212.Suing the city council
第212課 控告市議會
"Thanks to suburbanization, sufficient attention has not been paid to our cities. What little attention there has been has not been substantive. That's why I'm suing the city government." Grant Franks seemed suited for the task. The son of 60's radicals, he's now a lawyer, railing against big business and a city government that willfully plays along. "Am I subversive?" He asks. "No, it's the government that's been subverting the people. Three successive city councils have acted in subterranean fashion, so subtle and cunning. They've suffused the suburbs with big businesses while they've failed to provide substantial aid to meet the basic subsistence needs of city dwellers. The citizens have silently succumbed to this sort of chicanery. I'm sorry, but that doesn't suit me at all. I just don't find that situation suitable."
"由于郊區化，沒有給予我們的城市足夠的重視。這種重視實在太少。這就是我控告市議會的原因。"格蘭特·福朗科斯似乎勝任這項任務。他是六十年代激進黨派的后代，現在是律師，對大企業和市政府大加指責，市政府假惺惺地表示贊同。"我反叛嗎？"他問道。"不，是政府在反叛人民。連續三屆市議會都是暗中行事，如此詭秘狡詐。他們把大企業遍布于郊區，卻沒有提供足夠的幫助來滿足城市居民基本的生活需求。市民默默地受到這種欺騙。很抱歉，這樣做根本不適合我。我只是覺得這種情況不合適。"
He claims his suit is not against suburbanites per se, but rather it is against those who seek to eradicate city life altogether by substituting one version of life for another. "We need a balance. Let's take elementary subtraction as an example. To be succinct, if you have six on one side and give away three to another, balance remains. If you take two more, the original side is left with only one. You have to add two back to the original side to retain balance. But the city council only sees the subtractive element when it comes to cities. Take away from the city and give to the suburbs. When so much has been taken away, how can city folks subsist anymore?"
他說他的控告并非針對郊區居民本身，而是針對那些試圖通過用一種生活模式替代另外一種生活模式去完全根除城市生活的人。"我們需要一種平衡。讓我們舉簡單的減法為例。簡要地說，如果一邊是六，拿走三給另外一邊便能保持平衡。如果多拿走兩個，最初的一邊只剩下了一個。必須拿回兩個才能保持平衡。當涉及到城市時，市議會只看到減法原理：拿走城市的去貼補郊區。當這么多都被拿走之后，城市居民還怎么生活下去呢？"
Critics of Mr. Franks point out that he fails to substantiate many of his claims and exaggerates when he speaks of the city council. For example, on one occasion, Mr. Franks spoke of the council as "dictators." But citizens are quick to point out that due to suffrage, no dictatorship exists. The case is set to begin in court next Tuesday.
福朗科斯先生的批評者指出，當談到市議會的時候，他不能證實自己的說法，而且言過其實。比如，有一次，福朗科斯先生把市議會稱為"獨裁者"。但市民們很快指出，由于市民擁有選舉權，所以不存在獨裁。該案定于下周二開庭。
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