填空题 "History doesn't repeat itself," argued Mark Twain, "but it does rhyme." In this instance, history's echo could scarcely be more depressing. In 1993 Jamie Bulger, a two-year-old boy, was abducted, tortured and murdered by two ten-year-olds. The gruesome details of the Bulger case shocked the national psyche.
Yesterday two brothers were sentenced to an indefinite period of detention for torturing two boys in Edlington last April. Aged 10 and 12, they beat, strangled and sexually degraded their victims, before putting a plastic sheet over them and setting it on fire. It was only tiredness that caused them to abandon their victims, they presumed, to die. It was a chance blessing that a passing walker stumbled across one of the boys alive.
It is impossible to {{U}} {{U}} 21 {{/U}} {{/U}}shock and desperation. But there is nothing new about children committing {{U}} {{U}} 22 {{/U}} {{/U}}. In 1748 the ten-year-old William York killed the five-year-old girl who shared his {{U}} {{U}} 23 {{/U}} {{/U}}. There has always been a strand of evil that courses through humanity.
But in two respects the Edlington case may {{U}} {{U}} 24 {{/U}} {{/U}}a critical moment. First, is Britain prepared to accept that it does {{U}} {{U}} 25 {{/U}} {{/U}}have a violent underclass, a problem that successive governments have {{U}} {{U}} 26 {{/U}} {{/U}}to ameliorate? And will David Cameron succeed in his argument {{U}} {{U}} 27 {{/U}} {{/U}}the Edlington case confirms his claims about "broken Britain"?
The social context of the Edlington case is as {{U}} {{U}} 28 {{/U}} {{/U}}as the crime itself. The court heard that brothers had a "toxic {{U}} {{U}} 29 {{/U}} {{/U}}life" marked by "routine aggression, violence and chaos". One brother watched {{U}} {{U}} 30 {{/U}} {{/U}}violent movies. He also drank routinely and smoked cannabis grown {{U}} {{U}} 31 {{/U}} {{/U}}his father's allotment.
There was also a chronic failure by the social services. A leaked {{U}} {{U}} 32 {{/U}} {{/U}}by local care authorities—to which the judge was denied access—reveals {{U}} {{U}} 33 {{/U}} {{/U}}there were 31 occasions on which nine different agencies failed to take action {{U}} {{U}} 34 {{/U}} {{/U}}the brothers' behaviour.
Broken Britain? The phrase is an oversimplification. But {{U}} {{U}} 35 {{/U}} {{/U}}does have a depressingly static underclass. The most telling detail {{U}} {{U}} 36 {{/U}} {{/U}}the case was one torturer's explanation of his actions. He was {{U}} {{U}} 37 {{/U}} {{/U}}. "There was not else to do."
The political consequences may also {{U}} {{U}} 38 {{/U}} {{/U}}parallels with the Bulger case. In 1993 a young, charismatic Shadow Home Secretary {{U}} {{U}} 39 {{/U}} {{/U}}the opportunity. Tony Blair's catchphrase "Tough on crime, tough on the {{U}} {{U}} 40 {{/U}} {{/U}}of crime" allowed him to capture public sentiment. Mr. Blair argued {{U}} {{U}} 41 {{/U}} {{/U}}the Bulger case demonstrated that Britain had descended into "moral {{U}} {{U}} 42 {{/U}} {{/U}}" caused by the long-serving Conservative Government.
Today's {{U}} {{U}} 43 {{/U}} {{/U}}Conservatives have long been fascinated by what they regard as that pivotal {{U}} {{U}} 44 {{/U}} {{/U}}in Tony Blair's career—the first sign that he could catch the national mood. So it {{U}} {{U}} 45 {{/U}} {{/U}}unsurprising that David Cameron has immediately woven the Edlington case {{U}} {{U}} 46 {{/U}} {{/U}}his narrative of abject social breakdown.
"Look at the wreckage of our {{U}} {{U}} 47 {{/U}} {{/U}}society. See Britain through the eyes of our children. Are we really proud of our {{U}} {{U}} 48 {{/U}} {{/U}}today?" Those were Mr. Blair's words before being elected. We can {{U}} {{U}} 49 {{/U}} {{/U}}to hear many similar phrases from Mr. Cameron in the run-up to {{U}} {{U}} 50 {{/U}} {{/U}}election.
Yesterday he warned that Britain was {{U}} {{U}} 51 {{/U}} {{/U}}an "irresponsible society." He is right. Britain is not broken, {{U}} {{U}} 52 {{/U}} {{/U}}it will have failed in its most basic responsibilities if it looks the other way {{U}} {{U}} 53 {{/U}} {{/U}}Edlington. The violence and depravity of the torturers was exceptional. The {{U}} {{U}} 54 {{/U}} {{/U}}—by parents, by the community, by government—was all too {{U}} {{U}} 55 {{/U}} {{/U}}.
These are not easy issues. They will not be solved by a politician's neat catchphrase. But nor will they be solved by looking the other way. (from The Times, January 23, 2010)