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合衆国とアメリカは別の国?
アメリカは好きだが戦争に反対という人々は、
「合衆国」と「アメリカ」をまるで別々の国のように
イメージしているのかもしれない。
So far from the U.S. ...
It was time for speeches in the English conversation class. Many spoke with detailed knowledge about American movies and music. Others mentioned a trip to Disneyland or a rock concert.
Junko spoke about studying English in the United States. She had made friends with another foreign student, a young man from Taiwan. But halfway through the course, he was forced to return home for military service. He told her that, by Taiwanese law, every young man had to serve in the armed forces. Junko said she had no idea why such a system was necessary, and the young man had never explained.
Since no other student seemed to know, I suggested that Taiwan might feel threatened. Junko was surprised again. "Threatened? Who is threatening Taiwan?" she asked.
One student thought it could be the United States, because it was such a violent country. The discussion continued. Another student said that Japan would never threaten others or be threatened by others because the Japanese Constitution prohibits war. Yet another commented that she did not like U.S. military bases in Japan, but that the United States would protect the country in case of attack.
I wrote the above points on the board and we took a vote. The majority agreed that all were true. Apparently, these university students knew more about the products of a distant pop culture in America than about the political realities that govern their own part of the world.
Besides being naive and poorly informed, they also seemed to be unaware of the contradictions in Japan's the international relations. For nearly 40 years, Japan has been praying for peace while paying for war - paying to help U.S. troops fight in wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, while benefiting economically from many of these conflicts. Surveys showed 80 percent of the Japanese public opposed to a U.S. attack on Iraq, but the Japanese government fully supported it.
I was also struck by the wide gap in student comments between what seemed to be two entirely different countries: "America" and "The United States."
Many Japanese admire America's popular culture and powerful ideals. The same people are repelled by the international violence they associate with the United States, except when it benefits Japan. A young Japanese participant in an anti-war demonstration said in a TV interview that he liked America but was against the war. Again came the litany: He loved Disneyland, American movies and music, and even smoked American cigarettes.
His image of the country seemed to be made of very different elements. Imagine cute and lovable Micky and Minnie Mouse, dropping bombs and killing lots of innocent women and children. A former president of Mexico, which shares a border with the United States, once lamented that his country was "... so far from God, so close to the United States!" For many Japanese, the dilemma seems to be: So far from the United States, so close to America!
Shukan ST: April 4, 2003
(C) All rights reserved
- far from 〜
- 〜から遠い
- with detailed knowledge
- こと細かく
- mentioned
- 述べた
- halfway through the course
- 学期の途中で
- was forced to 〜
- 〜せざるをえなくなった
- military service
- 兵役
- serve
- 勤める
- armed forces
- 軍隊
- feel threatened
- 脅威を感じる
- could be 〜
- 〜かもしれない
- Japanese Constitution
- 日本国憲法
- prohibits
- 禁じる
- U.S. military bases in Japan
- 在日米軍基地
- in case of attack
- 攻撃を受けた場合
- took a vote
- 決を採った
- majority
- 大多数
- Apparently 〜
- どうやら〜のようだ
- products
- 産物
- political realities
- 政治情勢
- govern
- 左右する
- their own part of the world
- 日本のこと
- naive
- 世間知らずの
- poorly informed
- ほとんど情報を持ち合わせない
- be unaware of 〜
- 〜に気付かない
- contradictions
- 矛盾
- international relations
- 国際関係
- has been praying for 〜
- 〜を祈ってきた
- help U.S. troops fight
- 米軍の戦闘を支援する
- Persian Gulf
- ペルシャ湾
- benefiting economically
- 利益を得る
- conflicts
- 紛争
- Surveys showed 〜
- 世論調査によると〜だ
- was also struck by 〜
- 〜にもまた強い印象を受けた
- what seemed to be two entirely different countries
- まったく異なる2つの国のように思えるもの
- powerful ideals
- 力強い理想
- are repelled by 〜
- 〜に嫌悪感を抱いている
- associate with 〜
- 〜を連想する
- participant
- 参加者
- Again came the litany
- また同じ話の繰り返しだ
- elements
- 要素
- cute
- かわいい
- lovable
- 愛すべき
- dropping bombs
- 爆弾を投下する
- innocent
- 罪のない
- former president
- 前大統領
- shares a border with 〜
- 〜と国境を接する
- lamented
- 嘆いた
- dilemma
- ジレンマ
- close to 〜
- 〜に近い