美国国家公共电台 NPR Supreme Court Appears Ready To Let Cross Stand But Struggles With Church-State Test

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A giant, concrete cross standing¹ in the middle of a busy median strip is a symbol at the center of a constitutional fight. It's a fight over the concept of separation of church and state. The Founding Fathers included in the First Amendment² a ban on the government establishment of religion. So what counts as an establishment of religion? Today the U.S. Supreme³ Court takes up that issue. Here's NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁴: One-hundred years ago, bereaved⁵ mothers in Bladensburg, Md., decided⁶ to build a World War I memorial to honor their fallen sons. When they ran out of money, the American Legion took over the project. But roughly a decade later, the county took over the war memorial and its maintenance. Today it sits at a busy five-way intersection⁷. Now, listen to how lawyers in the case describe it. Michael Carvin represents the American Legion.

MICHAEL CARVIN: It evokes⁸ the cemeteries⁹ in Europe that became a universally acknowledged symbol of the World War I dead because of the European graveyards¹⁰.

TOTENBERG: Neal Katyal represents the Maryland Parks and Planning Commission that maintains the concrete cross.

NEAL KATYAL: The first thing you notice when you see the cross is these four words at the base of the monument - valor¹¹, endurance, courage, devotion.

MONICA MILLER¹²: I mean, that's silly.

TOTENBERG: Monica Miller is senior counsel for the American Humanist Association, which is challenging the cross.

MILLER: It's a giant, 40-foot Latin cross. There's no other meaning to the Latin cross other than Christianity. At the dedication¹³ ceremony, they underscored this fact by calling it a Calvary Cross, by evoking¹⁴ this message of Jesus Christ.

TOTENBERG: Fred Edwords first saw the cross years ago.

FRED EDWORDS: I happened to be driving through Bladensburg, and there it was. And it blatantly¹⁵ looked like it was on government land. I mean, it was on a highway median. And I thought, what is that doing there?

TOTENBERG: He and the Humanist Association asked the Maryland Parks Commission to move the cross to a private location and to stop using taxpayer¹⁶ money to maintain it. The parks commission said no. And a federal appeals court ruled that the cross should be moved. That upset some of the descendants of the 49 men whose names are on the memorial. Alvergia Guyton never knew her uncle. But as a child, she used to talk to the photo of her uncle that her mother kept in the living room.

ALVERGIA GUYTON: I feel its history, and the younger generation should know what has happened. And when they start taking down things, they miss all of this. So I'm very sad about that.

TOTENBERG: That won't happen until and unless the Supreme Court says so. The odds¹⁷ are that the court will allow the cross to stand, the question is what the court's opinion will say about the future. And even the lawyers defending the cross don't agree on what the standard should be. The parks commission's Katyal will tell the justices that they don't have to break new legal ground because this is an easy case.

KATYAL: The law has never been that a government agency cannot display a religious symbol.

TOTENBERG: Indeed, U.S. dollar bills say in God we trust. There are prayers at the opening of legislative¹⁸ sessions. Even the Supreme Court chamber¹⁹ itself is adorned²⁰ by a frieze²¹ of Moses holding the Ten Commandments - though, only commandments six through ten, the ones considered most secular²², are visible.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Oyez, oyez, oyez.

TOTENBERG: Not to mention the invocation of God as the Supreme Court opens each public session.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: God save the United States and this honorable court.

TOTENBERG: That, however, is not the argument the American Legion and the Trump²³ administration are making. They want a sharp break with the many decisions of the past 50 years. For most of that time, the court has used a variety of tests - is the purpose of the contested symbol or program religious or not? Does it entangle²⁴ government with religion? Does the government's action appear to endorse²⁵ religion?

But conservatives on and off the Supreme Court have been pushing something called the coercion²⁶ test, the idea being that public expressions of religion or taxpayer support for religious entities²⁷ are constitutional, unless they coerce²⁸ religious minorities into believing something that's against their principles. Today the American Legion's Carvin will tell the justices the test should be whether a religious minority has been tangibly²⁹ hurt.

CARVIN: So religious speech is presumptively valid³⁰, except in the rare cases where it constitutes proselytization.

TOTENBERG: Anything else, he maintains, would mean a hostility³¹ to religion and discrimination against religion.

Monica Miller of the American Humanist Association.

MILLER: It's scary. I think their real motive³² is they want prayers back in school. I think they want Bible readings. You know, as long as it's optional, funding to parochial schools - I'm sure that's one of the motivating factors.

TOTENBERG: We drove out to the cross to see for ourselves what it looks like.

Oh, my goodness. There it is.

It is big. But in truth, it's more grungy than grand - the concrete is crumbling³³, a canvas tarp is strapped³⁴ to the top to try to protect it from the rain. Lawyer Katyal, who's defending the cross, ruefully points out how unreligious the setting is.

KATYAL: Next to it is Kelley's Muffler Shop (ph). The shop has this huge sign that says 301-HOT-RIDE for calls.

TOTENBERG: But the most prominent feature on the block is the big, orange King's Pawn³⁵ Shop (ph) sign.

Hey there. So I'm doing a story about the cross.

We went in, and the store clerk told us that people find their way to the pawnshop using the cross as their guide.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: They know where we are because of that because that been there for a long time. I mean, it don't bother nobody. I don't know why they try to take it down.

TOTENBERG: Fred Edwords, who helped bring the cross challenge, concedes that his objections may seem small now. But, he says, if you don't object to small incursions on your liberties...

EDWORDS: People will use them as a precedent³⁶ to make another abuse and another one. And the other ones will be big, and you'll feel them. But it'll be too late.

TOTENBERG: A decision in the case is expected by summer. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOLLOWED BY GHOSTS' "THROUGH LEADEN CLOUDS")

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 bereaved   

adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物）

参考例句：

• The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved. 这个仪式对于那些新近丧失亲友的人来说是一种折磨。
• an organization offering counselling for the bereaved 为死者亲友提供辅导的组织

6 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。

7 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

8 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

9 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

10 graveyards   

墓地( graveyard的名词复数 )； 垃圾场； 废物堆积处； 收容所

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• "And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上，万古青蒙蒙。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

11 valor   

n.勇气，英勇

参考例句：

• Fortitude is distinct from valor.坚韧不拔有别于勇猛。
• Frequently banality is the better parts of valor.老生常谈往往比大胆打破常规更为人称道。

12 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

13 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

14 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

15 blatantly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• Safety guidelines had been blatantly ignored. 安全规章被公然置之不顾。
• They walked grandly through the lobby, blatantly arm in arm, pretending they were not defeated. 他们大大方方地穿过门厅，故意炫耀地挎着胳膊，假装他们没有被打败。

16 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

17 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

18 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

19 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

20 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

21 frieze   

n.(墙上的)横饰带，雕带

参考例句：

• The Corinthian painter's primary ornamental device was the animal frieze.科林斯画家最初的装饰图案是动物形象的装饰带。
• A careful reconstruction of the frieze is a persuasive reason for visiting Liverpool. 这次能让游客走访利物浦展览会，其中一个具有说服力的原因则是壁画得到了精心的重建。

22 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

23 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。

24 entangle   

vt.缠住，套住；卷入，连累

参考例句：

• How did Alice manage to entangle her hair so badly in the brambles?爱丽丝是怎么把头发死死地缠在荆棘上的？
• Don't entangle the fishing lines.不要让钓鱼线缠在一起。

25 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

26 coercion   

n.强制，高压统治

参考例句：

• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions.既不诱供也不逼供。
• He paid the money under coercion.他被迫付钱。

27 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

28 coerce   

v.强迫，压制

参考例句：

• You can't coerce her into obedience.你不能强制她服从。
• Do you think there is any way that we can coerce them otherwise?你认为我们有什么办法强迫他们不那样吗？

29 tangibly   

adv.可触摸的，可触知地，明白地

参考例句：

• Suddenly the problem of future loomed tangibly for me. 突然，前途的问题明确地出现在我眼前。 来自辞典例句
• Virtue is tangibly rewarded. 善行得到具体的报答。 来自互联网

30 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

31 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

32 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

33 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

34 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

36 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。