距离第二次总统就职典礼还有几周时间，唐纳德·特朗普做出了一个出人意料的宣布。“我们将把墨西哥湾改名为‘美国湾’，这个名字听起来很美，”这位共和党人补充说，由于这片水域是“我们的”，因此这一更改是“恰当的”。尽管这一声明听起来像是讽刺，但特朗普非常认真，这位新宣誓就职的总统在就职演说中再次大力推崇这一想法，仿佛这是他治理愿景中一个有意义的组成部分。几个小时后，这位共和党人签署了一项行政命令，仿佛总统拥有单方面更改存在了数百年的国际水域名称的权力。
With a couple of weeks remaining before his second presidential inaugural, Donald Trump made an unexpected announcement. “[W]e’ll be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America,’ which has a beautiful ring,”the Republican said adding that the change would be “appropriate” because the body of water is “ours.”Although the declaration sounded like satire Trump was quite serious, and the newly sworn-in president talked up the idea again in his inaugural address as if it were a meaningful part of his governing vision. The Republican signed an executive order hours later, as if the president had the unilateral authority to rename international bodies of water that have existed for centuries.
在随后的几周和几个月里，各种游说活动推动公共和私营机构配合白宫的意愿，但从实际角度来看，大多数理性的观察者都意识到，“美国湾”注定会成为那些只被狂热党派人士使用的烦人短语之一，例如“战争部”、“死亡税”和“民主党党”。然而，在某些地区，似乎那些想要称墨西哥湾为墨西哥湾的人在法律上被禁止这样做。
In the weeks and months that followed, assorted lobbying campaigns pushed public and private entities to play along with the White House’s wishes, but as a practical matter, most sensible observers realized that “Gulf of America” was destined to become one of those tiresome phrases used only by rabid partisans, such as “Department of War,” “death tax” and “Democrat Party.”In some areas, however, it seems people who want to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico are legally prohibited from doing so.
AL.com报道，伯明翰WBHM电台的一位官员致信“朋友和听众”，警告称这家公共广播电台正被迫使用“美国湾”而非“墨西哥湾”，这威胁到了电台的独立性。
AL.com reported A station official for WBHM in Birmingham wrote a letter to “friends and listeners” warning that the public radio station is being coerced into using “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico,” and that it threatens the station’s independence.
根据州法律，WBHM将被要求遵循的语言强制变更将于10月1日生效，此前凯·艾维州长签署了一项法律，要求“所有州和地方实体及其员工”使用“美国湾”一词，而非“墨西哥湾”。
The mandated change in language that WBHM will be expected to follow under state law takes effect on Oct. 1, after Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law requiring that “all state and local entities and their employees” use the term Gulf of America instead of Gulf of Mexico.
WBHM执行总监兼总经理的一封信在网上发布，信中解释说，由于这家公共广播电台隶属于阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校，这必然意味着电台的每一名员工都为州政府工作。
The letter written by WBHM’s executive director and general manager was published online and it explained that because the public radio station is licensed to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, it necessarily means that every station works for the state.
“在与UAB和UA系统的人员交谈后，我被告知，WBHM及其团队成员以员工身份做出的每一次沟通，都被视为‘官方沟通’，”信中补充道。“对WBHM来说，这包括我们的广播。”因此，当NPR像大多数独立新闻机构一样继续将墨西哥湾称为“墨西哥湾”时，阿拉巴马州最大城市之一的这家公共广播附属机构认为，它在法律上不能这样做。
“Following conversations with individuals at UAB and the UA System, I have been told that every single communication from WBHM and its team members, made in the capacity of their role as employees, is considered ‘official communication,’” the letter added. “For WBHM, that includes our broadcasts.”And so, while NPR, like most independent news organizations, continues to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico, the public radio affiliate in one of Alabama’s largest cities believes it cannot legally do so.
“简而言之，从10月1日起，我们的团队将被要求用‘美国湾’取代‘墨西哥湾’，”信中继续说道。“我被告知，偏离法律可能会导致纪律处分或解雇员工，而不遵守规定可能会影响WBHM与UAB的关系以及UAB对它的支持。”有时，现代美国生活中的威权转向是显而易见的，但在许多其他情况下，它们可能很微妙，容易被忽视。
“In short, our team will be expected to use ‘Gulf of America’ in place of ‘Gulf of Mexico’ starting on October 1,” the letter went on to say. “I was told that deviations from the law may result in disciplinary action or termination of employees, and failure to comply may impact WBHM’s relationship and support from UAB.”Sometimes authoritarian shifts in modern American life are obvious, but in many other instances, they can be subtle and easy to miss. The post Public radio station in Alabama says it can no longer use ‘Gulf of Mexico’MS NOW