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1ARedLightforScofflawsLaw-and-orderisthelongest-runningandprobablythebest-lovedpoliticalissueinU.S.history.Yetitispainfullyapparent2thatmillionsofAmericanswhowouldneverthinkofthemselvesaslawbreakers,letalonecriminals,aretakingincreasinglibertieswiththelegalcodesthataredesignedtoprotectandnourishtheirsociety.3Indeed,therearemomentstoday—amidoutlawlitter,taxcheating,illicitnoiseandmotorizedanarchy—whenitseemsasthoughthescofflawrepresentsthewaveofthefuture.4HarvardSociologistDavidRiesmansuspectsthatamajorityofAmericanshaveblithelytakentocommittingsupposedlyminorderelictionsasamatterofcourse.Already,Riesmansays,theethicofU.S.societyisindangerofbecomingthis:“You'reafoolifyouobeytherules.”法律和秩序，可以说是美国历史上历时最久、或许还是人们最爱谈论的政治问题。然而，说来痛心，显然有成百万从来没有想过自己会违法——更不用说犯罪——的美国人，对于遵守那些旨在保护和维持他们的社会的法律条文，却愈来愈表现得放肆起来。今天，随处乱扔拉圾、逃税、违禁噪音，以及开汽车的无序状态，真是比比皆是；有时简直使人觉得，玩忽法令者似乎代表了未来的潮流。哈佛大学的社会学者戴维•里斯曼认为，大多数美国人都不以为然、毫无顾忌地喜欢犯些所谓的小过失。里期曼说，今天美国社会的道德规范已差不多快变成“谁守法谁就是傻瓜”了。NothingcouldbemoreobviousthantheevidencesupportingRiesman.Scofflawsaboundinamazingvariety.5Thegraffiti-proneturnpublicsurfacesintovisualrubbish.Bicyclistsoftenrideasthoughtwo-wheeledvehiclesareexemptfromalltrafficlaws.6Litterbugsconverttheircommunitiesintotrashdumps.Widespreadflurriesofordinanceshavefailedtoclearpublicplacesofhigh-decibelportableradios,justasearlierlawsfailedtowipeoutthebeer-soakedhooliganismthatplaguesmanyparks.7TobaccoaddictsremainhopelesslyblindtosignsthatsayNOSMOKING.Respectablydressedpotsmokersnolongerbothertoduckoutofpublicsighttopassaroundajoint.Theflagrantuseofcocaineisafesteringscandalinmiddleandupper-classlife.Andthenthereare(hello,everybody!)8thejaywalkers.里斯曼的论断，随处都可得到极为充分的证实。玩忽法令者形形色色，令人吃惊。喜欢在公共场所乱涂乱写的人，把这些地方弄得满目疮痍。骑自行车无拘无束，仿佛两轮车就可以不遵守交通规则似的。随处乱扔拉圾的人把他们的居住区变成了拉圾堆。到处张贴的禁令，也未能使公共场所免于手提收音机的高分贝噪音的污染，正如前些日子颁布禁令，禁止灌醉啤酒的流氓滋扰公园，竟毫无作用一样。瘾君子对那些“禁止吸烟”的布告牌视若无睹。衣冠楚楚的大麻烟客传递毒品也不再躲躲闪闪，避人耳目。可卡因毒品泛滥，成了中上层社会中愈来愈恼2Thedangersofscofflawryvarywidely.Thepersonwhoillegallyspitsonthesidewalkremainsdisgusting,butclearlyposeslessrisktoothersthanthecompanythatillegallyburieshazardouschemicalwasteinanunauthorizedlocation.Thefarebeateronthesubwaypresentslessthreattolifethanthelandlordwhoignoresfiresafetystatutes.9Themostimmediatelyandmeasurablydangerousscofflawry,however,alsohappenstobethemostvisible.TheculpritistheAmericandriver,whoselawlessactivitiestodayadduptoacolossalpublicnuisance.10Thehazardsrangefromroutinedoubleparking11thatjamscitystreetstothedrunkdrivingthatkillssome25,000peopleandinjuresatleast650,000othersyearly.12Illegalspeedingonopenhighways?Newsurveysshowthatonsomeinterstatehighways83%ofalldriversarecurrentlyignoringthefederal55m.p.h.speedlimit.玩忽法令的危害有轻有重。在人行道上随地吐痰，当然是令人讨厌的；但与那些大工厂在非指定地点违法掩埋化学废料的作法相比，其对公众的危害则要小多了。乘地下火车不买票，当然不会象房东老板无视防火安全条文那样会危及人的生命安全。然而正是这些极常见的玩忽法令行为，其为害却最直接最严重。罪魁祸首要算那些无法无天的驾驶汽车的美国人，其所做所为成了今天的巨大公害。这种危害，从日常的双重停车(指把车停在业已顺停在路边的车辆的旁边——译注)，致使交通阻塞，到酒后开车，导致每年车祸死亡25,000人，伤者至少65万人。高速公路上超速行驶的情况又是怎样呢?据近期统计，某些州际高速公路上，通常有83%的开车人都无视联邦政府关于最高时速55英里的规Themostflagrantscofflawofthemallisthered-lightrunner.ThefloutingofstopsignalshasgotsobadinBostonthatresidentstellananecdoteaboutacabbywhoinsiststhatredlightsare“justfordecoration”.Thepowerofthestoplighttocontroltrafficseemstobewaningeverywhere.InLosAngeles,red-lightrunninghasbecomeperhapsthecity'smostcommontrafficviolation.InNewYorkCity,goingthroughanintersectionislikeRussianroulette.AdmitsPoliceCommissionerRobertJ.McGuire:“Todayit'sa50-50tossupastowhetherpeoplewillstopforaredlight.”Meanwhile,hisownpolicelargelyignorethelawbreaking.最明目张胆的藐视法律的行径要算闯红灯了。在波士顿，无视停车信号的状况已经严重到了如此程度，以至在当地居民中流传着这样一个趣闻：一位出租汽车司机竟然坚持说，红灯只不过是“街头的装饰品而已”。停车指示灯控制交通的能力，似乎处处都在减弱。在洛杉矶，闯红灯恐怕要算该市最常见的交通违章现象。在纽约市，通过交叉路口就象玩俄国轮盘赌(参加者轮流用一支只装有一颗子弹的左轮手枪向自己头部扣动扳机——译注)，不知何时就会出事。警察局长罗伯特•麦克盖尔承认：“如今红灯亮了是否停车，就象玩掷币游戏，机会各一半。”而他署下的警察，对这种违章行为大都视而不见。3Red-lightrunninghasalwaysbeenrankedasaminorwrong,andsoitmaybeinindividualinstances.13Whentheviolationbecomeshabitual,widespreadandincessant,however,agreatdealmorethanatrafficmanagementproblemisinvolved.Thefloutingofbasicrulesoftheroadleavesdeepdentsinthesocialmood.Innocentdriversandpedestrianspayarepetitiouspriceinfrustration,inconvenienceandoutrage,nottomentionajustifiedsenseofmortalperil.Thesignificanceofred-lightrunningismagnifiedbyitshighvisibility.Ifhypocrisyisthetributethatvicepaystovirtue,thenfurtivenessisthetrueoutlaw'ssalutetotheforceoflaw-and-order.Thered-lightrunner,however,showsnorespectwhateverforthesocialrules,andsocietycannothelpbeingharmedbyanyrepetitiousandbrazendisplayofcontemptforthefundamentalsoforder.闯红灯常常被列为小错误，就个别情况而言，这也许不是大错。然而，一旦人们形成习惯，违章不断，随处皆是，那就远不仅是一个交通管理问题了.藐视交通法规的现象给公众心理造成深深的创伤。无辜的开车人和行人一次次地感到沮丧，忍受种种不便和伤害，更不用说对生命危险的正当担心了。闯红灯现象比比皆是，更增强了其危害性。如果说伪善是邪恶对美德所表示的敬意，那么鬼鬼崇崇便是犯罪分子对法律与制序的真心实意的敬礼了。然而，闯红灯的人对社会规章却毫无敬意可言，而任何屡禁不止、厚颜无耻的藐视社会秩序基本要求的行径，都会使社会无法免受其害。是个别情况。”Thescofflawspiritispervasive.Itisnotreallysurprisingwhenschoolsfind,assomedo,thattheirchildrenfrequentlyenternotknowingsomeofthebasicrulesoflivingtogether.Foralltheirdifferences,today’sscofflawsareofapieceasasymptomofelementarysocialdemoralization---