美国国家公共电台 NPR Jon Peede, Trump's Nominee To Lead NEH, Makes His Case On Why Agency Should Exist

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

President Trump¹ has chosen a leader for an agency that he tried to eliminate. The White House proposed cutting funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities, the NEH. Instead, Congress increased NEH funding in the spending bill that Trump signed into law last week. Earlier this month, the president nominated Jon Parrish Peede to lead the organization. And he joins us now in the studio. Welcome.

JON PARRISH PEEDE: Thank you, Ari. Glad to be here.

SHAPIRO: So why don't you make the case now? Why should the NEH continue to exist?

PEEDE: Essentially², we have for more than half a century invested in the most essential humanities projects across the country. We give out some 800 grants a year. And what's remarkable³ is that when you think of essential documents - we're talking about Thomas Jefferson's papers, Albert Einstein's papers, Edison - we're a part of that. But also, when we come up on the celebration of the suffrage⁴ movement and what that stood for, we're doing that on behalf of the American people.

But there are hundreds and hundreds of grants that honestly aren't going to be national news, but teachers in the classroom just teaching American civics in a more informed way. So that's what our agency does. And when you turn on your TV and you see Ken⁵ Burns with his Vietnam film most recently or Civil War, our funding has been catalytic and essential to that.

SHAPIRO: Just to get specific, you say the NEH is involved in the suffrage anniversary, doing that for the American people. What specifically is the NEH doing?

PEEDE: We all have organizations across the country that are going to come and tell how the women's right to vote came to pass in their community. And that's the point that I would really want to make, is it's not the federal government saying, this is what we want to see. It's local communities. It's local universities, libraries, saying, this is our story within that larger story.

SHAPIRO: There are parts of the government where President Trump has chosen leaders who vocally⁶ opposed the mission of their agency like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That's not you. You've been acting⁷ head of the NEH. Before that you worked at the National Endowment for the Arts. The humanities are your field. So tell me about being nominated to lead this agency by the same president who tried to eliminate this agency.

PEEDE: Well, one thing I would say is it's a humbling⁸ experience to be nominated by your president to serve in this capacity. And, yes, the president has recommended me as somebody who spent the last 25 years of my life in the arts and humanities. And I think what he's saying with this nomination⁹ is if the agency is to exist, then he wants someone to lead it who knows how to do it, who's seasoned in experience and is going to be a good steward¹⁰ of the tax dollars.

SHAPIRO: In the past the, NEH has become a political lightning rod at times. Republicans especially have criticized grants to controversial projects. How do you anticipate navigating¹¹ those rapids?

PEEDE: Well, I think two things. One, have people that have an understanding of the public responsibility with our funding, that we are funding on behalf of the tax dollars. And also for our panelists to stay very close to our guidelines. Our guidelines are very clear. We don't fund public advocacy, for example. We don't fund projects that ask for change in federal legislation. But I think also, it's about getting out and explaining some of our decisions.

Our sister agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, funded the design competition for the Vietnam War Memorial. Think about how important that is as an icon¹² and experience in American culture. At the time I can tell you it was not as popular. So sometimes you're making good decision, and you have well-intentioned critics. And you have to weather that. And so I'm trying to make sure, you know, with Congress, the American public and the administration that we have sufficient goodwill¹³, that people understand our decision making.

SHAPIRO: So to be clear, are you hoping to avoid funding projects that ignite controversy¹⁴ or to fund the worthiest¹⁵ projects and take on whatever controversy may come?

PEEDE: My goal is to fund worthy¹⁶ projects consistent with our mandate¹⁷. Our founding legislation said democracy demands wisdom and visions from the citizens. I think that's more or less an exact quote. So it's not about whether you're avoiding controversy or not. It's about, are you making wise decisions?

SHAPIRO: Jon Parrish Peede, President Trump's nominee¹⁸ to chair the National Endowment for the Humanities, thanks for coming in today.

PEEDE: Thank you for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF CUT CHEMIST'S "THE GARDEN")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

5 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

6 vocally   

adv. 用声音, 用口头, 藉著声音

参考例句：

• She is not SCREAMER or MOANER - She is VOCALLY APPRECIATIVE. 她并不乱叫或发牢骚，只是用声音表示喜怒。
• The left has been vocally against. 左派力量一直竭力声讨。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 humbling   

adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气

参考例句：

• A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
• It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网

9 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

10 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

11 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

12 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

13 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

14 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

15 worthiest   

应得某事物( worthy的最高级 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征

参考例句：

• We assure you that we are your worthiest business partner within tremendously changeable and competitive environment. 在当今激烈变化的竞争环境中，我们将是您值得信赖的成长伙伴。
• And with those hands, that grasp'd the heaviest club, Subdue my worthiest self. 让我用这一双曾经握过最沉重的武器的手，征服我最英雄的自己。

16 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

17 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

18 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。