美国社会热点/名家漫画赏析W.D.White(美)

　　American society is being roiled by the controversy over homosexual marriage. Should US courts follow the Canadian (and Massachusetts) lead and declare marriage between people of the same sex a right? Will there be a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to people of different sexes?

　　And does the Republican Party plan to use the issue to get out①the conservative vote in November 2004 -- and to encourage socially conservative working-class Democrats to stay home?

　　Well, that goes without saying. GOP strategists knowswheresto turn to get the message out too. Visitors to the US are often puzzled by the profusion of "televangelists", preachers who appear regularly on TV, have large and devoted followings, and generally represent a rather extreme anti-traditional and anti-intellectual form of Protestant Christianity. Their preferred style, both of speaking and dress, is that favored by game show hosts -- no accident, since the televangelized are often ardent fans of daytime TV, with its big-prize game shows, melodramatic talk shows and lurid soap operas. And any self-respecting TV preacher has at his side a chirpy, heavily made-up female with big hair, to echo his sentiments and act as a sort of cheerleader.

　　David Horsey presents such a pair in today's cartoon. They are here to argue that the condemnation of homosexuality in the Old Testament legal code should end any moves towards recognizing gay marriage. But if homosexuality is an abomination to be uprooted, what about the many, many other abominations denounced in the Jewish scriptures? The televangelist and his aide cite a few, along with references to Biblical chapter and verse -- a real verbal tic②of these (usually southern) American Protestants.

　　　①“同性恋大逆不道，瞧，圣经说得多对呀！”②“因此，不能让同性恋婚姻合法化，我们都需要生活在《旧约》的规矩之下。”③“让我们处死那些在安息日工作的人。”引自《出埃及记》第35章第2点④“而且宣布吃贝类大逆不道。”引自《利未记》第11章第10点(碗上的字是很多蒸蛤蜊)⑤“还要禁止穿用两种纤维做成的衣服。”引自《利未记》第19章第10点(衣料牌上写着棉与化纤混纺)⑥“还不许修剪胡子。”引自《利未记》第19章第27点⑦“还要恢复奴隶制。”引自《利未记》第25章第44点⑧“亲爱的,我认为在沃尔玛连锁店的那些同胞们正在实践‘恢复奴隶制’那一条。””