美国国家公共电台 NPR A Bill To Make Every American Bear Arms, In The Novel 'Big Guns'

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now we want to tell you about a fictional¹ treatment of a serious policy debate - guns. Since the Parkland shooting and massive demonstrations² around the country led by a vocal³ group of teenagers, advocates for gun control hope this may be a turning point for them. But if a bracing⁴ satire⁵ by a former congressman⁶ is accurate, then maybe not.

The author is Steve Israel. He is a Democrat⁷. He represented New York's 3rd Congressional District until he decided⁸ not to run again in 2016. Steve Israel joins us now from our studios in New York. And we'll let him try to describe the crazy plot without giving too much away. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

STEVE ISRAEL: Well, thanks for having me on. Appreciate it.

MARTIN: All right, well, let me start, and then you can kind of pick up the thread here. The novel starts in Chicago. The mayor there wants to do something about the gun violence that's spiraling out of control. So he calls on other cities around the country to ban them. And in this little town on Long Island, the mayor there decides that she wants to do that. And then it becomes this battle royale. Go ahead. You pick it up from there.

ISRAEL: Well, the problem that this small-town mayor has is her town happens to have the summer residence of Otis Cogsworth, who is the owner of Cogsworth International Armaments. He is one of the largest gun manufacturers in America. And he decides he's going to use the gun lobby to pass a bill in Congress that mandates⁹ that every American must own and carry a gun with common-sense exceptions for minors¹⁰ under the age of 7.

MARTIN: Well, let me just read a passage from the point of view of the head of public relations for a big gun manufacturer. And you write, she gazed out a window toward the Capitol, already shimmering¹¹ in Washington's early morning heat. There was a time she'd been inspired by the site. Now, she thought of it merely as a massive cash register sheathed¹² in marble. She put money in. She took money out. OK. So Shakespeare you aren't, but (laughter)...

ISRAEL: (Laughter) I never pretended to be.

MARTIN: OK, but is it really that bad?

ISRAEL: You know, there's a common belief that the gun lobby pumps tons of money into the campaigns of candidates. It's really not that. It's the intensity¹³ of so-called gun voters. I remember talking to my colleagues after they voted against sensible things like no fly, no buy, which says that if you aren't allowed on an airplane, you shouldn't be able to get a military-style assault weapon. Or they voted against additional funding for research of gun violence.

And when we went onto the members-only elevator, which is one of the few places where you can speak confidentially¹⁴ to your colleagues, they would tell me they were ashamed of their votes. And I would say, well, why did you vote against those things? And the answer was, I can't go home to my district and face those NRA voters who will not forgive me for those votes. And that's why we're in the mess we're in.

MARTIN: So I do want to mention you don't just write snarky novels. You wrote a piece after the Parkland shooting encouraging teenagers to say, OK, you know, marching is one thing, but you can make a difference in competitive districts. And you pointed¹⁵ out...

ISRAEL: Exactly.

MARTIN: ...Some of those competitive districts. And I'm just wondering how you square that against the tone of this novel. I mean, one of the reviewers for Newsday, for example, said that, you know, harder to swallow is the book's relentless¹⁶ cynicism, which at times registers as sour, even cheap. "Big Guns" feels oddly resigned. And I have to ask you about that. Yes, it's a novel.

ISRAEL: (Laughter) Sure.

MARTIN: I get it. It's a satire. I get it. But it does have this feeling of there is nothing you can do. Nothing's going to change, ever. And how do you square that?

ISRAEL: Well, look, I could not write a book - whether it was satirical or not - that puts any kind of glow on this issue. The fact of the matter is that the United States' Congress has had opportunities to act to reduce gun violence. And on each and every occasion, it hasn't. The number one most-asked question in America after a mass shooting is when will Congress do something? I lived through it - over 32 mass shootings in my 16 years. And I decided to answer the question. And the best way that I can answer the question was from the inside, where it is most absurd. And the most honest way I could answer the question is to expose the truth with satire. Now, I could have done, I guess, a dry policy book explaining voter intensity among gun voters versus¹⁷ non-gun voters. But you know, other than my mom, I don't know that anybody would have bought that book.

MARTIN: (Laughter) I understand. I think the question I'm asking you, though...

ISRAEL: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...Is that I guess I was just struck by the optimism and the sense of mission...

ISRAEL: Right, right.

MARTIN: ...That you expressed in your op-ed...

ISRAEL: Yes.

MARTIN: ...Where you're telling these kids to, you know, go out here and make a difference, and this is how you can make a difference. And then I read your book...

ISRAEL: Yes.

MARTIN: ...Which seems to say that nothing matters. That is honestly what I was struck by.

ISRAEL: So after the Las Vegas shooting, I actually did a piece for The New York Times that the Times headlined "Nothing Will Change." And I explained why Congress will not act.

Now, since Parkland, I'm a little bit more hopeful, but my hopeful is tempered by 16 years of witnessing some of the reasons to be cynical¹⁸. And the point for these children - these kids - is this. It's very important to march - and I spoke¹⁹ at one of the marches - but they've got to march to the right places. They've got to go into what is a temporary alignment²⁰ right now of the most competitive congressional districts in the country in the upcoming midterm, where you have a pro-NRA incumbent²¹ who's being challenged by somebody who will take on the gun lobby. There are about 15 of those districts.

So my point is you can have hope, but you've got to be strategic. And we need to go into those districts, make the phone calls, knock on doors, make the case because if we can only win five of those 15 districts, that will make a change in Congress. And what do I mean by that? There is nothing more elucidating²² to a member of Congress than seeing his or her colleagues lose to an ideology²³. And when that happens - when they see members of Congress losing their election because these young people were able to motivate voters - you will not be surprised at how quickly those who remain in Congress will change their positions and maybe start voting on some measures that will reduce that gun violence.

MARTIN: Steve Israel is a former congressman from New York. His latest novel is "Big Guns."

Mr. Israel, thank you so much for speaking with us.

ISRAEL: Thanks so much.

1 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

4 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

5 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

10 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 shimmering   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
• The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句

12 sheathed   

adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖

参考例句：

• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour. 防弹车护有装甲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The effect of his mediation was so great that both parties sheathed the sword at once. 他的调停非常有效，双方立刻停战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

14 confidentially   

ad.秘密地，悄悄地

参考例句：

• She was leaning confidentially across the table. 她神神秘秘地从桌子上靠过来。
• Kao Sung-nien and Wang Ch'u-hou talked confidentially in low tones. 高松年汪处厚两人低声密谈。

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

17 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

18 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

19 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

20 alignment   

n.队列；结盟，联合

参考例句：

• The church should have no political alignment.教会不应与政治结盟。
• Britain formed a close alignment with Egypt in the last century.英国在上个世纪与埃及结成了紧密的联盟。

21 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

22 elucidating   

v.阐明，解释( elucidate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our ancient music appearance-sprite theory attained the perfect state by his elucidating. 经过嵇康的阐发，我国古代音乐形神理论终臻完备。 来自互联网
• Third, elucidating the vivid characters of Yangliuqing New Year Picture. 论述了杨柳青木版年画的鲜明的艺术风格。 来自互联网

23 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。