特朗普或为复制尼克松攻略 乱世强调“法律与秩序”

AS IT IS 2016-07-23 Trump¹ Follows Nixon’s Lead in Calling for Law and Order 特朗普或为复制尼克松攻略 乱世强调“法律与秩序” 

In 1968, Richard Nixon accepted the Republican presidential nomination² promising³ a war against crime.

Forty-eight years later, Donald Trump did the same thing as he accepted the Republican nomination Thursday.

“I have a message to every last person threatening the peace on our streets, and the safety of our police: When I take the oath of office next year, I will restore law and order to our country,” Trump said.

But there are limits to what a president can do to reduce crime. Unlike in some countries, most policing in the United States is done by agencies controlled by local governments, not the federal government.

“Federal law enforcement handles less than 10 percent of crime,” said Jack⁴ McDevitt, director of the Northeastern University Institute on Race and Justice.

Nixon and Trump paint scary picture

In his speech, Trump, like Nixon before him, painted a frightening picture of the crime threat facing America.

”Decades of progress made in bringing down crime are now being reversed by [the Obama] administration’s rollback of criminal enforcement,” Trump said. “Homicides last year increased by 17 percent in America’s 50 largest cities. That’s the largest increase in 25 years.”

Nixon talked about a “wave of crime” victimizing Americans.

The website Factcheck.org said Trump is correct to report an increase in homicide rates. However, it said that law enforcement experts say it is too early to say this is a trend. The website said crime rates are still far lower than in the 1990s.

Trump has not yet offered details on how a Trump administration would fight crime.

Bill Clinton’s anti-crime program

One of the largest federal anti-crime programs came from Democratic President Bill Clinton. He is the husband of current Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The 1994 crime bill that Clinton helped push through Congress increased penalties for federal crimes, especially drug violations⁵. It also called for adding 100,000 new police officers with federal funds.

By 2005, a congressional report said the program had added 88,000 police officers. It found the program added about 1 percent to total local spending on police and “contributed to a 1.3 percent decline in the overall crime rate.”

Hillary Clinton has said adding police was a good thing. But, she said the bill went too far by requiring long sentences for non-violent drug offenses⁶. She said it has led to the imprisonment⁷ of too many African-Americans.

Other similarities between Trump and Nixon

There are other similarities between what Nixon said in 1968 and what Trump said Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Republican National Convention.

Both men said their plans would help people of all races.

Nixon said: “And to those who say that law and order is the code word for racism⁸, there and here is a reply: Our goal is justice for every American.”

Trump said: “Every action I take, I will ask myself: does this make life better for young Americans in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Ferguson who have the same right to live out their dreams as any other child in America?”

The four cities he mentioned have a large population of African-Americans.

Racial tensions in the 1960s and Today

America struggled with racial tensions in the 1960s and still does today.

In the 1960s, there were race riots in some American cities. Some of the reasons were a lack of jobs, charges of violent police treatment of African-Americans and the assassination⁹ of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.

A 1968 report from the Kerner Commission said, “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white -- separate and unequal.”

In 2015 and 2016, the Black Lives Matter movement has protested police shootings of African-Americans. This month, there were killings¹⁰ of five police officers in Dallas, Texas, and three police officers in Baton¹¹ Rouge¹², Louisiana.

Mass killings, connected to terrorism, in San Bernardino, California, in 2014, and last month in Orlando, Florida, have added to unease among Americans.

Words in This Story

oath – n. an official promise by a person who has been elected to a public office to fulfill¹³ the duties according to the law

restore – v. to put or bring something back into existence or use

reverse – v. to change your decision or opinion about something

homicide – n. murder

trend – n. a general direction

officer – n. a member of a police force

decline – n. a reduction

society – n. people in a particular group

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 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。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

6 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

7 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

10 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

11 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

12 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

13 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。