VOA标准英语10月-Arab American Voters' Concerns Same as All Americ

Arab American voters say they share the same concerns as other segments of American society. They are worried about jobs and the economy, the war in Iraq, healthcare and education. But many have also expressed concerns about the way the words "Arab" and "Muslim" have been used negatively in the race for the White House. VOA's Margaret Besheer reports from Brooklyn, New York, where Arab American voters recently gathered to hear from local candidates, as well as representatives from the Obama and McCain campaigns ahead of next week's election.

More than three million Americans are of Arab descent. The majority are Christians¹, only about a quarter are Muslim.

According to U.S. Census² data from 2000, Arab Americans have large communities in five key states in the upcoming presidential election - Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
　

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute (file)

The head of the Washington-based Arab American Institute, Jim Zogby, said Arab Americans are concerned about the same issues that all Americans are worried about.

He said, "Our concerns are like the rest of the country's concerns. We just finished a poll of Arab Americans and 80 percent said the economy is their number one concern."

That poll also found the war in Iraq, health care, gas prices, national security, education and taxes to be important issues to Arab American voters.

At the election event in Brooklyn, members of the large local Arab American community echoed those concerns.

One of them said, "My concern is when are we going to have universal health insurance for our community and every community in the United States? My concern is about education - I have three kids in college and one in the public schools. What is going to happen to our children in the future? I have a son who is a veteran - he just came back from Iraq. No one came out and said thank you to him. No one offered him any benefits, no one offered him any job."

Nearly half of Arab American voters are registered Democrats³, and in a Zogby International poll conducted last month, Senator Barack Obama led Senator John McCain by 14 percent among Arab Americans. That support was strongly reflected among the about 200 people - Republicans and Democrats alike - who turned out in Brooklyn to hear their local candidates and representatives from the Obama and McCain campaigns.

One of them said, "I'm a registered Republican, but I'm voting for Barack Obama this year. I just feel his positions on many, many things - whether its domestic policy or foreign policy - are sort of more in tune⁴ with what I would like to see.

Obama also has support among newly naturalized Arab Americans, including one who said, "I'm so glad this year I can vote, because I like Obama and I like his ideas too."

But one thing that does trouble Arab Americans is the way the words "Arab" and "Muslim" have been used so negatively in the presidential campaign.

False rumors⁵ that Senator Obama is a Muslim or has ties to terrorists have been making the rounds for months on the Internet, news channels and elsewhere.

At a recent McCain rally, one woman told the candidate she had heard that Senator Obama is an Arab. Mr. McCain replied, "No ma'am, he's a decent family man and citizen" - leaving many Arab Americans to wonder if that meant they are not.
　

Colin Powell, 10 Oct 2008

Only recently did a prominent political figure - former secretary of state Colin Powell - say out loud what many Arab Americans have been thinking - what would be wrong if Senator Obama was a Muslim? And why shouldn't a Muslim American child believe that they could be president one day?

An Arab American commented on that. He said, "The fact that Colin Powell actually came out and said this was, I think, amazing, especially being a Republican, coming out and saying what he said, really impressed us. He is actually the first politician to come out and say something within this nature. Otherwise, unfortunately, it has been politically okay to say, for Muslims to be discriminated⁶ against in this country - and it's not okay."

They said that just because they are Muslim or Arab does not make them any less American or less worried about the direction this country is going. Many acknowledge that their vote is the best way to let their voices be heard.

1 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

2 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

5 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？