表現，沒有任何一個美國男人願意與軟弱或女人氣有關係。在我們的文化中，哭就是孩子氣、軟弱、不自立。沒有人喜歡愛哭的孩子，即便是孩子哭泣也是不受歡迎的。我們儘可能早地不讓孩子哭。在一塊人們如此專心致志追求幸福的土地上，哭的確不是美國人的特點。在許多情況下，孩子哭是允許的，而成年人必須學會不哭。女人是“軟弱”和“依賴的”性別。因此很自然，在某些感人的場合，她們可以哭。女人的哭泣是可以原諒的。但是，男人的哭泣代表了軟弱。這就是美國人對於哭的信條。
“小男子漢”，我們讓我們的男孩子銘記在心，“決不哭泣”。因此，我們把美國男人都調教得即使想哭也不能哭。美國男人不會哭，不是因爲他們隨着年齡的增長體內的某個生物鐘使其哭的能力消耗殆盡，而是因爲他們被訓練得不哭。因此，“小男子漢”的觀念控制着他哭的慾望，直到他想哭卻又哭不出來。我們正是這樣造成了美國男人訓練有素的不會哭的能力。這很有害。爲什麼有害呢?因爲哭是人這種生物的一種自然功能，能使人從感情失衡的.狀態恢復到平衡狀態。人們身體裏失調的器官系統恢復到穩定的或動態穩定狀態的過程被稱爲體內平衡。哭對整個身體起着恢復平衡的作用。任何對體內平衡的干擾都可能損害身體。因此有理由相信，美國男人的這種訓練出來的不會哭的能力嚴重損害着他的健康。
想哭的時候，不一定要哭，但該哭的時候就應該哭。因爲在某些感情失衡的狀態下，哭對保持身體健康是必要的。
是人就會哭。人類是整個生機勃勃的大自然中惟一會流淚的動物。訓練出來的不會哭的能力削弱他做人的能力——這種欠缺遠遠不只是不會哭。而這，以及其他一些東西，都是懷着最美好心願的美國父母給美國男人造成的。這是多大的悲哀啊。如果想哭，就讓我們痛痛快快地哭吧!讓我們把頭腦中長期阻礙我們正確認識哭這種自然需要的錯誤思想一掃而光。
