また別のSlippery Slope

トランプ氏の発言は米国内はおろか、共和党内でも批判を浴びています。突飛な考えではなく、本音を表したものだから危険だと警鐘をならしているOpEdがありました。そのタイトルがThe slippery slope to Trump’s proposed ban on Muslimsと先日紹介されていたslippery slopeが使われていました。意味をしっかり取らない多読は効果がないと英語教師はいいますが、情報を取る、語感を磨くという観点からは、たくさんいろいろな媒体に触れるのはいいことです。

The slippery slope to Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims
By E.J. Dionne Jr.

論者は米国内ではイスラム教を排除する土壌が生まれつつある現実を指摘しています。そう言えばブッシュ弟なども宗教対立を煽るような言動をして批判されていましたね。。。

Thus, Trump’s embrace of a religious test for entry to our country did not come out of nowhere. On the contrary, it simply brought us to the bottom of a slippery slope created by the ongoing exploitation of anti-Muslim feeling for political purposes.

You don’t have to reach far back in time to see why Trump figured he had the ideological space for his Muslim ban. Last month, it was Jeb Bush who introduced the idea of linking the rights of Syrian refugees to their religion. He said he was comfortable granting admission to “people like orphans and people who are clearly not going to be terrorists. Or Christians.” Asked how he’d determine who was Christian, he explained that “you can prove you’re a Christian.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) took a similar view, saying , “There is no meaningful risk of Christians committing acts of terror.”

Trump took limits on Muslim access to our country to their logical — if un-American and odious — conclusion. Vice President Biden said that Trump was serving up “a very, very dangerous brew,” but the brew has been steeping for a long time. This is why the “Ground Zero Mosque” episode is so instructive.

イスラム教排除の実例の最たるものが2010年の同時多発テロ跡地近くのモスク建設反対運動でした。テロ現場から2ブロック以上も離れていたにもかかわらず、大きな反対運動が起こってしまいました。トランプの発言が絵空事ではないのがアメリカの現状かもしれません。



締めの部分でslippery slopeの議論をOnce the door to bigotry is opened, it is very hard to shut.と別の表現で言い換えて再度危険性を訴えています。

You can’t be “just a little” intolerant of Muslims, any more than you can be “just a little” prejudiced against Catholics or Jews. Once the door to bigotry is opened, it is very hard to shut.