The year 2004 was a presidential election year and one of the most hotly discussed topics was "red states" vs. "blue states." Red states voted for George W. Bush. Blue states voted for John Kerry. After the election, newspapers printed maps of the States, where each state was colored according to its favored candidate: The map was a wide swath of red, with blue states clustered in the Northeast, along the West Coast, and in the urban Midwest.
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筆者は去年のクリスマスイブに、ニューオリンズの近くで開かれたたき火のイベントに参加した。高さ3メートル以上ある木組みにガソリンをかけて燃やすというものだったが… |
The United States is not a homogeneous country. It's true that no matter where one goes, one is bound to see near-identical highways, malls and town centers with near-identical stores and restaurants, but that does not mean that the patrons of these places share similar views.
I've lived in three blue states - New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York - and have long considered myself to be of Northeastern stock. It's hard to pinpoint what this means, but now that I've started traveling to the South, I'm getting some idea of what it doesn't mean.
Some cultural differences are easy to understand: food, architecture and speech. I've enjoyed the rich and spicy Cajun/Creole cooking of New Orleans and the grits and biscuits for breakfast in Alabama. I've seen grand antebellum mansions with sweeping staircases and imposing columns, as well as sad, run-down shacks of former slaves who broke their backs supporting the plantations. I've giggled upon hearing people say "Y'all" or "You'uns" or "Youse" - all forms of the word "you" that I've never uttered.
These factors, while interesting, are not as intriguing to me as the deep differences I've perceived in the notion of personal freedom and responsibility. Never before have I had the feeling that in the Northeast, citizens are protected - and bound - by laws. In the South, individuals have more personal freedom, but at higher risk.
For example, in both Alabama and Louisiana, I've seen many billboards advertising the sale of fireworks. New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York have some of the toughest anti-fireworks laws in the country, prohibiting general consumers from purchasing even sparklers. On Christmas Eve, my boyfriend and I attended a public bonfire event near New Orleans where wooden towers at least 3 1/2 meters high were built, then doused with gasoline, and set on fire. No warnings were given to passersby as flames shot up. Fireworks were lit that zoomed past people standing nearby. It was exciting, but undeniably dangerous, and we couldn't imagine such an event being held in Boston.
Similarly, we were shocked at the number of drive-through bars. That's right, there exist bars where one can drive up to a window, buy a cocktail, and drive away! Although it's apparently illegal to drink while driving, it's up to the individual to not get drunk and to not endanger others. Again, this is completely unheard of in the states in which I've lived.
The differences extend to the workplace, as well. Alabama and Louisiana are "Right to Work" states; New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York aren't. "Right to Work" means that citizens have the right to take a job without joining a local labor union. The individual decides whether or not to join.
Who would have thought that this concept extends even to personal finance? A colleague told me that when he bought his house in New York, there were at least three lawyers and countless other officials present when he signed the papers, but when he bought a home in the South, closing on the deal involved little more than a smile and a handshake.
I can't claim to know all the differences between the North and the South - much less the East and the West - and I certainly can't explain it in this small space. There's a lot more variety to the United States than Walmart, McDonalds, Starbucks and Coca-Cola would lead us to believe. Even though I've lived in the United States for 30 years, as a dyed-in-the-wool Northeasterner, I have not yet scratched the surface of this diverse country.
Shukan ST: March 4, 2005
(C) All rights reserved
- presidential election
- 大統領選
- red states
- 赤い州(共和党支持の州)
- blue states
- 青い州(民主党支持の州)
- favored
- 支持した
- candidate
- 候補
- was a wide swath of 〜
- 〜が広がっていた
- clustered in 〜
- 〜にかたまった
- urban Midwest
- 中西部の都市部
- homogeneous
- 単一な
- no matter where one goes, one is bound to 〜
- どこに行っても〜する
- near-identical
- ほぼ同じような
- malls
- ショッピングモール
- patrons
- 利用者
- 〜 stock
- 〜系統
- pinpoint 〜
- 〜を正確に述べる
- architecture
- 建築
- speech
- 話し方
- Cajun/Creole cooking
- ケージャン・クレオール料理(フランスやスペインの影響を受けた料理)
- grits
- ゆでた粗挽きのトウモロコシ
- grand antebellum mansions
- 南北戦争前の大邸宅
- sweeping staircases
- 大きな階段
- imposing columns
- 立派な柱
- run-down shacks
- 荒廃した掘っ立て小屋
- broke their backs
- 汗水たらして働いた
- (have)giggled upon 〜
- 〜してくすっと笑った
- (have)never uttered
- 口にしたことがない
- while 〜
- 〜だが
- intriguing
- 興味深い
- (have)perceived
- 気付いた
- notion
- 概念
- (are)bound(by 〜)
- 〜に縛られる
- billboards
- 看板
- anti-fireworks
- 花火禁止
- prohibiting general consumers from 〜
- 一般の消費者が〜するのを禁じて
- sparklers
- 線香花火
- bonfire
- たき火
- (were)doused with 〜
- 〜がかけられた
- (were)set on fire
- 火が付けられた
- passersby
- 通行人
- flames shot up
- 炎が噴き上がった
- were lit
- 火が付けられた
- zoomed past 〜
- 〜の前を勢いよく通り過ぎた
- undeniably
- 明らかに
- drive-through bars
- ドライブスルーの飲み屋
- (is)up to 〜 to 〜
- 〜するのは〜次第だ
- endanger 〜
- 〜を危険な目に遭わせる
- extend to 〜, as well
- 〜にも及ぶ
- Right to Work
- 労働権(州法で労働者の組合加入は義務ではないと定められている)
- labor union
- 労働組合
- finance
- 財務
- papers
- 書類
- closing on the deal
- 契約を結ぶこと
- claim to 〜
- 〜すると言い切る
- much less 〜
- ましてや〜
- Walmart
- 大手スーパー
- dyed-in-the-wool
- 根っからの
- have not yet scratched the surface of 〜
- 〜についてまだほとんど知らない
- diverse
- 多様な
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