美国国家公共电台 NPR Supreme Court: Cross Can Stand On Public Land In Separation Of Church And State Case

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The U.S. Supreme¹ Court ruled this morning that a 40-foot cross in the state of Maryland on public land can stay. Here's the backstory. The cross was built in 1925 and has served as a World War I memorial for almost a hundred years. Bereaved² mothers in Bladensburg, Md., decided³ to build the memorial to honor their fallen sons. When they ran out of money, the American Legion took over the project.

But by the 1930s, a local parks commission had taken over the war memorial and the responsibility for its maintenance, but that meant taxpayer⁴ money was going to that maintenance. A lower court ruled the cross was unconstitutional. Today, though, the Supreme Court reversed that ruling. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg is at the Supreme Court and joins us now.

Good morning, Nina.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: Explain what you know of the court's decision.

TOTENBERG: Well, the American Humanist Association wanted the cross moved to private land and funded privately⁶, and the court said it didn't have to do that. Justice Samuel Alito wrote for a seven-justice majority in this case. And he began by summarizing what happened in World War II, how soldiers buried there, they put a cross on them. And they also put Stars of David. But the image that parents had in their mind and spouses⁷ had in their mind were these rows and rows of crosses. And he said that, therefore, it is not only a Christian⁸ symbol. He said the fact that the cross is undoubtedly¹⁰ a Christian symbol should not blind one to everything else that the Bladensburg cross has come to represent - a symbolic¹¹ resting place for ancestors who never returned home, a place for the community to gather and honor all veterans and their sacrifices for this nation and a historical landmark¹². For many, he said, destroying or defacing the cross or moving it would not be a neutral act and would not further the ideals of respect and tolerance¹³ embodied¹⁴ in the First Amendment¹⁵ guaranteed of protection of religion.

So that was his decision for the court - speaking for the court majority, but not everybody agreed with everything that he wrote.

MARTIN: Right. And they made that clear because I understand there was an exceptional amount of writing associated with this case.

TOTENBERG: Yeah. There were six - I think, six separate concurring¹⁶ opinions. Justices Thomas and Gorsuch didn't agree with almost anything that Alito said. They agreed with the bottom line, but Thomas said he doesn't think the First Amendment protection for religion - for religious neutrality applies to states. And Gorsuch said he thought the whole case should've been dismissed because the American Humanist Association didn't have standing¹⁷ to challenge this.

But the others did - and they have - I think there's - I haven't counted up, but I think there's probably more than a hundred pages of writing in this. But essentially¹⁸, I think they agree - everybody agreed with the bottom line; that it's too late to go back and undo⁹ these kinds of very special kinds of monuments that are - that have a religious symbol.

MARTIN: You mentioned the dissenters²⁰, Justice Ginsburg and Sotomayor. Did they have anything notable to say here?

TOTENBERG: Well, Ginsburg actually gave her dissent¹⁹ from the bench, which is a mark that you really care about this, that you think this is important. And she said that the court today erodes²¹ the neutrality principle that we've had in the past, diminishing precedent²² that serves to preserve that neutrality. The Latin cross is the foremost symbol of the Christian faith, she said, embodying²³ the central theological claim of Christianity, that the son of God died on the cross, that he rose from the dead and that his death and resurrection offer the possibility of eternal life. It's not emblematic²⁴ of any other faith. And by maintaining this cross on a public highway, the state places Christianity above other faiths and conveys a message of exclusion²⁵ to non-Christians - nearly 30% of the U.S. population - telling them they are outsiders, not full members of the political community.

MARTIN: Lastly, Nina, I mean, what does this ruling mean practically speaking? Can someone just put up a cross on public land now?

TOTENBERG: I think not. I think this is an opinion that the majority of the court agreed with. And not just five members of the court, but seven members of the Court ultimately said this - upheld this. And it's based on history and tradition and seeing some sort of a difference between the Latin cross as a Christian symbol versus²⁶ the Latin cross as a symbol of the dead.

MARTIN: NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.

Thank you so much.

TOTENBERG: Thank you.

1 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。

2 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

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

10 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

11 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

12 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

13 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

14 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 concurring   

同时发生的，并发的

参考例句：

• Concurring with expectations, the degree of polymorphism was highest in the central. 正如所料，多型性程度在中部种群中最高。
• The more an affect arises from a number of causes concurring together, the greater it is. 同时凑合起来以激起一个情感的原因愈多，则这个情感将必愈大。

17 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。

18 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。

19 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

20 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

21 erodes   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的第三人称单数 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The sea erodes the rock. 海水侵蚀岩石。
• The sea erodes the land. 海洋侵蚀陆地。

22 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。

23 embodying   

v.表现( embody的现在分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• Every instrument constitutes an independent contract embodying a payment obligation. 每张票据都构成一份独立的体现支付义务的合同。 来自口语例句
• Fowth, The aesthetical transcendency and the beauty embodying the man's liberty. \" 第四部分：审美的超越和作为人类自由最终体现的“美”。 来自互联网

24 emblematic   

adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性

参考例句：

• The violence is emblematic of what is happening in our inner cities. 这种暴力行为正标示了我们市中心贫民区的状况。
• Whiteness is emblematic of purity. 白色是纯洁的象征。 来自辞典例句

25 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

26 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。