第一篇:美国总统奥巴马当地时间1月21日在国会山发表其第二任期就职演讲
美国总统奥巴马当地时间1月21日在国会山发表其第二任期就职演讲。奥巴马在演讲中追溯美国民主传统和宪法精神,通过阐述就业、医保、移民、财政、同性恋及气候变化威胁等多项议题与现实有力契合。奥巴马强调,伟大国家的塑造必须依赖每个美国人的力量,而非少数人的成功,并强调国家团结的重要性。奥巴马提及这代美国人从建国之父那里继承的精神还没有完成实践,现在的美国人需要继续努力,实现生存、自由与追求幸福的权利。以下为奥巴马就职演说全文:
谢谢,非常感谢大家。拜登副总统、首席大法官先生、国会议员们、尊敬的各位嘉宾、亲爱的公民们。
每一次我们集会庆祝总统就职都是在见证美国宪法的持久力量。我们都是在肯定美国民主的承诺。我们重申,将这个国家紧密联系在一起的不是我们的肤色,也不是我们信仰的教条,更不是我们名字的来源。让我们与众不同,让我们成为美国人的是我们对于一种理念的恪守。200多年前,这一理念在一篇宣言中被清晰阐述:
―我们认为下述真理是不言而喻的,人人生而平等。造物主赋予他们若干不可剥夺的权利,包括生存、自由和追求幸福的权利。‖
今天,我们继续着这一未竟的征程,架起这些理念与我们时代现实之间的桥梁。因为历史告诉我们,即便这些真理是不言而喻的,它们也从来不会自动生效。因为虽然自由是上帝赋予的礼物,但仍需要世间的子民去捍卫。1776年,美国的爱国先驱们不是只为了推翻国王的暴政而战,也不是为赢得少数人的特权,建立暴民的统治。先驱们留给我们一个共和国,一个民有、民治、民享的政府。他们委托每一代美国人捍卫我们的建国信条。
在过去的200多年里,我们做到了。
从奴役的血腥枷锁和刀剑的血光厮杀中我们懂得了,建立在自由与平等原则之上的联邦不能永远维持半奴隶和半自由的状态。我们赢得了新生,誓言共同前进。
我们共同努力,建立起现代的经济体系。架设铁路与高速公路,加速了旅行和商业交流。建立学校与大学,培训我们的工人。
我们一起发现,自由市场的繁荣只能建立在保障竞争与公平竞争的原则之上。
我们共同决定让这个伟大的国家远离危险,保护她的人民不受生命威胁和不幸的侵扰。一路走来,我们从未放弃对集权的质疑。我们同样不屈服于这一谎言:一切的社会弊端都能够只靠政府来解决。我们对积极向上与奋发进取的赞扬,我们对努力工作与个人责任的坚持,这些都是美国精神的基本要义。
我们也理解,时代在变化,我们同样需要变革。对建国精神的忠诚,需要我们肩负起新的责任,迎接新的挑战。保护我们的个人自由,最终需要所有人的共同努力。因为美国人不能再独力迎接当今世界的挑战,正如美国士兵们不能再像先辈一样,用步枪和民兵同敌人作战。一个人无法培训所有的数学与科学老师,我们需要他们为了未来去教育孩子们。一个人无法建设道路、铺设网络、建立实验室来为国内带来新的工作岗位和商业机会。现在,与以往任何时候相比,我们都更需要团结合作。作为一个国家,一个民族团结起来。
这一代美国人经历了危机的考验,经济危机坚定了我们的决心,证明了我们的恢复力。长达十年的战争正在结束,经济的复苏已经开始。美国的可能性是无限的,因为我们拥有当今没有边界的世界所需要的所有品质:年轻与活力、多样性与开放、无穷的冒险精神以及创造的天赋才能。我亲爱的同胞们,我们正是为此刻而生,我们更要在此刻团结一致,抓住当下的机会。
因为我们,美国人民,清楚如果只有不断萎缩的少数人群体获得成功,而大多数人不能成功,我们的国家就无法成功。我们相信,美国的繁荣必须建立在不断上升的中产阶级的宽阔臂膀之上,我们知道美国的繁荣只有这样才能实现。只有当每个人都能找到工作中的自立与自豪时才能实现。只有当诚实劳动获得的薪水足够让家庭摆脱困苦的悬崖时才能实现。我们忠诚于我们的事业,保证让一个出生于最贫穷环境中的小女孩都能知道,她有同其他所有人一样的成功机会。因为她是一个美国人,她是自由的、平等的。她的自由平等不仅由上帝来见证,更由我们亲手保护。
我们知道,我们已然陈旧的程序不足以满足时代的需要。我们必须应用新理念和新技术重塑我们的政府,改进我们的税法,改革我们的学校,让我们的公民拥有他们所需要的技能,更加努力地工作,学更多的知识,向更高处发展。这意味着变革,我们的目标是:国家可以奖励每个美国人的努力和果断。
这是现在需要的。这将给我们的信条赋予真正的意义。
我们,人民,仍然认为,每个公民都应当获得基本的安全和尊严。我们必须做出艰难抉择,降低医疗成本,缩减赤字规模。但我们拒绝在照顾建设国家的这一代和投资即将建设国家的下一代间做出选择。因为我们记得过去的教训:老年人的夕阳时光在贫困中度过,家有残障儿童的父母无处求助。我们相信,在这个国家,自由不只是那些幸运儿的专属,或者说幸福只属于少数人。我们知道,不管我们怎样负责任地生活,我们任何人在任何时候都可能面临失业、突发疾病或住房被可怕的飓风摧毁的风险。
我们通过医疗保险、联邦医疗补助计划、社会保障项目向每个人做出承诺,这些不会让我们的创造力衰竭,而是会让我们更强大。这些不会让我们成为充满不劳而获者的国度,这些让我们敢于承担风险,让国家伟大。
我们,人民,仍然相信,我们作为美国人的义务不只是对我们自己而言,还包括对子孙后代。我们将应对气候变化的威胁,认识到不采取措施应对气候变化就是对我们的孩子和后代的背叛。一些人可能仍在否定科学界的压倒性判断,但没有人能够避免熊熊火灾、严重旱灾、更强力风暴带来的灾难性打击。通向可再生能源利用的道路是漫长的,有时是困难的。但美国不能抵制这种趋势,我们必须引领这种趋势。我们不能把制造新就业机会和新行业的技术让给其他国家,我们必须明确这一承诺。这是我们保持经济活力和国家财富(我们的森林和航道,我们的农田与雪峰)的方法。这将是我们保护我们星球的办法,上帝把这个星球托付给我们。这将给我们的建国之父们曾宣布的信条赋予意义。
我们,人民,仍然相信持久的安全与和平,不需要持续的战争。我们勇敢的士兵经受了战火的考验,他们的技能和勇气是无可匹敌的。我们的公民依然铭记着那些阵亡者,他们非常清楚我们为自由付出的代价。明白他们的牺牲将让我们永远对那些试图伤害我们的势力保持警惕。但我们也是那些赢得和平而不只是战争的人们的后代,他们将仇敌转变成最可靠的朋友,我们也必须把这些经验带到这个时代。
我们将通过强大的军力和法制保护我们的人民,捍卫我们的价值观。我们将展现试图和平解决与其它国家分歧的勇气,但这不是因为我们对面临的危险持幼稚的态度,而是因为接触能够更持久地化解疑虑和恐惧。美国将在全球保持强大的联盟,我们将更新这些能扩展我们应对海外危机能力的机制。因为作为世界上最强大的国家,我们在世界和平方面拥有最大的利益。我们将支持从亚洲到非洲、从美洲至中东的民主国家,因为我们的利益和良心驱使我们代表那些想获得自由的人们采取行动。我们必须成为贫困者、病患者、被边缘化的人士、异见受害者的希望来源,不仅仅是出于慈善,也是因为这个时代的和平需要不断推进我们共同信念中的原则:宽容和机遇,人类尊严与正义。
我们,人民,今天昭示的最明白的事实是——我们所有人都是生而平等的,这是依然引领我们的恒星。它引领我们的先辈穿越纽约塞尼卡瀑布城(女权抗议事件)、塞尔马(黑人权力事件)和石墙骚乱(同性恋与警察发生的暴力事件),引领着所有的男性和女性,留下姓名和没留姓名的人。在伟大的征程中,一路上留下足迹的人。曾经听一位牧师说,我们不能独自前行。马丁-路德-金说,我们个人的自由与地球上每个灵魂的自由不可分割。
继续先辈开创的事业是我们这代人的任务。直到我们的妻子、母亲和女儿的付出能够与她们的努力相称,我们的征途才会结束。我们的征途不会终结,我们要让同性恋的兄弟姐妹在法律之下得到与其他人同样的待遇。如果我们真正是生而平等的,那么我们对彼此的爱也应该是平等的。我们的征途没有结束,直到没有公民需要等待数个小时去行使投票权。我们的征途不会结束,直到我们找到更好的方法迎接努力、有憧憬的移民,他们依旧视美国是一块充满机会的土地。直到聪颖年轻的学生和工程师为我们所用,而不是被逐出美国。我们的征途不会结束,直到我们所有的儿童,从底特律的街道到阿巴拉契亚的山岭,再到康涅狄格州纽镇安静的小巷,直到他们得到关心和珍视,永远避免受到伤害。
那是我们这一代的任务——让生存、自由和追求幸福的言语、权力和价值切实体现在每个美国人的身上。我们的立国文本没有要求我们将每个人的生活一致化。这并不意味着,我们会以完全一样的方式去定义自由,沿着同样的道路通向幸福。进步不会终止几个世纪以来一直纠结的关于政府角色的争论,但这要求我们现在就采取行动。
目前是由我们决策,我们不能拖延。我们不能将绝对主义当作原则,或者以表象代替政治,或将中伤视作理性的辩论。我们必须行动,要意识到我们的工作并不完美。我们必须行动,意识到今天的胜利是并不完全的。这些将有赖于未来4年、40年或是400年致力于这项事业的人,去推进当年在费城制宪会议大厅传承给我们的永恒精神。
我的美国同胞,我今天在你们面前宣读的誓词,如同在国会山服务的其他人曾宣读过的誓词一样,是对上帝和国家的誓词,不是对党派或是派别的,我们必须在任期内忠实地履行这些承诺。但我今天宣读的誓词与士兵报名参军或者是移民实现梦想时所宣读的誓词没有多少差别。我的誓词与我们所有的人向我们头顶飘扬的、让我们心怀自豪的国旗所表达的誓言没有多大差别。
这些是公民的誓词,代表着我们最伟大的希望。
你和我,作为公民,都有为这个国家设定道路的权力。
你和我,作为公民,有义务塑造我们时代的辩题,不仅是通过我们的选票,而且要为捍卫悠久的价值观和持久的理想发声。
现在让我们相互拥抱,怀着庄严的职责和无比的快乐,这是我们永恒的与生俱来的权利。有共同的努力和共同的目标,用热情与奉献,让我们回应历史的召唤,将珍贵的自由之光带入并不确定的未来。
感谢你们,上帝保佑你们,愿上帝永远保佑美利坚合众国。
以下是奥巴马第二任期就职演说英文版:
MR.OBAMA: Vice President Biden, Mr.Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.We affirm the promise of our democracy.We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
―We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.‖
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing;that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth.The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob.They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.For more than two hundred years, we have.Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce;schools and colleges to train our workers。
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone.Our celebration of initiative and enterprise;our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.But we have always understood that when times change, so must we;that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges;that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias.No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience.A decade of war is now ending.An economic recovery has begun.America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive;diversity and openness;an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work;when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time.We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher.But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American.That is what this moment requires.That is what will give real meaning to our creed.We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity.We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit.But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm.The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative;they strengthen us.They do not make us a nation of takers;they free us to take the risks that make this country great.We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult.But America cannot resist this transition;we must lead it.We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise.That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways;our croplands and snowcapped peaks.That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage.Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm.But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe;and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation.We will support democracy from Asia to Africa;from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity;human dignity and justice.We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still;just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall;just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone;to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began.For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity;until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American.Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life;it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness.Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service.But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream.My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright.With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.
第二篇:美国总统奥巴马连任就职演讲(2013)
美国总统奥巴马连任就职演讲
2013.1.21Vice President Biden, Mr.Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
拜登副总统,最高法院首席大法官先生,美国国会议员们,尊敬的客人们,同胞们:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.We affirm the promise of our democracy.We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
当我们每次聚集在一起为总统举行就职典礼时,我们都是在见证美国宪法的不朽力量。我们是在又一次立下美国民主的承诺。我们再次提醒说,把这个国家凝聚在一起的不是我们的肤色,不是信仰的教条,也不是我们的姓氏源于何处。使我们与众不同——使我们成为美国人——的,是我们对一个在两个多世纪以前发表的宣言中所表述的理念:
―We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.‖
―我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的:人人生而平等,他们都从他们的造物主那里被赋予了某些不可剥夺的权利,包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。‖
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing;that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth.The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob.They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.今天,我们仍在继续这个永恒的旅程,让那些字句体现在我们这个时代的现实中。因为历史告诉我们,虽然这些真理是不言而喻的,但它们却不会自动实现;虽然自由是上帝给我们的礼物,但自由只能靠他在世间的子民的奋斗才能获得。1776年爱国先驱们所进行的斗争并不是以少数人的特权或乌合之众的统治来替代专制君主。他们为我们缔造的是一个共和国,一个民有、民治、民享的政府,并将捍卫这个建国理念的任务交给一代又一代的后人。
For more than two hundred years, we have.两百多年的历史证明,我们做到了。
Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.从皮鞭下和刺刀尖流出的鲜血中,我们发现,建立在自由和平等原则之上的合众国不能一半是蓄奴的,一半是自由的。我们浴火重生,我们发誓共同努力向前。
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce;schools and colleges to train our workers.我们共同决定,现代经济需要铁路和公路,以加快旅行和商业,也需要中小学和大学来培训我们的工人。
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.我们一起发现,只有确保竞争和公平的法规健全,自由市场才能欣欣向荣。
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.我们一同决定,一个伟大国家必须关照弱者,并保护我们的人民免受生活中最严重的危险和不幸。
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone.Our celebration of initiative and enterprise;our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.在做这一切的时候,我们从来没有放弃对政府集中权力的怀疑,我们也没有屈就于那种相信只靠政府就可以解决所有社会弊病的幻想。我们一直保持着自己的秉性,推崇创造力和企业家精神,坚持辛勤工作和个人责任。
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we;that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges;that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias.No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.但是我们也很明白,随着时代的变化,我们也必须变化;我们出于对基本原则的忠诚,需要对新的挑战做出新的回应;我们为保护个人自由就最终需要集体作出努力。美国人民如果再单打独斗去应付当今世界的挑战,等于让美国军队以长枪和民兵组织去面对法西斯主义或共产主义的武装。没有任何一个个人有能力训练出我们后代的教育需要的所有数学和科学教师,或者建造出能把新的工作和商业机会带给我们的道路、网络、实验室。现在比以往任何时候都需要我们共同努力,作为一个国家人民的整体,来做这些事情。
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience.A decade of war is now ending.An economic recovery has begun.America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands:youth and drive;diversity and openness;an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.我们这一代美国人经历过危机的考验,这些危机坚定了我们的决心,也证明了我们的耐力。长达10年的战争即将结束,经济复苏已经开始,美国的潜力是无限的,因为我们拥有这个全球化的世界需要的所有特质:我们年轻有动力,多元而开放,我们有应对危机的无限能力和创新发展的天赋。美国同胞们,我们为这个时刻而生,只要我们共同努力,我们就能牢牢抓住这个机会。For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work;when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.我们美国人知道,我们的国家不可能在只有越来越少的人富有、越来越多的人捉襟见肘的情况下取得成功,我们相信美国的繁荣有赖于更多的人成为中产阶级,我们知道美国的振兴取决于每个人都能在工作中找到独立与自信,也取决于人们诚实的劳动让家庭脱离贫困。当一个出身贫困的年轻女孩知道,她与任何人都享有同样的成功机会,身为美国人,她不仅仅是在上帝眼中,而且在每一个人的眼中,她都享有自由与平等,这样我们才算是遵守了立国的原则。
We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time.We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens
with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher.But while the means will change, our purpose endures:a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American.That is what this moment requires.That is what will give real meaning to our creed.我们明白,目前那些陈旧的政府计划跟不上时代。我们必须驾驭新的思想和技术以重塑政府,更新税法,改革学校,并让公民能够掌握新技能,以便更加努力工作,学习更多的知识,以达到更高的目标。我们的方法虽然会改变,但目的始终如一:建设一个奖励每个人的努力和决心的国家。这是当下所需要的。这是我们信念的真正意义所在。
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity.We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit.But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm.The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative;they strengthen us.They do not make us a nation of takers;they free us to take the risks that make this country great.我们,美国人,仍然相信,每位公民都应该得到基本的安全和尊严。我们必须作出降低我们的医保费用和赤字规模的艰难抉择。但是,我们拒绝接受这种看法,亦即美国必须在照顾建设了国家的那代人和投资于开创国家未来的那代人之间作出选择。我们记得过去的教训:老人的暮年在贫困中度过,残疾孩子的父母走投无路。我们不相信,在这个国家里自由只属于幸运者,幸福只属于少数人。我们知道,无论我们平日如何负责,我们当中任何人,在任何时候,都有可能面临失业、突然生病或者房子被风暴卷走的情况。我们通过联邦医疗保险、医疗补助计划以及社会安全保障为彼此作出的承诺,不仅不会挫伤我们的积极性,反而使我们更加强壮。它们不会使我们成为一群不劳而获的人,反而使我们敢于去冒险,这才使国家强大。
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.The path towards
sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult.But America cannot resist this transition;we must lead it.We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise.That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways;our croplands and snowcapped peaks.That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.我们,美国人,依然相信我们作为美国人的承诺不仅是对自己的,也是对所有子孙后代的。我们会对气候变化的威胁做出回应,因为我们了解如果不这样做,将会违背对子孙后代的承诺。有些人可能依然不承认科学的判断,但所有人都无法不去正视疯狂的野火、残酷的干旱、更大风暴的袭击。通往可持续发展能源的道路会是漫长的,而且有时会很艰难。但美国不能抗拒这个转变,而是必须领导这个转变。我们不能将可以增加就业、诞生新型产业的这些技术拱手让给其它国家,我们必须拥有这些技术。这是维护我们经济的活力与国家财富的途径,这些财富包括我们的森林、江河、农田、雪山。这是保护我们的地球的途径,那是上帝交给我们去守护的。这也是我们为先驱们宣示的信念增加新的含义的途径。
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage.Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm.But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.我们,美国人,依然相信不必通过无休止的战争就能获得永久的安全与和平。我们的军人久经战火考验,技能和勇气都举世无双。我们的人民永远铭记先烈们的牺牲,珍惜自由的来之不易。不忘先烈们的牺牲将让我们永远对敌人保持警惕。但是我们同样牢记那些不仅能够赢得战争、还能赢得和平、化顽敌为挚友的人们。这些经验教训,我们今天必须发扬光大。
We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe;and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation.We will support democracy from Asia to Africa;from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed
describes:tolerance and opportunity;human dignity and justice.我们将通过加强武装力量和法制来保卫我们的人民和价值体系。我们将通过试图与其它国家和平地解决争端来显示我们的勇气——这不是出于对我们面临的危险的无知,而是相信协商能够更长久地解除怀疑与恐惧。美国将继续在世界每个角落都保持积极的联盟,我们也将继续维护那些令我们能够在国外应付危机的机制,因为没有哪个国家会比世界上最强大的国家更需要一个和平的世界。我们将支持从亚洲到非洲、从拉美到中东的民主发展,因为利益和良知促使我们去支持那些希望自由的人们。我们也必须是贫困、疾病、歧视、偏见的受害者们的后援——这不仅仅是出于慈善为怀,也因为我们时代的和平需要不断地推动我们共同信念所基于的原则,包括宽容、机遇、人类尊严与公正。
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still;just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall;just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone;to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.我们,美国人,今天宣布,最不言自明的真理——人人生而平等——仍然是指引我们的北斗星,就像当年这条真理在色内加瀑布[1]、塞尔玛[2]、石墙[3]这些地方指引着人们,它指引着在这个宏大的草坪上留下了足迹的所有知名和不知名的人们。他们来到这里聆听宣讲,说我们不能独自行进;他们来聆听一位王者[4]说,我们的个人自由与地球上每个人的自由是紧密地联系在一起的。
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began.For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity;until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.如今到了我们这一代人去接过先驱们开创的使命的时候了。在我们的妻子、母亲、女儿,在得到与她们的付出相符的待遇之前,我们的使命还没有完成;在我们同性恋的兄弟和姐妹像其他人一样在法律上被视真正平等之前,我们的使命还没有完成-因为如果我们之间真正平等,那么可以肯定,我们所承诺的彼此相爱也必须是平等的。在所有公民行使投票权不必被迫等待几个小时之前,我们的使命还没有完成。在我们找到一个更好的方式来欢迎那些仍然可以把美国看作一个充满机遇的土地,乐于奋斗,充满希望的移民之前,在那些聪明的年轻学生和工程师被纳入到我们的劳动大军之中而不是被驱逐出境之前,我们的使命还没
有完成。在从底特律的街头到阿巴拉契亚山间到纽顿安静的小巷中,我们所有的孩子们都知道他们在被关心和爱护,安全有保障之前,我们的使命还没有完成。
That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American.Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life;it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness.Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.这是我们这一代人的使命真正成为每一个美国人的现实。忠实我们国家的创始文件,并不需要我们生活的每一个范畴都看法一致,也并不意味着我们以完全相同的方式定义自由,或者遵循同样的路径追求幸福。进步并不强迫我们放弃几个世纪以来关于所有政府作用的辩论-但需要我们在我们的时代采取行动。For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.我们现在就要做出抉择,我们不能承受拖延的后果。我们不能误以为毫无妥协余地是在坚持原则,或者以做秀取代政治,或者以相互指责取代理性的辩论。我们必须行动,尽管知道我们的工作不会十全十美。我们必须行动,尽管知道今天的胜利只是部分的成功,它将更多地取决于今后四年、四十年乃至四百年后站在这里的人们,继续发扬从费城独立厅传到我们手中的超越时代的精神。
My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service.But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream.My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.我的美国同胞们,我今天在你们面前宣誓,就和过去在这座国会山上宣誓过的人一样,是对上帝和国家而不是对一个政党或者派别的誓词。我们必须在任职期间忠实履行我们的誓言。我的誓词,和每次军人接受任务、移民实现梦想时的誓词,并无太大不同;和我们面对在空中飘扬,让我们心中充满自豪的国旗所做的宣誓,也无太大差异。
They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.这些是美国公民的心声,代表了我们最大的希望。
You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.你们和我,作为美国公民,有确定国家未来前程的权力。你们和我,作为美国公民,有塑造我们时代话语的责任,不仅通过我们投下的选票,也通过为了维护我们最永久的价值观及理想而发出的大声疾呼。
Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright.With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.让我们每个人用庄严的责任和无与伦比的欢悦,来拥抱我们与生俱来的永恒权利。凭借共同的努力,凭借热情和执着,让我们响应历史的召唤,承载一个珍爱自由之光的未知未来。
Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.感谢你们,上帝保佑你们,愿上帝永远佑护美利坚合众国。
第三篇:130122 美国总统奥巴马第二任期就职演说全文
美国总统奥巴马第二任期就职演说全文
2013年01月22日04:23 综合
当地时间1月21日,美国总统奥巴马在国会山进行其第二任期就职演说
美国总统奥巴马当地时间1月21日在国会山发表其第二任期就职演讲。奥巴马在演讲中追溯美国民主传统和宪法精神,通过阐述就业、医保、移民、财政、同性恋及气候变化威胁等多项议题与现实有力契合。奥巴马强调,伟大国家的塑造必须依赖每个美国人的力量,而非少数人的成功,并强调国家团结的重要性。奥巴马提及这代美国人从建国之父那里继承的精神还没有完成实践,现在的美国人需要继续努力,实现生存、自由与追求幸福的权利。以下为奥巴马就职演说全文:
谢谢,非常感谢大家。拜登副总统、首席大法官先生、国会议员们、尊敬的各位嘉宾、亲爱的公民们。
每一次我们集会庆祝总统就职都是在见证美国宪法的持久力量。我们都是在肯定美国民主的承诺。我们重申,将这个国家紧密联系在一起的不是我们的肤色,也不是我们信仰的教条,更不是我们名字的来源。让我们与众不同,让我们成为美国人的是我们对于一种理念的恪守。200多年前,这一理念在一篇宣言中被清晰阐述:
―我们认为下述真理是不言而喻的,人人生而平等。造物主赋予他们若干不可剥夺的权利,包括生存、自由和追求幸福的权利。‖
今天,我们继续着这一未竟的征程,架起这些理念与我们时代现实之间的桥梁。因为历史告诉我们,即便这些真理是不言而喻的,它们也从来不会自动生效。因为虽然自由是上帝赋予的礼物,但仍需要世间的子民去捍卫。1776年,美国的爱国先驱们不是只为了推翻国王的暴政而战,也不是为赢得少数人的特权,建立暴民的统治。先驱们留给我们一个共和国,一个民有、民治、民享的政府。他们委托每一代美国人捍卫我们的建国信条。
在过去的200多年里,我们做到了。
从奴役的血腥枷锁和刀剑的血光厮杀中我们懂得了,建立在自由与平等原则之上的联邦不能永远维持半奴隶和半自由的状态。我们赢得了新生,誓言共同前进。
我们共同努力,建立起现代的经济体系。架设铁路与高速公路,加速了旅行和商业交流。建立学校与大学,培训我们的工人。
我们一起发现,自由市场的繁荣只能建立在保障竞争与公平竞争的原则之上。
我们共同决定让这个伟大的国家远离危险,保护她的人民不受生命威胁和不幸的侵扰。一路走来,我们从未放弃对集权的质疑。我们同样不屈服于这一谎言:一切的社会弊端都能够只靠政府来解决。我们对积极向上与奋发进取的赞扬,我们对努力工作与个人责任的坚持,这些都是美国精神的基本要义。
我们也理解,时代在变化,我们同样需要变革。对建国精神的忠诚,需要我们肩负起新的责任,迎接新的挑战。保护我们的个人自由,最终需要所有人的共同努力。因为美国人不能再独力迎接当今世界的挑战,正如美国士兵们不能再像先辈一样,用步枪和民兵同敌人(法西斯主义与共产主义)作战。一个人无法培训所有的数学与科学老师,我们需要他们为了未来去教育孩子们。一个人无法建设道路、铺设网络、建立实验室来为国内带来新的工作岗位和商业机会。现在,与以往任何时候相比,我们都更需要团结合作。作为一个国家,一个民族团结起来。
这一代美国人经历了危机的考验,经济危机坚定了我们的决心,证明了我们的恢复力。长达十年的战争正在结束,经济的复苏已经开始。美国的可能性是无限的,因为我们拥有当今没有边界的世界所需要的所有品质:年轻与活力、多样 性与开放、无穷的冒险精神以及创造的天赋才能。我亲爱的同胞们,我们正是为此刻而生,我们更要在此刻团结一致,抓住当下的机会。
因为我们,美国人民,清楚如果只有不断萎缩的少数人群体获得成功,而大多数人不能成功,我们的国家就无法成功。我们相信,美国的繁荣必须建立在不断上升的中产阶级的宽阔臂膀之上,我们知道美国的繁荣只有这样才能实现。只有当每个人都能找到工作中的自立与自豪时才能实现。只有当诚实劳动获得的薪水足够让家庭摆脱困苦的悬崖时才能实现。我们忠诚于我们的事业,保证让一个出生于最贫穷环境中的小女孩都能知道,她有同其他所有人一样的成功机会。因为她是一个美国人,她是自由的、平等的。她的自由平等不仅由上帝来见证,更由我们亲手保护。
我们知道,我们已然陈旧的程序不足以满足时代的需要。我们必须应用新理念和新技术重塑我们的政府,改进我们的税法,改革我们的学校,让我们的公民拥有他们所需要的技能,更加努力地工作,学更多的知识,向更高处发展。这意味着变革,我们的目标是:国家可以奖励每个美国人的努力和果断。
这是现在需要的。这将给我们的信条赋予真正的意义。
我们,人民,仍然认为,每个公民都应当获得基本的安全和尊严。我们必须做出艰难抉择,降低医疗成本,缩减赤字规模。但我们拒绝在照顾建设国家的这一代和投资即将建设国家的下一代间做出选择。因为我们记得过去的教训:老年人的夕阳时光在贫困中度过,家有残障儿童的父母无处求助。我们相信,在这个国家,自由不只是那些幸运儿的专属,或者说幸福只属于少数人。我们知道,不管我们怎样负责任地生活,我们任何人在任何时候都可能面临失业、突发疾病或住房被可怕的飓风摧毁的风险。
我们通过医疗保险、联邦医疗补助计划、社会保障项目向每个人做出承诺,这些不会让我们的创造力衰竭,而是会让我们更强大。这些不会让我们成为充满不劳而获者的国度,这些让我们敢于承担风险,让国家伟大。
我们,人民,仍然相信,我们作为美国人的义务不只是对我们自己而言,还包括对子孙后代。我们将应对气候变化的威胁,认识到不采取措施应对气候变化就是对我们的孩子和后代的背叛。一些人可能仍在否定科学界的压倒性判断,但没有人能够避免熊熊火灾、严重旱灾、更强力风暴带来的灾难性打击。通向可再 生能源利用的道路是漫长的,有时是困难的。但美国不能抵制这种趋势,我们必须引领这种趋势。我们不能把制造新就业机会和新行业的技术让给其他国家,我们必须明确这一承诺。这是我们保持经济活力和国家财富(我们的森林和航道,我们的农田与雪峰)的方法。这将是我们保护我们星球的办法,上帝把这个星球托付给我们。这将给我们的建国之父们曾宣布的信条赋予意义。
我们,人民,仍然相信持久的安全与和平,不需要持续的战争。我们勇敢的士兵经受了战火的考验,他们的技能和勇气是无可匹敌的。我们的公民依然铭记着那些阵亡者,他们非常清楚我们为自由付出的代价。明白他们的牺牲将让我们永远对那些试图伤害我们的势力保持警惕。但我们也是那些赢得和平而不只是战争的人们的后代,他们将仇敌转变成最可靠的朋友,我们也必须把这些经验带到这个时代。
我们将通过强大的军力和法制保护我们的人民,捍卫我们的价值观。我们将展现试图和平解决与其它国家分歧的勇气,但这不是因为我们对面临的危险持幼稚的态度,而是因为接触能够更持久地化解疑虑和恐惧。美国将在全球保持强大的联盟,我们将更新这些能扩展我们应对海外危机能力的机制。因为作为世界上最强大的国家,我们在世界和平方面拥有最大的利益。我们将支持从亚洲到非洲、从美洲至中东的民主国家,因为我们的利益和良心驱使我们代表那些想获得自由的人们采取行动。我们必须成为贫困者、病患者、被边缘化的人士、异见受害者的希望来源,不仅仅是出于慈善,也是因为这个时代的和平需要不断推进我们共同信念中的原则:宽容和机遇,人类尊严与正义。
我们,人民,今天昭示的最明白的事实是——我们所有人都是生而平等的,这是依然引领我们的恒星。它引领我们的先辈穿越纽约塞尼卡瀑布城(女权抗议事件)、塞尔马(黑人权力事件)和石墙骚乱(同性恋与警察发生的暴力事件),引领着所有的男性和女性,留下姓名和没留姓名的人。在伟大的征程中,一路上留下足迹的人。曾经听一位牧师说,我们不能独自前行。马丁-路德-金说,我们个人的自由与地球上每个灵魂的自由不可分割。
继续先辈开创的事业是我们这代人的任务。直到我们的妻子、母亲和女儿的付出能够与她们的努力相称,我们的征途才会结束。我们的征途不会终结,我们要让同性恋的兄弟姐妹在法律之下得到与其他人同样的待遇。如果我们真正是生 而平等的,那么我们对彼此的爱也应该是平等的。我们的征途没有结束,直到没有公民需要等待数个小时去行使投票权。我们的征途不会结束,直到我们找到更好的方法迎接努力、有憧憬的移民,他们依旧视美国是一块充满机会的土地。直到聪颖年轻的学生和工程师为我们所用,而不是被逐出美国。我们的征途不会结束,直到我们所有的儿童,从底特律的街道到阿巴拉契亚的山岭,再到康涅狄格州纽镇安静的小巷,直到他们得到关心和珍视,永远避免受到伤害。
那是我们这一代的任务——让生存、自由和追求幸福的言语、权力和价值切实体现在每个美国人的身上。我们的立国文本没有要求我们将每个人的生活一致化。这并不意味着,我们会以完全一样的方式去定义自由,沿着同样的道路通向幸福。进步不会终止几个世纪以来一直纠结的关于政府角色的争论,但这要求我们现在就采取行动。
目前是由我们决策,我们不能拖延。我们不能将绝对主义当作原则,或者以表象代替政治,或将中伤视作理性的辩论。我们必须行动,要意识到我们的工作并不完美。我们必须行动,意识到今天的胜利是并不完全的。这些将有赖于未来4年、40年或是400年致力于这项事业的人,去推进当年在费城制宪会议大厅传承给我们的永恒精神。
我的美国同胞,我今天在你们面前宣读的誓词,如同在国会山服务的其他人曾宣读过的誓词一样,是对上帝和国家的誓词,不是对党派或是派别的,我们必须在任期内忠实地履行这些承诺。但我今天宣读的誓词与士兵报名参军或者是移民实现梦想时所宣读的誓词没有多少差别。我的誓词与我们所有的人向我们头顶飘扬的、让我们心怀自豪的国旗所表达的誓言没有多大差别。
这些是公民的誓词,代表着我们最伟大的希望。
你和我,作为公民,都有为这个国家设定道路的权力。
你和我,作为公民,有义务塑造我们时代的辩题,不仅是通过我们的选票,而且要为捍卫悠久的价值观和持久的理想发声。
现在让我们相互拥抱,怀着庄严的职责和无比的快乐,这是我们永恒的与生俱来的权利。有共同的努力和共同的目标,用热情与奉献,让我们回应历史的召唤,将珍贵的自由之光带入并不确定的未来。
感谢你们,上帝保佑你们,愿上帝永远保佑美利坚合众国。
以下是奥巴马第二任期就职演说英文版:
MR.OBAMA: Vice President Biden, Mr.Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.We affirm the promise of our democracy.We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
―We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.‖
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing;that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth.The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob.They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.For more than two hundred years, we have.Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce;schools and colleges to train our workers。
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone.Our celebration of initiative and enterprise;our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.But we have always understood that when times change, so must we;that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges;that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias.No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience.A decade of war is now ending.An economic recovery has begun.America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive;diversity and openness;an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work;when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time.We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher.But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American.That is what this moment requires.That is what will give real meaning to our creed.We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity.We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit.But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm.The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative;they strengthen us.They do not make us a nation of takers;they free us to take the risks that make this country great.We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult.But America cannot resist this transition;we must lead it.We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise.That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways;our croplands and snowcapped peaks.That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage.Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm.But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe;and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation.We will support democracy from Asia to Africa;from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity;human dignity and justice.We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still;just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall;just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone;to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began.For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity;until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American.Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life;it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness.Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service.But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream.My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright.With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.奥巴马就职典礼文字播报实录(组图)
2013年01月21日11:05 综合
奥巴马宣读誓词
国会山典礼现场
前总统卡特夫妇及前总统克林顿、国务卿希拉里夫妇
北京时间21日22:30至22日凌晨,奥巴马第二任总统就职典礼将举行,主题―相信美国‖。新浪新闻为你进行实时图文播报,请实时刷新获得最新信息。新闻最新的内容显示在页面在最上面,以倒序的方式呈现。以下是播报实录:
【即时点评:就职演讲强调宪法精神】奥巴马第二任期就职演讲中频繁提及―We, the People(我们,人民)‖。这是美国宪法文本的起头短语。演讲追溯美国传统并结合现实。尽管人民的概念在美国史中不断演化,但―The People the Best Governors‖(人民是最好管理者)的理念一直传承至今。更多消息及分http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职演讲解读】纽约时报的纳谷尼这样评论奥巴马演讲:这是个大忙人做的演讲,他谈了社保、医保、气候、同性恋等,从演讲内容可以看出,他未来数月可能将会采取的举措以及将以何种方式实施。奥巴马意识到,他时间不多,必须迅速将一些重要事情搞定。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职花边新闻:你不知道的就职―琐事‖】就职仪式上,奥巴马手按两本《圣经》宣誓,一本来自马丁路德金(上),一本来自前总统林肯。奥巴马作为首位黑人总统,使用黑人民权人士金的《圣经》宣誓,呼吁团结。金的同龄人、国会议员刘易斯表示都有些不敢相信了。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职现场动态】奥巴马在参加完第二任期就职典礼后进入国会,签署正式文件,提名约翰-克里担任国务卿、杰克-卢担任财长、查克-哈格尔任防长及其他人内阁。奥巴马一边签字还一边说着俏皮话,说自己正在宣布―地球上的和平以及对人类的良好祝愿。‖更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职现场动态】在奥巴马就职演讲后,就职典礼活动主要转向表演,最后美国知名歌手碧昂斯演唱美国国歌《星条旗之歌》为典礼收尾。随后总统奥巴马、副总统拜登及其夫人们将与国会领导人共同进餐,随后举行就职游行。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职现场动态:奥巴马呼吁国家团结】美国总统奥巴马在就职演讲中称,为时十年的伊拉克战争结束了,经济正在复苏。美国依然是年轻、有冲劲、开放、有冒险精神的国家。美国的繁荣依靠每一个人、每个家庭。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马跟随大法官宣读誓词】奥巴马跟随大法官宣读誓词——―我谨庄严宣誓,我必尽忠美国总统职守,竭尽全力,恪守、维护和捍卫美国宪法。‖誓词相当简短。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职前方独家】奥巴马在国会山宣誓就职,现场一片尖叫声-奥巴马!奥巴马!随后奥巴马发表就职演讲,演讲过程中也是掌声、欢呼。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【独家点评】:南苏丹首都的阿布巴卡里对英国广播公司非洲分部表示:由于奥巴马的口才,人们总是希望能够改善,但我认为这将是他最具挑战性的任期,因为世界在几乎各个方面都经历着危机。而世界都等着他任期结束后再评价他,所以他要尽力取得成果。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【花边新闻:商家的总统就职典礼生意经】成功连任的奥巴马正在举行宣誓就职典礼。各类商家也卯足劲,希望赶上最后一波―奥巴马‖热:典礼门票被炒到2000多美元一张;收藏版纪念礼盒套装售价高达7500美元;更有华盛顿酒店推出5夜10万美元的配套度假组合。(绮梅思远)更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职现场动态:奥巴马完成公开就职仪式】刚刚在最高法首席大法官罗伯茨主持下,奥巴马手按圣经,在公众面前完成就职仪式,随后礼炮响起。之后,奥巴马将发表第二任期就职讲话。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【花边新闻:你不知道的就职―琐事‖】一点琐事:老兵事务部长埃里克-申斯基是今天没有参加奥巴马就职仪式的内阁成员。那是因为他是―指定的幸存者‖,一旦在就职地点出现大规模的灾难,他将继任总统。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职海外观礼:拉美民众期待美国真的改变】英国广播公司驻哥伦比亚记者报道,全球都在关注奥巴马就职礼。而哥伦比亚人苏亚雷兹表示,―我想应该会发生一种变化。期待奥巴马先生真的改变他的国家,并在拉美创造一种涟漪效应。‖更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【现场动态:就职委主席致开幕词】奥巴马已经在就职典礼现场就坐,就职委主席查尔斯-舒默正在致开幕词。英国广播公司调侃说,奥巴马走向主席团座位时,一脸庄严,不过外面气温有点低,没穿外大衣的他应该很冷吧。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【独家点评:奥巴马就职众院―送礼‖】奥巴马就职前收到了好消息:共和党称,众院周三将就批准提高国债上限进行投票。不管结果如何,这一消息可算是送上―贺礼‖了。2011年8月就该议题的争斗引发重大争议,使评级机构下调了美政府债务的三A评级。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【现场动态:观礼民众上树-站得高看得远】虽然奥巴马此次就职仪式的观礼人数远远不及2009年他首次就职,但BBC驻华盛顿记者本-怀特发推说,人群仍在涌入国家广场,外围现在退到了纪念碑后面。一些人爬上树枝观看。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【现场动态:两对前总统夫妇入场】美国前总统卡特夫妇及前总统克林顿、国务卿希拉里夫妇刚刚进入奥巴马就职典礼现场。前总统克林顿曾助力奥巴马成功连任。小布什和老布什两位前总统不会参加就职仪式,前副总统们也不参加,他们可在家中收看实况。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【现场动态:奥巴马车队正驶向国会山】美国第一家庭车队已从白宫出发,前往国会山参加典礼。就职委员会主席、纽约民主党参议员查克-舒默,就职委员会副主席、共和党人拉马尔-亚历山德以及副总统拜登夫妇也随车队同行。车道两旁美国民众摇旗欢迎。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【现场动态:国会山典礼现场放松更像派对】英国卫报记者艾文在美国国会山现场,他表示人群规模远不如2009年的180万人,但气氛更放松,这也许是因为人群不再拥挤,也许是因为这已是第二次了。看起来少了2009年的光环,增添了更多派对气氛。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【现场动态:两位前总统参加典礼】美国前总统卡特进入国会山,将参加奥巴马就职仪式的另一位前总统是克林顿,他曾助力奥巴马成功连任。小布什和老布什总统都不会参加此次奥巴马就职仪式,前副总统们也不参加,他们可在家中收看奥巴马的就职典礼。更多消息及分析:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职花絮:第一夫人礼服将入国家档案馆】英国广播公司报道,美国第一家庭刚刚结束教堂活动回到白宫。第一夫人米歇尔将手握《圣经》协助丈夫宣誓,她今天的礼服由美国著名设计师汤姆-布朗恩设计,灵感来自男性真丝领带。典礼后,整套礼服将入国家档案馆。更多消息:http://t.cn/zjgy9bv
【奥巴马就职典礼】北京时间今天22:30开始,奥巴马第二任期总统就职典礼举行,主题为―相信美国‖。微天下正在进行视频、图文直播,并同传就职演说,特派记者也将从就职典礼现场带来报道。
【奥巴马就职现场动态:80-90万人将参加就职典礼】CNN报道,美国总统奥巴马第二任期就职典礼即将举行,预计将有80-90万人参加就职典礼,少于4年前观礼的180万人。奥巴马已开始其第二任期,这使他有机会让其总统生涯更―伟大‖,但也将面临首个任期留下的挑战。
第四篇:美国总统奥巴马就职演讲稿
美国总统奥巴马就职演讲稿
Hello,芝加哥。
美国是一个一切皆有可能的地方,如果还有人对这一点心存怀疑,如果还有人怀疑美国奠基者的梦想在我们时代是否还有活力,还有人怀疑我们民主制度的力量,那么,你们今晚正是对那些疑问作出了回答。
在学校和教堂周围所出现的前所未有的长队是答案,这个国家从未见过这么多的人前来投票,人们排三个、四个小时的队来进行有生以来的第一次投票,因为他们相信这一次将会不同,他们发出的声音可能就是那个差别。
这是一个年轻人和年老人、富人和穷人、民主党人和共和党人、黑人、白人、西班牙裔人、亚裔、印第安人、同性恋和异性恋、残障人士和健全人士所作出的回答。美国人向世界发出一个信息:我们从不只是一些个人的累加或者“红色州”和“蓝色州”的累加。
我们是,我们永远是美利坚合众国。
这是一个引导人们的答案,太多的人在很长的时间内给他们说这个答案,以至于他们对此持愤世疾俗的态度,对我们是否可以再一次把握历史的希望感到担心和怀疑。已经过去了很长时间,但是今晚,由于我们今天在这场选举所采取的行动,在这个决定性的时候,变革来到了美国。
今晚早些时候,我接到来自参议员麦凯恩的一个特别有风度的电话。麦凯恩在这场选战中进行了长期和艰苦的努力,他为这个他所爱的国家战斗了更长的时间,作出了更艰苦的努力。他为美国承受了我们中的大多数人无法想像的牺牲。由于这位勇敢和无私领导人的服务,我们的生活变得更好。
我向他表示祝贺,我向佩林州长表示祝贺,向他们所取得的成果表示祝贺,我盼望与他们共事以继续这个国家在未来岁月的承诺。
我想感谢我在竞选旅程的伙伴,一位用心竞选的男士,一位为和他一起在斯克兰顿街头一同长大的男人和女子代言、经常坐火车回特拉华州的男士,美国当选副总统拜登。
如果没有我过去16年最好的朋友、我们家庭的中坚、我生命中的挚爱,我今天晚上不可能站在这里,美国下一位第一夫人米歇尔-奥巴马。
萨沙和马莉娅,我爱你们,我对你们的爱超出了你们的想象。你们已赢得了新的宠物狗,它将和我们一起前往新的白宫。
尽管她没能和我们在一起,但我知道,我的祖母和养大我的家人在看着我,我今晚很想念他们,我知道我欠他们的东西是无法计量的。我的妹妹马娅、我的姐姐奥玛,我其他的兄弟和姐妹,非常感谢你们对我的支持,我感谢他们。我的竞选经理大卫-普劳夫,这位竞选活动的无名英雄,他进行了最好的政治竞选活动,我认为这是美国历史上最棒的。我的首席策略师大卫-艾克斯罗德,他一直是追随我的伙伴。你们组建了政治史上最好的竞选团队,是你们成就了今天,我永远感谢你们为此所作出的牺牲。
但最重要的是,我永远不会忘记这场胜利真正属于谁,它属于你们,它属于你们。
我从来不是最有可能获得这一职务的候选人。我们刚开始并没有太多资金,也没有得到许多人的支持。我们的竞选活动并非始自华盛顿的大厅里,而是始于得梅因、康科德、查尔斯顿这些地方的普通民众家中。那些辛勤工作的人们从自己微薄的储蓄中捐出5美元、10美元、20美元。竞选活动因为年轻人的支持而越来越有声势,他们拒绝了他们那一代对政治不感兴趣的神话,他们离开家,从事那些薪水少而且辛苦的工作。竞选活动的声势也来自那些已不再年轻的人们,他们冒着严寒酷暑,敲开陌生人的家门进行竞选宣传;竞选声势也源自数百万的美国民众,他们充当志愿者和组织者,他们证明了在两百多年以后,民有、民治、民享的政府并未从地球上消失。这是你们的胜利。
我知道你们的所做的一切并不只是为了赢得选举,我也知道你们做这一切并不是为了我。你们这样做是因为你们明白前面的任务有多么艰巨。即便我们今晚欢呼庆祝,我们也知道明天将面临我们一生之中最艰难的挑战——两场战争、一个面临危险的星球,一个世纪以来最严重的金融危机。
就在我们今晚站在这里的时刻,我们知道勇敢的美国士兵在伊拉克的沙漠里和阿富汗的群山中醒来,他们冒着生命危险来保护着我们的生命。仍有在孩子熟睡后仍难以入眠的父母,他们担心如何偿还按揭月供、付医药费或是存够钱让孩子上大学。我们需要开发新的能源、创造新的工作岗位,我们需要修建新学校,应对众多威胁、修复与许多国家的盟友关系。
前方的道路将很漫长,我们攀登的脚步会很艰辛。我们可能无法在一年甚至一个任期内实现这些目标,但我从未像今晚这样满怀希望,我们将实现我们的目标。我向你们承诺——我们作为一个整体将会达成目标。
我们会遭遇挫折和不成功的起步。我作为总统所做的每项决定或政策,会有许多人持有异议,我们也知道,政府不能解决所有问题。但我将总是会向你们坦陈我们所面临的挑战。我会听取你们的意见,尤其是存在不同意见的时候。最重要的是,我会请求你们参与重建这个国家,以美国221年来从未改变的唯一方式-一砖一瓦、同心协力。
21个月前在寒冬所开始的一切不应当在今天这个秋夜结束。今天的选举胜利并不是我们所寻求的改变--这只是我们进行改变的机会。如果我们仍然按照过去的方式行事,我们所寻求的改变将不会发生。没有你们,没有服务和牺牲的新精神,就不可能发生改变。
因此,让我们发扬新的爱国和负责精神,所有的人都下定决心参与其中,更加努力地工作,不仅是为自己而是为彼此。让我们记住这一点,如果说这场金融危机教会了我们什么东西的话,那就是我们不可能在金融以外的领域处于困境的同时拥有繁荣兴旺的华尔街。
在这个国家,我们患难与共。让我们抵制重走老路的诱惑,避免重新回到令美国政治长期深受毒害的党派纷争、小题大作、不成熟的表现。让我们记住,是伊利诺伊州的一名男子首次将共和党的旗帜扛到了白宫。共和党是建立在自立、个人自由以及国家团结的价值观之上的。这也是我们所有人共同的价值观。虽然民主党今天晚上赢得了巨大的胜利,但我们是以谦卑的态度和弥合阻碍我们进步的分歧的决心赢得这场胜利的。林肯在向远比我们眼下分歧更大的国家发表讲话时说,我们不是敌人,而是朋友……虽然激情可能会褪去,但这不会割断我们感情上的联系。对于那些现在没有投票给我的美国人,我想说,我可能没有赢得你们的选票,但是我听到了你们的声音,我需要你们的帮助,而且我也将是你们的总统。
对于那些彻夜关注美国大选的海外人士,从国会到皇宫,以及在被遗忘的角落里挤在收音机旁的人们,我们的经历虽然各有不同,但是我们的命运是一样的,新的美国领导层已产生了。
那些想要颠覆这个世界的人们,我们将击败你们。那些追求和平和安全的人们,我们支持你们。那些所有怀疑美国的灯塔能否能像以前一样明亮的人们,今天晚上我们再次证明,我们国家真正的力量并非来自我们武器的威力或财富的规模,而是来自我们理想的持久力量:民主、自由、机会、不屈服的希望。
这才是美国真正的精华——美国能够改变。我们的联邦会日渐完美。我们现在已取得的成就为我们将来能够取得和必须取得的成就增添了希望。
这次大选创造了多项第一,也诞生了很多将世代流传的故事。但是今天晚上令我难忘的却是在亚特兰大投票的一名妇女:安-尼克松-库波尔。她和其他数百万排队等待投票的选民没有什么差别,除了一点:她已是106岁的高龄。
她出生的那个时代奴隶制度刚刚结束;那时路上没有汽车,天上也没有飞机。当时像她这样的人由于两个原因不能投票,首先她是女性,其次她是黑人。
今天晚上,我想到了她在美国过去一百年间所经历的种种:心痛和希望;斗争和进步;在那里时代,我们被告知我们办不到,一些人继续坚信着美国的信念──是的,我们能做到。
妇女当时没有投票权,她们的希望被挫败,但是安-尼克松-库波尔活着看到妇女们站了起来,看到她们站出来发表自己的见解,看到她们参加大选投票。是的,我们能做到。
当30年代的沙尘暴和大萧条使人们感到绝望时,她看到一个国家用新政、新的就业机会以及对新目标的共同追求战胜恐慌。是的,我们能做到。
当炸弹袭击了我们的港口、暴政威胁到全世界,她见证了一代美国人的伟大崛起,见证了一个民主国家获得拯救。是的,我们能做到。
她看到蒙哥马利通了公共汽车、伯明翰接上了水管、塞尔马建了桥,一位来自亚特兰大的传教士告诉人们:“我们将克服阻力。”是的,我们能做到。
人类登上月球、柏林墙倒下,世界被我们的科学和想像被连接在一起。今年,在这场选举中,她用手指触摸屏幕投下自己的选票,因为在美国生活了106年之后,经历了最好的时光和最黑暗的时刻之后,她知道美国如何能够发生变革。是的,我们能做到。
美国,我们已经走过了一条漫漫长路。我们已经历了很多。但是我们仍有很多事情要做。因此今夜,请让我们自问--如果我们的孩子能够活到下个世纪;如果我的女儿有幸活得和安一样长,她们将会看到怎样的改变?我们将会取得什么样的进步?
现在是我们回答这个问题的机会。这是我们的时刻。
这是我们的时代--让我们的人民重新就业,为我们的后代敞开机会之门,恢复繁荣,推进和平,重新确立“美国梦”,再次证明这样一个基本的真理:我们是一家人;只要一息尚存,我们就有希望;当我们遇到嘲讽和怀疑,当有人说我们办不到的时候,我们要以这个永恒的信条来回应他们:
是的,我们能做到。感谢你们。上帝保佑你们。愿上帝保佑美利坚合众国。
第五篇:[中英对照]奥巴马第一任期就职演讲
President Obama's first term inauguration speech
Capitol Hill,Washington D.C.,America
February 20,2008
My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.总统奥巴马第一任期就职演讲
国会山,美国,华盛顿
2008年1月20日
我的同胞们,今天我站在这里,看到眼前面临的重大任务,深感卑微。我感谢你们对我的信任,也知道先辈们为了这个国家所作的牺牲。我要感谢布什总统为国家做出的贡献,以及感谢他在两届政府过渡期间给与的慷慨协作。
迄今为止,已经有44个美国总统宣誓就职。总统的宣誓有时面对的是国家的和平繁荣,但通常面临的是乌云密布的紧张形势。在紧张的形势中,支持美国前进的不仅仅是领导人的能力和远见,也在于美国人民对国家先驱者理想的信仰,以及对美国立国文件的忠诚。
So it has been.So it must be with this generation 前辈们如此,我们这一代美国人也要如
此。of Americans.That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.Homes have been lost;jobs shed;businesses shuttered.Our health care is too costly;our schools fail too many;and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.现在我们都深知,我们身处危机之中。我们的国家在战斗,对手是影响深远的暴力和憎恨;国家的经济也受到严重的削弱,原因虽有一些人的贪婪和不负责任,但更为重要的是我们作为一个整体在一些重大问题上决策失误,同时也未能做好应对新时代的准备。我们的人民正在失去家园,失去工作,很多且要倒闭。社会的医疗过于昂贵、学校教育让许多人失望,而且每天都会有新的证据显示,我们利用能源的方式助长了我们的敌对势力,同时也威胁着我们的星球。
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics.Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land, a nagging 统计数据的指标传达着危机的消息。危机难以测量,但更难以测量的是其对美国人国家自信的侵蚀——现在一种认为fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.Today I say to you that the challengeswe face are real.They are serious and they are many.They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.But know this, America, they will be met.On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit;to choose our better history;to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given.It must be earned.Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.It has not been the path for the faint-hearted--for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things--some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.美国衰落不可避免,我们的下一代必须低调的言论正在吞噬着人们的自信。今天我要说,我们的确面临着很多严峻的挑战,而且在短期内不大可能轻易解决。但是我们要相信,我们一定会度过难关。
今天,我们在这里齐聚一堂,因为我们
战胜恐惧选择了希望,摒弃了冲突和矛盾而选择了团结。今天,我们宣布要为无谓的摩擦、不实的承诺和指责画上句号,我们要打破牵制美国政治发展的若干陈旧教条。
美国仍是一个年轻的国家,借用《圣经》的话说,放弃幼稚的时代已经到来了。重拾坚韧精神的时代已经到来,我们要为历史作出更好的选择,我们要秉承历史赋予的宝贵权利,秉承那种代代相传的高贵理念:上帝赋予我们每个人以平等和自由,以及每个人尽全力去追求幸福的机会。
在重申我们国家伟大之处的同时,我们深知伟大从来不是上天赐予的,伟大需要努力赢得。(我们的民族一路走来),这旅途之中从未有过捷径或者妥协,这旅途也不适合胆怯之人、或者爱安逸胜过爱工作之人、或者单单追求名利之人。这条路是勇于承担风险者之路,是实干家、创造者之路。这其中有一些人名留青史,但是更多的人却在默默无闻地工作着。正是这些人带领我们走过了漫长崎岖的旅行,带领我们走向富强和自由。
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessionsand traveled across oceans in search of a new life.For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West;endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg;Normandy and Khe Sahn.Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so 为了我们,先辈们带着微薄的细软,横渡大洋,寻找新生活;为了我们,先辈们忍辱负重,用血汗浇铸工厂;为了我们,先辈们在荒芜的西部大地辛勤耕作,定居他乡;为了我们,先辈们奔赴(独立战争中的)康科德城和葛底斯堡、(二战中的)诺曼底、(越战中的)Khe Sahn,他们征战、死去。
一次又一次,我们的先辈们战斗着、牺牲着、操劳着,只为了我们可以生活得that we might live a better life.They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions;greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.This is the journey we continue today.We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year.Our capacity remains undiminished.But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed.Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.All this we can do.And all this we will do.更好。在他们看来,美国的强盛与伟大超越了个人雄心,也超越了个人的出身、贫富和派别差异。
今天我们继续先辈们的旅途。美国依然是地球上最富裕、最强大的国家。同危机初露端倪之时相比,美国人民的生产力依然旺盛;与上周、上个月或者去年相比,我们的头脑依然富于创造力,我们的商品和服务依然很有市场,我们的实力不曾削弱。但是,可以肯定的是,轻歌曼舞的时代、保护狭隘利益的时代以及对艰难决定犹豫不决的时代已经过去了。从今天开始,我们必须跌倒后爬起来,拍拍身上的泥土,重新开始工作,重塑美国。
我目之所及,都有工作有待完成。国家的经济情况要求我们采取大胆且快速的行动,我们的确是要行动,不仅是要创造就业,更要为(下一轮经济)增长打下新的基础。我们将造桥铺路,为企业铺设电网和数字线路,将我们联系在一起。我们将回归科学,运用科技的奇迹提高医疗质量,降低医疗费用。我们将利用风能、太阳能和土壤驱动车辆,为工厂提供能源。我们将改革中小学以及大专院校,以适应新时代的要求。这一切,我们都能做到,而且我们都将会做到。
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.Their memories are short.现在,有一些人开始质疑我们的野心是不是太大了,他们认为我们的体制承载不了太多的宏伟计划。他们是健忘了。For they have forgotten what this country has already done;what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward.Where the answer is no, programs will end.And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control, and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity;on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart, not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.他们已经忘了这个国家已经取得的成就;他们已经忘了当创造力与共同目标以及必要的勇气结合起来时,自由的美国人民所能发挥的能量。
这些怀疑论者的错误在于,他们没有意识到政治现实已经发生了变化,长期以来耗掉我们太多精力的陈腐政治论争已经不再适用。今天,我们的问题不在于政府的大小,而在于政府能否起作用,政府能否帮助家庭找到薪水合适的工作、给他们可以负担得起的医疗保障并让他们体面地退休。哪个方案能给与肯定的答案,我们就推进哪个方案。哪个方案的答案是否定的,我们就选择终止。而掌管纳税人税金的人应当承担起责任,合理支出,摒弃陋习,磊落做事,这有这样才能在政府和人民之间重建至关重要的相互信任。
我们面临的问题也不是市场好坏的问题。市场创造财富、拓展自由的能力无可匹敌,但是这场危机提醒我们,如果没有监管,市场很可能就会失去控制,而且偏袒富人国家的繁荣无法持久。国家经济的成败不仅仅取决于国内生产总值的大小,而且取决于繁荣的覆盖面,取决于我们是否有能力让所有有意愿的人都有机会走向富裕。我们这样做不是慈善,而是因为这是确保实现共同利益的途径。
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.And so to all other peoples and governments who are 就共同防御而言,我们认为国家安全与国家理想的只能选其一的排他选择是错的。面对我们几乎无法想像的危险,我们的先辈们起草了确保法治和个人权利的宪章。一代代人民的鲜血夯实了这一宪章。宪章中的理想依然照亮着世界,我们不能以经验之谈放弃这些理想。因此我想对正在观看这一仪式的其他国家watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use;our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.We are the keepers of this legacy.Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken;you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.的人民和政府说,不论他们现在各国伟大的首府还是在如同我父亲出生地一般的小村落,我想让他们知道:对于每个追求和平和自尊的国家和个人而言,美国都是朋友,我们愿意再次领导大家踏上追寻之旅。
回想先辈们在抵抗法西斯主义之时,他们不仅依靠手中的导弹或坦克,他们还依靠稳固的联盟和坚定的信仰。他们深知单凭自己的力量我们无法保护自己,他们也深知我们强大并不足以使我们有权利为所欲为。他们明白,正是因为使用谨慎,我们的实力才不断增强;正是因为我们的事业是公正的、我们为世界树立了榜样,因为我们的谦卑和节制,我们才安全。
我们继承了这些遗产。在这些原则的再次领导下,我们有能力应对新的威胁,我们需要付出更多的努力、进行国家间更广泛的合作以及增进国家间的理解。首先,我们将以负责任的态度,将伊拉克交还给伊拉克人民,同时巩固阿富汗来之不易的和平。对于老朋友和老对手,我们将继续努力,不遗余力,削弱核威胁,遏制全球变暖的幽灵。我们不会为我们的生活方式感到报歉,我们会不动摇地捍卫我们的生活方式。对于那些企图通过恐怖主义或屠杀无辜平民达成目标的人,我们要对他们说:我们的信仰更加坚定,不可动摇,你们不可能拖垮我们,我们定将战胜你们。
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth;and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass;that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve;that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself;and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.To those who cling to power through corruptionand deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history;but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.因为我们知道,我们的多元化遗产是一个优势,而非劣势。我们国家里有基督徒也有穆斯林,有犹太教徒也有印度教徒,同时也有非宗教信徒。我们民族的成长受到许多语言和文化的影响,我们吸取了这个星球上任何一个角落的有益成分。正是因为我们民族曾亲尝过内战和种族隔离的苦酒,并且在经历了这些黑色的篇章之后变得更加强大更加团结,因此我们不由自主,只能相信一切仇恨终有一天都会成为过去,种族的划分不久就会消失,而且随着世界变得越来越小,我们相信终有一天人类共有的人性品德将会自动显现。在迎接新的和平中美国必将发挥其作用
对穆斯林世界,我们正在共同利益和彼此尊重的基础上寻求一条新的前行道路。对全球那些想要播种冲突、将自己国家的问题怪罪于西方社会的领导人,你们应该知道 你们的人民将根据你们建设什么而不是摧毁了什么来评价你们。对于那些通过腐败、欺骗、压制异见来统治的人,你们应该知道你们站在了历史的对立面。但是如果 你们愿意放开紧攥的拳头,美国会向你们伸出手。
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work 对贫困国家的人民,我们保证将和你们
合作,让你们的农场丰收,让水源清alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow;to nourish starved bodies and feed 洁,滋补饿坏的身体,滋养饥饿的心
灵。对那些与我们一样相对富裕的国hungry minds.And to those nations like ours that
家,我们说,不能再对外界的苦难漠不enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford 关心,更不能毫无顾忌地消耗世界的资indifference to suffering outside our borders;nor can 源。世界已经改变,我们也必须随之改we consume the world's resources without regard to 变。effect.For the world has changed, and we must change with it.As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.思索前方的路,我们无时无刻不在铭记那些远征沙漠和偏远山区的英勇美国战士,对他们充满了感激之情,他们和那些安息在阿灵顿国家公墓之下的战争英雄们一样,给与我们启示。
We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service;a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.Our challenges may be new.The instruments with which we meet them may be new.But those values upon which our success depends--hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism--these things are old.These things are true.They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.What is demanded then is a return to these truths.What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.This is the price and the promise of citizenship.我们尊敬他们,不仅因为他们是自由的守护者,还因为他们代表的是为国家服务的精神,他们自愿追寻比自身的价值更伟大的意义(美国国家之伟大)。此时此刻,在这个要塑造一代人的时刻,我们需要的正是这样一种精神。
因为无论美国政府能做多少,必须做多少,美国国家的立国之本最终还是美国人的决心和信念。于防洪堤坝决堤之时收留陌生受难者的善意,于在经济不景气的时候宁愿减少自己工时也不肯看着朋友失业的无私,正是他们支撑我们走过黑暗的时刻。消防队员冲入满是浓烟的楼梯抢救生命的勇气,父母养育孩子的坚持,正是这些决定了我们的命运。
我们面临的挑战也许是新的,我们应对挑战的措施也许也是新的,但那些长期以来指导我们成功的价值观——勤奋、诚实、勇气、公平竞争、包容以及对世界保持好奇心,还有对国家的忠诚和爱国主义——却是历久弥新,这些价值观是可靠的.他们是创造美国历史的无声力量.我们现在需要的就是回归这些古老的价值观.我们需要一个新的负责任的时代,一个觉醒的时代,每个国人都应意识到即我们对自己、对国家和世界负有责任,我们不应该不情愿地接受这些责任,而应该快乐地承担起这些责任。我们应该坚定这一认识,即没有什么比全身心投入一项艰巨的工作更能锻炼我们的性格,更能获得精神上的满足。
这是公民应尽的义务,应做出的承诺。
This is the source of our confidence, the 我们自信源于对上帝的信仰,上帝号召knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain 我们要掌握自己的命运。destiny.7
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.The capital was abandoned.The enemy was advancing.The snow was stained with blood.At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: “Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet(it).” America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words.With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter;and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.这就是我们自由和信仰的意义,这也是为何不同种族、不同信仰、不同性别和年龄的人可以同聚一堂在此欢庆的原因,也是我今天能站在这里庄严宣誓的原因,而在50多年前我的父亲甚至都不能成为地方餐馆的服务生。
所以,让我们铭记自己的身份,镌刻自己的足迹。在美国诞生的时代,那最寒冷的岁月里,一群勇敢的爱国人士围着篝火在冰封的河边取暖。首都被占领,敌人在挺进,冬天的雪被鲜血染成了红色。在美国大革命最受质疑的时刻,我们的国父们这样说:
“我们要让未来的世界知道„„在深冬的严寒里,唯有希望和勇气才能让我们存活„„面对共同的危险时,我们的城市和国家要勇敢地上前去面对。” 今天的美国也在严峻的寒冬中面对共同的挑战,让我们记住国父们不朽的语言。带着希望和勇气,让我们再一次勇敢地面对寒流,迎接可能会发生的风暴。我们要让我们的子孙后代记住,在面临挑战的时候,我们没有屈服,我们没有逃避也没有犹豫,我们脚踏实地、心怀信仰,秉承了宝贵的自由权利并将其安全地交到了下一代的手中。