老外直言：上帝车牌 无神论者

Life\- a clear reference to the pro-life (anti-choice) side of the perennially passionate abortion debate in the U.S. (The latter case prompted a lawsuit by pro-choice groups.) Mr Miles' success in retaining his \victory for free speech. But the use of the backs of automobiles to flash simple-minded slogans about complex issues doesn't give us much to cheer about.

The American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org) is a private

nationwide organization of lawyers that was set up in 1920 to defend Americans in the exercise of the freedoms

guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, the amendments to the US Constitution that declare what government may not do. Elected and appointed authorities at all levels tend to overstep the limits

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of their power from time to time. There are many ways to bring them

backsintosline, but discipline comes most directly from the courts,

especially the Supreme Court. For the courts to act, however, they must have lawsuits to consider. That isswheresthe ACLU enters the picture: If you feel that your rights have been violated, you can take your problem to the ACLU in your state. ACLU lawyers will advise you on how to proceed, and may agree to

represent you in court. Money for ACLU lawyers comes entirely from the dues paid by the ordinary citizens who are supporting members of the organization, as well as from private foundations. For this public-spirited work the ACLU is widely admired.

And widely loathed! Its

philosophical commitment to minority

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rights means that it is always offending one or another part of the population. Its more reasoned critics assert that the ACLU's exclusive focus on rights leads it to undermine the ties that bind society together. Suppose, for example, that a successful ACLU suit expands the freedom of expression in public schools - but at the same time makes it harder for teachers to control students. Freedom of expression is well served.What about education?

老外直言：上帝车牌 无神论者

在美国，几乎没有什么事情像上帝和私家轿车那样神圣，但是最近，在佛罗里达州这三件事扯到了一起，制造出一场虽为时不长但却很热烈的争论。

今年2月11日，佛罗里达州高速公路安全局向斯蒂文·迈尔斯先生发出了一封信。迈尔斯是电气工程师，还兼任“佛罗里达州无神论者协会”副会长。信中要求他交回写着“无神论者”几个字的车牌，其原因是这几个字“招人烦”。管理局这样做是对其收到的一封

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信所做出的反应，该信来自10个忧心忡忡的公民，他们给官员写信要求把该车牌从迈尔斯的车上拆下来。迈尔斯车牌上的字自1986年就有了。虽说这么多年来在这个“圣经地带”的州也有其他的一些开车人对这块车牌表示过厌恶，但还没人试图通过州政府的力量将它拆下来。

作为增加税收的一种方式，美国多数州都允许车主交点钱就可以自己选择车牌上的字母和数字。此种车牌被称为“虚荣车牌”，因为车牌上的内容往往用来支撑车主的自尊。在过去3年中，通过一个一个牌子的审核，佛州政府将57个这种虚荣车牌列入了黑名单，这些车牌上的字或短语的确是冒犯他人的，其中有“神经病”、“你妈妈”、“吸毒者”、“外国杀手”、“上帝之子”。被禁止的还有一个是“红脖子”，这是一种不友好的对未受过教育的南方非白人男子的固有称呼(这些人终日在田中劳作因而脖子被晒得红红的)。对于州政府来说，禁止发放这类带有潜在的冒犯他人内容的车牌并非罕见，但要收回已发放的车牌，对当局来说可是不寻常的。 然而迈尔斯并没有遵从高速公路安全局的要求，而是去求助于美国自由民盟(ACLU)这个众所周知的监督美国自由表达的机构，他想捍卫美国宪法第一修正案给予自己的言论自由，正如他所说，“当你知道美国是以言论自由为基础的，但实际上却又限制很严，这真是不和谐”。该机构在佛州的执行主任霍瓦德·西蒙将州政府企图收回车牌视作“荒谬”的。ACLU的涉足引发了媒体的极大兴趣，此事得

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