美国国家公共电台 NPR Sen. John McCain Reads From His Forthcoming Memoir, 'The Restless Wave'

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Senator John McCain is being treated for stage 4 brain cancer at his home in Arizona. It's more than 2,000 miles away from the U.S. Capitol building and the institution it houses, the U.S. Senate. But McCain is reflecting on his role there and within the Republican Party in a new book out at the end of this month. NPR has been granted permission by the publisher to share some of it with you now. Here's John McCain in his own words reading from "The Restless Wave."

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN MCCAIN: (Reading) I don't know how much longer I'll be here. Maybe I'll have another five years. Maybe with the advances in oncology they'll find new treatments for my cancer that will extend my life. Maybe I'll be gone before you hear this. My predicament is, well, rather unpredictable. But I'm prepared for either contingency¹, or at least I'm getting prepared. I have some things I'd like to take care of first, some work that needs finishing and some people I need to see. And I want to talk to my fellow Americans a little more, if I may.

(Reading) My fellow Americans, no association ever mattered more to me. We're not always right. We're impetuous and impatient and rush into things without knowing what we're really doing. We argue over little differences endlessly and exaggerate them into lasting² breaches³. We can be selfish and quick sometimes to shift the blame for our mistakes to others, but our country 'tis of thee.

(Reading) What great good we've done in the world, so much more good than harm. We served ourselves of course, but we helped make others free, safe and prosperous because we weren't threatened by other people's liberty and success. We need each other. We need friends in the world, and they need us. The bell tolls⁴ for us, my friends. Humanity counts on us, and we ought to take measured pride in that. We have not been an island. We were involved in mankind.

CORNISH: Senator McCain ends with a plea for civility.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MCCAIN: (Reading) Before I leave, I'd like to see our politics begin to return to the purposes and practices that distinguish our history from the history of other nations. I'd like to see us recover our sense that we are more alike than different. We're citizens of a republic made of shared ideals forged in a new world to replace the tribal⁵ enmities that tormented⁶ the old one. Even in times of political turmoil⁷ such as these, we share that awesome⁸ heritage and the responsibility to embrace it.

(Reading) Whether we think each other right or wrong in our views on the issues of the day, we owe each other our respect as so long as our character merits respect and as long as we share, for all of our differences, for all the rancorous debates that enliven and sometimes demean our politics, a mutual⁹ devotion to the ideals our nation was conceived to uphold - that all are created equal and liberty and equal justice are the natural rights of all. Those rights inhabit the human heart. And from there, though they may be assailed¹⁰, they can never be wrenched¹¹.

(Reading) I want to urge Americans for as long as I can to remember that this shared devotion to human rights is our truest heritage and our most important loyalty¹². (Reading) Then I'd like to go back to our valley and see the creek¹³ run after the rain and hear the cottonwoods whisper in the wind. I want to smell the rose-scented breeze and feel the sun on my shoulders. I want to watch the hawks¹⁴ hunt from the sycamore, and then take my leave, bound for a place near my old friend Chuck Larson in the cemetery¹⁵ on the Severn, back where it began.

CORNISH: That's Senator John McCain reading from his new book "The Restless Wave." With me now is NPR senior editor and correspondent Ron Elving. Ron, welcome back.

RON ELVING, BYLINE¹⁶: Good to be with you, Audie.

CORNISH: So you've read this book. Can you tell us a little bit even about the audio we just heard, the reference there to Chuck Larson?

ELVING: Chuck Larson was a classmate of John McCain's at the U.S. Naval¹⁷ Academy. And he is buried now in a cemetery quite close to the academy on the Severn River. And John McCain has asked to be brought back to that same cemetery and buried there as well.

CORNISH: So we haven't heard Senator McCain's voice in some time. What struck you as you listened?

ELVING: This is not the most robust¹⁸ version of Senator McCain's voice that we have heard when we think back on his campaigns and his time on the Senate. But it is enough of him that it will touch people, I think, in their memories. And for many it will bring a note of sadness. I think, though, we have to say that Senator McCain, in what he was saying here in this book, is he is talking about his own idealized version of America. It is a pay-on to that idea. He sees himself as personifying an America of the 20th century that he feels we may be saying goodbye to even as we prepare to say goodbye to him.

CORNISH: In his reflection, we also heard echoes of a July 2017 speech he gave on the Senate floor. And this was shortly after he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor¹⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MCCAIN: What greater cause could we hope to serve than helping²⁰ keep America the strong, aspiring²¹, inspirational beacon²² of liberty and defender²³ of the dignity of all human beings and their right to freedom and equal justice? That is the cause that binds²⁴ us and is so much more powerful and worthy²⁵ than the small differences that divide us.

CORNISH: Is that a message that actually resonates on Capitol Hill today?

ELVING: It does in the sense of its absence. It does not resonate in the sense of the experience people have on Capitol Hill today. The partisanship²⁶ that he decries²⁷ in his book and that he has railed against on many occasions in his time on Capitol Hill is perhaps worse than it ever has been, at least in anyone's living memory. And the parties have descended²⁸ in terms of their relations that there are very few personal friendships now across the aisle²⁹ in the House or in the Senate. John McCain was good friends with many Democrats³¹, among the Democrats actually wanted one of them, Joe Lieberman, a Democrat³⁰ from Connecticut, to be his running mate when he was nominated for president in 2008.

CORNISH: Ron, you've described this book as McCain resting his case. What is that case to your mind?

ELVING: To some degree it's a personal case for himself, for the decisions that he's made, for the mistakes that he's made. He is trying to explain why he did some of the things he did and taking responsibility for a number of those things. He's not really settling that many scores. People call it a tell-all. Well, that probably would disappoint those people who are expecting a lot of dirt in the book. But on the other hand, he is also resting his case for his vision of America - what it was, what he still believes it should be - a kind of beacon in the world. A vision he would associate, for example, more with Ronald Reagan than with the current administration.

CORNISH: John McCain of course was at one point the party nominee³². He is someone who has taken a lot of criticism from the far right of the party. Does he express any regret in this book? And if so, about what?

ELVING: Not about any of the things that he's been attacked for by the people you just described. He makes no bones about believing that Vladimir Putin was entirely³³ intent on harming Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016 with cooperation with what he calls the subcontractors at Wikileaks. He refers to Russian trolls. And he speaks again and again about what he sees as the destruction of American political values by such things as conservative talk radio and people on the Internet that he says ought to seek psychiatric help. So, no, he's not apologizing for any of the things that they didn't like.

CORNISH: Does he write as a person who sounds as though he is at home in his political party at this moment?

ELVING: He writes as a person who is at home in his chosen state, Arizona, at home with his family, at home and at peace with himself, but sadly not comfortable with where his party has gone on a range of issues from immigration to human rights to America's role in the world.

CORNISH: That's NPR's Ron Elving. Ron, thank you.

ELVING: Thank you, Audie.

1 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

2 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

3 breaches   

破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背

参考例句：

• He imposed heavy penalties for breaches of oath or pledges. 他对违反誓言和保证的行为给予严厉的惩罚。
• This renders all breaches of morality before marriage very uncommon. 这样一来，婚前败坏道德的事就少见了。

4 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 tormented   

饱受折磨的

参考例句：

• The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。
• He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。

7 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

9 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

10 assailed   

v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对

参考例句：

• He was assailed with fierce blows to the head. 他的头遭到猛烈殴打。
• He has been assailed by bad breaks all these years. 这些年来他接二连三地倒霉。 来自《用法词典》

11 wrenched   

v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。
• He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

13 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

14 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

15 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

16 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。

17 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

18 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

19 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

20 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

21 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

22 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

23 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

24 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

26 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

27 decries   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mr Basescu decries communism as criminal, but Bulgarian leaders only mumble. 巴塞斯库总统将共产主义比作犯罪，而对这个问题，保加利亚的领导人却避而不谈。 来自互联网
• A staunch materialist,he decries economy. 一个坚定的唯物主义者公开谴责经济。 来自互联网

28 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

29 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

30 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。

31 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》

32 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

33 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。