罗伯特·肯尼迪(1968年演讲节选)

第一篇：罗伯特·肯尼迪(1968年演讲节选)

即使我们消除了物质的贫困，我们还面临一个更大的任务，那就是---满足的贫困，目标的贫困，尊严的贫困---还困扰着我们每一个人。在太长时间里，我们太注重物质的积累，而放弃了个人的美德和社会的价值。

But even if we act to erase material poverty,there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty ofsatisfactionthat afflicts us all.Too muchand for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellenceand community values in the mere accumulation of materialthings.我们的国民生产总值现在已经超过八千亿美元，但这个国民生产总值---如果我们用它来衡量美国---这个国民生产总值包括了空气污染和香烟广告，以及为交通事故而奔忙的救护车。

Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Productthat Gross NationalProduct counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, andambulances to clear our highways of carnage.它包括了我们装在门上的特种锁和关撬锁的人的监狱，包括了我们对红木森林的破坏和因城市无序蔓延而消失的自然奇观。它包括了凝固汽油弹，包括了核弹头，包括了警察用来应付城市骚乱的装甲车，包括了惠特曼步枪和斯佩克刀，包括了为了向孩子推销玩具而美化暴力的电视节目。

It counts special locks for our doors and thejails for the people who break them.It counts the destruction ofthe redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl.It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars forthe police to fight the riots in our cities.It countsWhitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and thetelevision programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys toour children.然而，这个国民生产总值不包括我们孩子的健康，他们教育的质量和游戏的快乐。不包括我们诗歌的美丽，我们婚姻的坚强，我们公众辩论中的智慧，和我们官员的正直。

Yet the gross national product does not allow forthe health of our children, the quality of their education or thejoy of their play.It does not include the beauty of our poetry orthe strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our publicdebate or the integrity of our public officials.它不包括我们的机智和勇气，不包括我们的智慧和学问，不包括我们的同情心，不包括我们对国家的热爱。总之，它衡量一切，却把那些令人生有价值东西排除在外。它告诉我们美国的方方面面，却不能告诉我们为什么为她自豪。It measures neither our wit nor our courage,neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor ourdevotion to our country, it measures everything in short, exceptthat which makes life worthwhile.And it can tell us everythingabout America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

第二篇：肯尼迪演讲

就职演说

今天我们欢庆的不是一次政党的胜利，而是一个自由的盛典；它象征着结束，也象征着开始；意味着改良，也意味着革新。因为我已在你们和全能的上帝面前，宣读了我们祖先在将近一又四分之三世纪以前所拟定的那同一份庄严的誓言。现今世界已经很不同了，因为人在自己血肉之躯的手中握有足以消灭一切形式的人类贫穷和一切形式的人类生命的力量。可是我们祖先奋斗不息所维护的革命信念，在世界各地仍处于争论之中。那信念确认，人权并非来自政府的慷慨施予，而是上帝所赐。我们至今不敢忘记我们是那第一次革命的继承者。让我从此时此地告诉我们的朋友，也告诉我们的敌人，这革命的火炬已传递给新一代的美国人，他们出生在本世纪，经历过战争的锻炼，受过严酷而艰苦的和平的熏陶，以我们的古代传统自豪，而且不愿目睹或容许人权逐步被褫夺。对于这些人权我国一向坚贞不移，当前在国内和全世界我们也是对之力加维护的。让每一个国家——不管它希望我们好或希望我们坏——知道，我们将付出任何代价，忍受任何重负，应付任何艰辛，支持任何朋友，反对任何敌人，以确保自由的存在与实现。这是我们矢志不移的事－－而且还不止此。

对于那些和我们拥有共同文化和精神起源的老盟邦，我们保证待之以挚友之诚。在我们面临风险的共同事业中，只要团结，我们将所向披靡；倘若分裂，则将一事无成——因为在意见分歧、四分五裂的情况下，我们将怯于应对强大的挑战。对于那些我们欢迎其加入自由国家行列的新国家，我们要提出保证，在一种形式的殖民统治消失之后，绝不允许简单地代之以另一种远为冷酷的暴政。我们不应总是期望他们支持我们的观点，我们却始终希望他们能强有力地维护他们自身的自由，让我们牢记，过去那些愚蠢地追求权力的人们、那些骑在虎背上狐假虎威的人，最终却被老虎所吞噬。

对于那些布满半个地球，居住在茅舍和乡村中，力求打破普遍贫困的桎梏的人们，我们保证尽最大努力助其自救，不管需要多长时间。这并非因为共产党人会那样做，也不是由于我们要求他们的选票，而是由于那样做是正确的。

自由社会若不能帮助众多的穷人，也就不能保全那少数的富人。对于我国边界以南的各姐妹共和国，我们提出一项特殊的保证：要把我们的美好诺言化作行动：在谋求发展的新联盟中，援助自由的人们和自由的政府来摆脱贫困的枷锁。但这种为实现自身愿望而进行的和平革命不应成为敌对势力的俎上鱼肉。让我们所有的邻邦都知道，我们将与他们联合起来，抵御对美洲任何地区的侵略或颠覆。让所有其它势力都知道，西半球的人民决定自己当家作主。

对于各主权国家的世界性议会——联合国，这个在战争手段远远超过和平手段的时代里我们最后的最美好的希望，我们愿重申我们的支持诺言：不让它变成仅供谩骂的讲坛，强化其对于新国弱国的保护，扩大其权力运用的领域。

最后，对于那些与我们为敌的国家，我们提供的不是保证，而是要求：双方重新着手寻求和平，不要等到科学所释出的毁灭性的黑暗力量在有意或无意中以人们自我毁灭的方式吞噬了全人类。

我们不敢以软弱去诱惑他们。因为只有当我们的武力无可置疑地强大时，我们才能对其不被使用确信无疑。

然而这两个强有力的国家集团，谁也不能对当前的趋势放心 －－双方都因现代武器的高昂造价而不胜重负，双方都因致命的原子力量稳步发展而产生理所当然的惊骇，可是双方又都在竞争以图改变那不稳定的恐怖的均衡，而正是这种均衡暂时阻止了人类的末日之战。因此，让我们重新开始。双方都应记住，谦恭并不象征懦弱，而诚意则终须验证。让我们决不因畏惧而谈判。但让我们决不畏惧谈判。

让双方探究那使我们团结在一起的因素，而不是纠缠于那使我们分裂的问题。让双方第一次制订有关检查和管制武器的严肃而确切的计划，并且把那足以毁灭其它国家的无限制的力量置于所有国家的绝对管制之下。

让双方都谋求激发科学的神奇力量而不是它的恐怖因素。让我们一道去探索星球，治理沙漠，根除疾病，开发深海资源，鼓励艺术和商务。让双方携手在世界各个角落遵循以赛亚的命令，去“卸下沉重的负担„„让被压迫者得到自由。”

如果一个合作的滩头堡垒能够逼退猜疑的丛林，那么，让双方联合作一次新的努力吧，不是追求新的权力均衡，而是建立一个新的法治世界——在那里，强者公正，弱者安全，和平在握。

凡此种种不会在最初的一百天中完成，不会在最初的一千天中完成，不会在本政府任期中完成，甚至也不能在我们活在这星球上的一生中完成。但让我们开始。我的公民伙伴们，我们事业的最后成败的关键，主要不是掌握在我手里，而是操在你们手中。自从这个国家缔造之日起，每一代的美国人都曾应召以验证其对国家的忠诚。响应此项召唤而服军役的美国青年人的坟莹遍布全球。

现在那召唤我们的号角又再度响起——不是号召我们拿起武器，尽管我们需要武器；不是号召我们去作战，尽管我们已严阵以待；那是号召我们肩负起持久和战线模糊的斗争。年复一年地，在希望中欢欣，在忧患中忍耐，这是一场反抗人类共同的敌人——暴政、贫困、疾病以及战争本身——的斗争。

我们能否结成一个遍及东西南北的全球性的伟大联盟以对付这些敌人，以确保全人类享有更为富裕的生活?你们是否愿意参与这历史性的努力? 在世界的漫长历史中，只有少数几代人被赋予这种在自由遭遇最大危机时保卫自由的使命。我决不在这使命之前退缩；我欢迎它。我不相信我们中间有任何人会愿意跟别人及别的时代交换位置。我们在这个努力中所贡献的精力、信念与牺牲，将点燃我们的国家以及所有为她服务的人，而这火焰放射的光辉必将照亮整个世界。

所以，我的美国同胞们，不要问你的国家能为你做些什么，而要问你能为国家做些什么。全世界的公民伙伴们，不要问美国能为你们做些什么，而要问我们在一起能为人类的自由做些什么。最后，不管你是美国的公民或世界它国的公民，请将我们所要求于你们的有关力量与牺牲的同样高的标准拿来要求我们。凭着正直的良心——我们唯一可靠的酬劳，凭着历史——我们行为的最后裁判者，让我们挺身而出领导我们所挚爱的国家，祈求上帝的庇佑与扶携；同时确信，上帝在这尘世的任务，必然就是我们自己所应肩负的任务。

在柏林墙的演讲

二千年以前，最自豪的夸耀是Civitas Romanus sum（拉丁语，意为：我是一个罗马公民），今天，自由世界最自豪的夸耀是Ich bin ein Berliner（德语，意为：我是一个柏林人）。

世界上有许多人确实不懂，或者说他们不明白什么是自由世界和共产主义世界的根本分歧。让他们来柏林吧。有些人说，共产主义是未来的潮流。让他们来柏林吧。有些人说，我们能在欧洲或其他地方与共产党人合作。让他们来柏林吧。甚至有那么几个人说，共产主义确是一种邪恶的制度，但它可以使我们取得经济发展。“Lasst sie nach Berlin kommen.”（德语，意为：让他们到柏林看看）

自由有许多困难，民主亦非完美，然而我们从未建造一堵墙把我们的人民关在里面，不准他们离开我们。我愿意我的同胞们——他们与你们远隔千里住在大西洋彼岸——说，他们为能在远方与你们共有过去十八年的经历感到莫大的骄傲。我不知道还有哪一个城镇或都市被围困十八年仍葆有西柏林的这种生机、力量、希望和决心。全世界都看到，柏林墙最生动最明显地表现出一种失败。但我们对此并不感到称心如意，因为柏林墙既是对历史也是对人性的冒犯，它拆散家庭，造成妻离子散骨肉分离，把希冀统一的一个民族分成两半。

这个城市的事实也用于整个德国——只要四个德国人中有一个被剥夺了自由人的基本权利，即自由选择的权利，那么欧洲真正持久的和平便绝无可能实现。经过保持和平与善意的十八年，这一代德国人终于赢得自由的权利，包括在持久和平中善所有的人民，实现家庭团聚和民族统一的权利。你们住在受到保护的一座自由之岛上，但你们的生活是大海的一部分。因此让我在结束讲话时请求你们抬起目光，超越今日的危险看到明天的希望；超越这道墙看到正义的生平来临的一天；超越你们自己和我们自己看到全人类。

自由是不可分割的，只要一人被奴役，所有的人都不自由。当所有的人都自由了，那时我们便能期待这一天的到来：在和平与希望的光辉中这座城市获得统一，这个国家获得统一，欧洲大陆获得统一。当这一天最终来临---它必将来临---时，西柏林人民将能对这一点感到欣慰：几乎二十年时间里他们站在第一线。

一切自由人，不论他们住在何方，皆是柏林市民，所以作为一个自由人，我为“Ich bin ein Berliner”这句话感到自豪。

第三篇：确认日---罗伯特·肯尼迪在开普敦大学的演讲

Robert F.Kennedy

Day of Affirmation Address at Cape Town University1

delivered 6 June 1966, Jameson Hall, Cape Town, South Africa

Mr.Chancellor, Mr.Vice Chancellor, Professor Robertson, Mr.Diamond, Mr.Daniel, and Ladies and Gentlemen:

I come here this evening because of my deep interest and affection for a land settled by the Dutch in the mid-seventeenth century, then taken over by the British, and at last independent;a land in which the native inhabitants were at first subdued, but relations with whom remain a problem to this day;a land which defined itself on a hostile frontier;a land which has tamed rich natural resources through the energetic application of modern technology;a land which once the importer of slaves, and now must struggle to wipe out the last traces of that former bondage.I refer, of course, to the United States of America.But I am glad to come here--and my wife and I and all of our party are glad to come here to South Africa, and we're glad to come to Cape Town.I am already greatly enjoying my stay and my visit here.I am making an effort to meet and exchange views with people of all walks of life, and all segments of South African opinion, including those who represent the views of the government.Today I am glad to meet with the National Union of South African Students.For a decade, NUSAS has stood and worked for the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights--principles which embody the collective hopes of men of good will all around the globe.Your work at home and in international student affairs has brought great credit to yourselves and to your country.I know the National Student Association in the United States feels a particularly close relationship with this organization.And I wish to thank especially Mr.Ian Robertson, who first extended the invitation on behalf of NUSAS.I wish to thank him for his kindness to me in inviting me.I am very sorry that he can not be with us here this evening.I was happy to have had the opportunity to meet and speak with him earlier this evening.And I presented him with a copy of Profiles in Courage which was a book that was written by President John Kennedy and was signed to him by President Kennedy's widow, Mrs.John Kennedy.This is a Day of Affirmation, a celebration of liberty.We stand here in the name of freedom.At the heart of that Western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society, all groups and states exist for that person's benefit.Therefore, the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and the abiding practice of any Western society.The first element of this individual liberty is the freedom of speech: the right to express and communicate ideas, to set oneself apart from the dumb beasts of field and forest;the right to recall governments to their duties and to their聽 obligations;above all, the right to affirm one's membership and allegiance to the body politic--to society--to the men with whom we share our land, our heritage, and our children's future.Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard, to share in the decisions of government which shape men's lives.Everything that makes man's life worthwhile--family, work, education, a place to rear one's children and a place to rest one's head--all this depends on the decisions of government;all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people, and I mean all of its people.Therefore, the essential humanity of man can be protected and preserved only where government must answer--not just to the wealthy, not just to those of a particular religion, not just to those of a particular race, but to all of the people.And even government by the consent of the governed, as in our own Constitution, must be limited in its power to act against its people, so that there may be no interference with the right to worship, but also no interference with the security of the home;no arbitrary imposition of pains or penalties on an ordinary citizen by officials high or low;no restriction on the freedom of men to seek education, or to seek work or opportunity of any kind, so that each man may become all that he is capable of becoming.These--These are the sacred rights of Western society.These were the essential differences between us and Nazi Germany, as they were between Athens and Persia.They are the essence of our differences with communism today.I am unalterably opposed to communism because it exalts the State over the individual and over the family;and because its system contains a lack of freedom of speech, of protest, of religion, and of the press, which is characteristic of a totalitarian regime.The way of opposition to communism, however, is not to imitate its dictatorship, but to enlarge individual human freedoms.There are those in every land who would label as Communist every threat to their privilege.But may I say to you as I have seen on my travels in all sections of the world, reform is not communism.And the denial of freedom, in whatever name, only strengthens the very communism it claims to oppose.Many nations have set forth their own definitions and declarations of these principles.And there have often been wide and tragic gaps between promise and performance, ideal and reality.Yet the great ideals have constantly recalled us to our own duties.And with painful slowness, we in the United States have extended and enlarged the meaning and the practice of freedom to all of our people.For two centuries, my own country has struggled to overcome the self-imposed handicap of prejudice and discrimination based on nationality, on social class or race--discrimination profoundly repugnant to the theory and to the command of our Constitution.Even as my father grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, signs told him: “No Irish Need Apply.” Two generations later President Kennedy became the first Irish Catholic, and the first Catholic, to head the nation;but how many men of ability had, before 1961, been denied the opportunity to contribute to the nation's progress because they were Catholic or because they were of Irish extraction? How many sons of Italian or Jewish or Polish parents slumbered in the slums--untaught, unlearned, their potential lost forever to our nation and to the human race? Even today, what price will we pay before we have assured full opportunity to millions of Negro Americans? In the last five years we have done more to assure equality to our Negro citizens, and to help the deprived both white and black, than in the hundred years before that time.But much, much more remains to be done.For there are millions of Negroes untrained for the simplest of jobs, and thousands every day denied their full and equal rights under the law;and the violence of the disinherited, the insulted, the injured, looms over the streets of Harlem and of Watts and of the South Side Chicago.But a Negro American trains now as an astronaut, one of mankind's first explorers into outer space;another is the chief barrister of the United States government, and dozens sit on the benches of our court;and another, Dr.Martin Luther King, is the second man of African descent to win the Nobel Peace Prize2 for his nonviolent efforts for social justice between all of the races.We have passed laws prohibiting--We have passed laws prohibiting discrimination in education, in employment, in housing, but these laws alone cannot overcome the heritage of centuries--of broken families and stunted children, and poverty and degradation and pain.So the road toward equality of freedom is not easy, and great cost and danger march alongside all of us.We are committed to peaceful and nonviolent change, and that is important to all to understand--though change is unsettling.Still, even in the turbulence of protest and struggle is greater hope for the future, as men learn to claim and achieve for themselves the rights formerly petitioned from others.And most important of all, all of the panoply of government power has been committed to the goal of equality before the law, as we are now committing ourselves to the achievement of equal opportunity in fact.We must recognize the full human equality of all of our people before God, before the law, and in the councils of government.We must do this, not because it is economically advantageous, although it is;not because the laws of God command it, although they do;not because people in other lands wish it so.We must do it for the single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do.We recognize that there are problems and obstacles before the fulfillment of these ideals in the United States, as we recognize that other nations, in Latin America and in Asia and in Africa, have their own political, economic, and social problems, their unique barriers to the elimination of injustices.In some, there is concern that change will submerge the rights of a minority, particularly where that minority is of a different race than that of the majority.We in the United States believe in the protection of minorities;we recognize the contributions that they can make and the leadership that they can provide;and we do not believe that any people--whether majority or minority, or individual human beings--are “expendable” in the cause of theory or of policy.We recognize also that justice between men and nations is imperfect, and the humanity sometimes progresses very slowly indeed.All do not develop in the same manner and at the same pace.Nations, like men, often march to the beat of different drummers, and the precise solutions of the United States can neither be dictated nor transplanted to others--and that is not our intention.What is important, however, is that all nations must march toward increasing freedom, toward justice for all, toward a society strong and flexible enough to meet the demands of all of its people--whatever their race--and the demands that the world of immense and dizzying change that face us all.In a few hours, the plane that brought me to this country crossed over oceans and countries which have been a crucible of human history.In minutes we traced migrations of men over thousands of years;seconds, the briefest glimpse, and we passed battlefields on which millions of men once struggled and died.We could see no national boundaries, no vast gulfs or high walls dividing people from people;only nature and the works of man--homes and factories and farms--everywhere reflecting Man's common effort to enrich his life.Everywhere new technology and communications brings men and nations closer together, the concerns of one inevitably becomes the concerns of all.And our new closeness is stripping away the false masks, the illusion of differences which is the root of injustice and of hate and of war.Only earthbound man still clings to the dark and poisoning superstition that his world is bounded by the nearest hill, his universe ends at river shore, his common humanity is enclosed in the tight circle of those who share his town or his views and the color of his skin.It is--It is your job, the task of young people in this world, to strip the last remnants of that ancient, cruel belief from the civilization of man.Each nation has different obstacles and different goals, shaped by the vagaries of history and of experience.Yet as I talk to young people around the world, I am impressed not by the diversity but by the closeness of their goals, their desires and their concerns and their hope for the future.There is discrimination in New York, the racial inequality of apartheid in South Africa, and serfdom in the mountains of Peru.People starve to death in the streets of India;a former Prime Minister is summarily executed in the Congo;intellectuals go to jail in Russia, and thousands are slaughtered in Indonesia;wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere in the world.These are different evils, but they are the common works of man.They reflect the imperfections of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, the defectiveness of our sensibility toward the sufferings of our fellows;they mark the limit of our ability to use knowledge for the well-being of our fellow human beings throughout the world.And therefore they call upon common qualities of conscience and indignation, a shared determination to wipe away the unnecessary sufferings of our fellow human beings at home and around the world.It is these qualities which make of our youth today the only true international community.More than this, I think that we could agree on what kind of a world we would all want to build.It would be a world of independent nations, moving toward international community, each of which protected and respected the basic human freedoms.It would be a world which demanded of each government that it accept its responsibility to insure social justice.It would be a world of constantly accelerating economic progress--not material welfare as an end in/of itself, but as a means to liberate the capacity of every human being to pursue his talents and to pursue his hopes.It would, in short, be a world that we would all be proud to have built.Just to the north of here are lands of challenge and of opportunity, rich in natural resources--land and minerals and people.Yet they are also lands confronted by the greatest odds--overwhelming ignorance, internal tensions and strife, and great obstacles of climate and geography.Many of these nations, as colonies, were oppressed and were exploited.Yet they have not estranged themselves from the broad traditions of the West;they are hoping and they are gambling their progress and their stability on the chance that we will meet our responsibilities to them to help them overcome their poverty.In the world we would like to build, South Africa could play an outstanding role, and a role of leadership in that effort.This country is without question a preeminent repository of the wealth and the knowledge and the skill of this continent.Here are the greater part of Africa's research scientists and steel production, most of its reservoirs of coal and of electric power.Many South Africans have made major contributions to African technical development and world science.The names of some are known wherever men seek to eliminate the ravages of tropical disease and of pestilence.In your faculties and councils, here in this very audience, are hundreds and thousands of men and women who could transform the lives of millions for all time to come.But the help and the leadership of South Africa or of the United States cannot be accepted if we, within our own country or in our relationships with others, deny individual integrity, human dignity, and the common humanity of man.If we would lead outside our own borders, if we would help those who need our assistance, if we would meet our responsibilities to mankind, we must first, all of us, demolish the borders which history has erected between men within our own nations--barriers of race and religion, social class and ignorance.Our answer is the world's hope: It is to rely on youth.The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans.It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress.This world demands the qualities of youth;not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease--a man like the Chancellor of this University.It is a revolutionary world that we all live in, and thus, as I have said in Latin America and in Asia and in Europe and in my own country, the United States, it is the young people who must take the lead.Thus, you, and your young compatriots everywhere, have had thrust upon you a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived.“There is,” said an Italian philosopher, “nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the--in the introduction of a new order of things.”3 Yet this is the measure of the task of your generation, and the road is strewn with many dangers.First, is the danger of futility: the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills--against misery, against ignorance, or injustice and violence.Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man.A young monk began the Protestant Reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France.It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32 year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that “all men are created equal.” “Give me a place to stand,” said Archimedes, “and I will move the world.” These men moved the world, and so can we all.Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and then the total--all of these acts--will be written in the history of this generation.Thousands of Peace Corps volunteers are making a difference in the isolated villages and the city slums of dozens of countries.Thousands of unknown men and women in Europe resisted the occupation of the Nazis and many died, but all added to the ultimate strength and freedom of their countries.It is from numberless diverse acts of courage such as these that the belief that human history is thus shaped.Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.“If Athens shall appear great to you,” said Pericles, “consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty.” That is the source of all greatness in all societies, and it is the key to progress in our time.The second danger is that of expediency: of those who say that hopes and beliefs must bend before immediate necessities.Of course, if we must act effectively we must deal with the world as it is.We must get things done.But if there was one thing that President Kennedy stood for that touched the most profound feeling of young people around the world, it was the belief that idealism, high aspirations, and deep convictions are not incompatible with the most practical and efficient of programs--that there is no basic inconsistency between ideals and realistic possibilities, no separation between the deepest desires of heart and of mind and the rational application of human effort to human problems.It is not realistic or hardheaded to solve problems and take action unguided by ultimate moral aims and values, although we all know some who claim that it is so.In my judgment, it is thoughtless folly.For it ignores the realities of human faith and of passion and of belief--forces ultimately more powerful than all of the calculations of our economists or of our generals.Of course to adhere to standards, to idealism, to vision in the face of immediate dangers takes great courage and takes self-confidence.But we also know that only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.It is this new idealism which is also, I believe, the common heritage of a generation which has learned that while efficiency can lead to the camps at Auschwitz, or the streets of Budapest, only the ideals of humanity and love can climb the hills of the Acropolis.And a third danger is timidity.Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society.Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence.Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change the world--which yields most painfully to change.Aristotle tells us: “At the Olympic games it is not the finest or the strongest men who are crowned, but those who enter the lists.” “So, too, in the life of the honorable and the good it is they who act rightly who win the prize.”4 I believe that in this generation those with the courage to enter the conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the world.For the fortunate amongst us, the fourth danger, my friends, is comfort, the temptation to follow the easy and familiar paths of personal ambition and financial success so grandly spread before those who have the privilege of an education.But that is not the road history has marked out for us.There is a Chinese curse which says, “May he live in interesting times.” Like it or not we live in interesting times.They are times of danger and uncertainty;but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind.And everyone here will ultimately be judged, will ultimately judge himself, on the effort he has contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which his ideals and goals have shaped that effort.So we part, I to my country and you to remain.We are, if a man of 40 can claim the privilege, fellow members of the world's largest younger generation.Each of us have our own work to do.I know at times you must feel very alone with your problems and with your difficulties.But I want to say how I--impressed I am with the stand--with what you stand for and for the effort that you are making;and I say this not just for myself, but men and women all over the world.And I hope you will often take heart from the knowledge that you are joined with your fellow young people in every land, they struggling with their problems and you with yours, but all joined in a common purpose;that, like the young people of my own country and of every country that I have visited, you are all in many ways more closely united to the brothers of your time than to the older generations in any of these nations.You're determined to build a better future.President Kennedy was speaking to the young people of America, but beyond them to young people everywhere, when he said: “the energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it;and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.” And, he added, “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.”5 I thank you.

第四篇：肯尼迪就职演讲

肯尼迪就职演讲

约翰·肯尼迪自幼受到良好的教育，最后就读了哈佛大学和斯坦福大学，1940年毕业。第二次世界大战中肯尼迪加入美国海军，在对日作战中负伤。战后，肯尼迪29岁即当选为议员，后三次连任。他在1953 年9月12 日与杰奎琳·布维尔结婚，生有二子一女。

1960年肯尼迪参加总统竞选。他提出“新边疆”的竞选口号，倡导在科学技术、经济发展、战争与和平等各个领域开拓新天地。1961年，肯尼迪在选民投票过程中以极小的差距赢得总统的位置，击败了共和党人尼克松，成为美国历史上最年轻的总统，也是第一个罗马天主教总统。

在肯尼迪的就职演说中说道：“不要问你的国家能为你做什么？而要问你能为你的国家做什么。”作为总统，他开始履行他的竞选承诺再次使美国运转起来。他上台后并非一切如愿。任职开始就遇到了美国入侵古巴惨败的事实。他为了寻得平等的权利采取有力措施，要求新公民权利立法。他给予民族文化的质量和艺术在一起至关重要的社会中心角色。他希望美国恢复老的任务作为致力于人权的革命的最早的民族。由于发展和和平小组的联盟，他对发展中国家的帮助为美国人带来理想主义。1963年，正当肯尼迪踌躇满志要进一步干一番事业的时候，他遇刺身亡。

we observe today not a victory of party，but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end，as well as a beginning--signifying renewal，as well as change.For I have sworn I before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears l prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.The world is very different now.For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state，but from the hand of God.We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution.Let the word go forth from this time and place，to friend and foe alike，that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century，tempered by war，disciplined by a hard and bitter peace，proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed，and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.Let every nation know，whether it wishes us well or ill，that we shall pay any price，bear any burden，meet any hardship，support any friend，oppose any foe，in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.This much we pledge--and more.To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share，we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends.United，there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures.Divided，there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free，we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny.We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view.But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to remember that，in the past，those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery，we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves，for whatever period is required--not because the Communists may be doing it，not because we seek their votes，but because it is right.If a free society cannot help the many who are poor，it cannot save the few who are rich.To our sister republics south of our border，we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words into good deeds--in a new alliance for progress--to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty.But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers.Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas.And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.To that world assembly of sovereign states，the United Nations，our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace，we renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective--to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak--and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.Finally，to those nations who would make themselves our adversary，we offer not a pledge but a request： that both sides begin anew the quest for peace，before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.We dare not tempt them with weakness.For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons，both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom，yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness，and sincerity is always subject to proof.Let us never negotiate out of fear.But let us never fear to negotiate.Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.Let both sides，for the first time，formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors.Together let us explore the stars，conquer the deserts，eradicate disease，tap the ocean depths，and encourage the arts and commerce.Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah--to “undo the heavy burdens.。and to let the oppressed go free.”

And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion，let both sides join in creating a new endeavor，not a new balance of power，but a new world of law，where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.All this will not be finished in the first 100 days.Nor will it be finished in the first 1，000 days，nor in the life of this Administration，nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet.But let us begin.In your hands，my fellow citizens，more than in mine，will rest the final success or failure of our course.Since this country was founded，each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms，though arms we need； not as a call to battle，though embattled we are--but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle，year in and year out，“rejoicing in hope，patient in tribulation”--a struggle against the common enemies of man： tyranny，poverty，disease，and war itself.Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance，North and South，East and West，that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind？ Will you join in that historic effort？

In the long history of the world，only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.I do not shank from this responsibility--I welcome it.I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.The energy，the faith，the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.And so，my fellow Americans： ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.My fellow citizens of the world： ask not what America will do for you，but what together we can do for the freedom of man.Finally，whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world，ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you.With a good conscience our only sure reward，with history the final judge of our deeds，let us go forth to lead the land we love，asking His blessing and His help，but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.朝气蓬勃的约翰．菲茨杰拉德．肯尼迪是美国口才最好的总统之一，他于一九六三年十一月三十三日在得克萨斯州达拉斯城被暗杀，事业悲惨以终。一九六一年一月二十日在就职演讲词中，他呼吁以果断与牺牲的精神来应付当前的许多挑战。这一演讲词重新肯定了杰佛逊与威尔逊的第一任就职演讲词所立下的原则。

我们今天庆祝的并不是一次政党的胜利，而是一次自由的庆典；它象征着结束，也象征着开始；意味着更新，也意味着变革。因为我已在你们和全能的上帝面前，作了跟我们祖先将近一又四分之三世纪以前所拟定的相同的庄严誓言。现今世界已经很不同了，因为人在自己血肉之躯的手中握有足以消灭一切形式的人类贫困和一切形式的人类生命的力量。可是我们祖先奋斗不息所维护的革命信念，在世界各地仍处于争论之中。那信念就是注定人权并非来自政府的慷慨施与，而是上帝所赐。

我们今天不敢忘记我们是那第一次革命的继承人，让我从此时此地告诉我们的朋友，并且也告诉我们的敌人，这支火炬已传交新一代的美国人，他们出生在本世纪，经历过战争的锻炼，受过严酷而艰苦的和平的熏陶，以我们的古代传统自豪，而且不愿目睹或容许人权逐步被褫夺。对于这些人权我国一向坚贞不移，当前在国内和全世界我们也是对此力加维护的。

让每一个国家知道，不管它盼我们好或盼我们坏，我们将付出任何代价，忍受任何重负，应付任何艰辛，支持任何朋友，反对任何敌人，以确保自由的存在与实现。

这是我们矢志不移的事－－而且还不止此。

对于那些和我们拥有共同文化和精神传统的老盟邦，我们保证以挚友之诚相待。只要团结，则在许多合作事业中几乎没有什么是办不到的。倘若分裂，我们则无可作为，因为我们在意见分歧、各行其是的情况下，是不敢应付强大挑战的。

对于那些我们欢迎其参与自由国家行列的新国家，我们要提出保证，绝不让一种形成的殖民统治消失后，却代之以另一种远为残酷的暴政。我们不能老是期望他们会支持我们的观点，但我们却一直希望他们能坚决维护他们自身的自由，并应记取，在过去，那些愚蠢得要骑在虎背上以壮声势的人，结果却被虎所吞噬。

对于那些住在布满半个地球的茅舍和乡村中、力求打破普遍贫困的桎梏的人们，我们保证尽最大努力助其自救，不管需要多长时间。这并非因为共产党会那样做，也不是由于我们要求他们的选票，而是由于那样做是正确的。自由社会若不能帮助众多的穷人，也就不能保全那少数的富人。

对于我国边界以内的各姐妹共和国，我们提出一项特殊的保证：要把我们的美好诺言化作善行，在争取进步的新联盟中援助自由人和自由政府来摆脱贫困的枷锁。但这种为实现本身愿望而进行的和平革命不应成为不怀好意的国家的俎上肉。让我们所有的邻邦都知道，我们将与他们联合抵御对美洲任何地区的侵略或颠覆。让其它国家都知道，西半球的事西半球自己会管。

至于联合国这个各主权国家的世界性议会，在今天这个战争工具的发展速度超过和平工具的时代中，它是我们最后的、最美好的希望。我们愿重申我们的支持诺言；不让它变成仅供谩骂的讲坛，加强其对于新国弱国的保护，并扩大其权力所能运用的领域。

最后，对于那些与我们为敌的国家，我们所要提供的不是保证，而是要求：双方重新着手寻求和平，不要等到科学所释出的危险破坏力量在有意或无意中使全人类沦于自我毁灭。

我们不敢以示弱去诱惑他们。因为只有当我们的武力无可置疑地壮大时，我们才能毫无疑问地确信永远不会使用武力。

可是这两个强有力的国家集团，谁也不能对当前的趋势放心－－双方都因现代武器的代价而感到不胜负担，双方都对于致命的原子力量不断发展而产生应有的惊骇，可是双方都在竞谋改变那不稳定的恐怖均衡，而此种均衡却可以暂时阻止人类最后从事战争。

因此让我们重新开始，双方都应记住，谦恭并非懦弱的征象，而诚意则永远须要验证。让我们永不因畏惧而谈判。但让我们永不要畏惧谈判。

让双方探究能使我们团结在一起的是什么问题，而不要虚耗心力于使我们分裂的问题。

让双方首次制订有关视察和管制武器的真诚而确切的建议，并且把那足以毁灭其它国家的漫无限制的力量置于所有国家的绝对管制之下。

让双方都谋求激发科学的神奇力量而不是科学的恐怖因素。让我们联合起来去探索星球，治理沙漠，消除疾病，开发海洋深处，并鼓励艺术和商务。

让双方携手在世界各个角落遵循以赛亚的命令，去「卸下沉重的负担„„(并)让被压迫者得自由。」

如果建立合作的滩头堡能够遏制重重猜疑，那么，让双方联合作一次新的努力吧，这不是追求新的权力均衡，而是建立一个新的法治世界，在那世界上强者公正，弱者安全，和平在握。

凡此种种不会在最初的一百天中完成，不会在最初的一千天中完成，不会在本政府任期中完成，甚或也不能在我们活在地球上的毕生期间完成。但让我们开始。

同胞们，我们事业的最后成效，主要不是掌握在我手里，而是操在你们手中。自从我国建立以来，每一代的美国人都曾应召以验证其对国家的忠诚。响应此项召唤而服军役的美国青年人的坟墓遍布全球各处。

现在那号角又再度召唤我们－－不是号召我们肩起武器，虽然武器是我们所需要的；不是号召我们去作战，虽然我们准备应战；那是号召我们年复一年肩负起持久和胜败未分的斗争，「在希望中欢乐，在患难中忍耐」；这是一场对抗人类公敌－－暴政、贫困、疾病以及战争本身－－的斗争。

我们能否结成一个遍及东西南北的全球性伟大联盟来对付这些敌人，来确保全人类享有更为富裕的生活?你们是否愿意参与这历史性的努力? 在世界的悠久历史中，只有很少几个世代的人赋有这种在自由遭遇最大危机时保卫自由的任务。我决不在这责任之前退缩；我欢迎它。我不相信我们中间会有人愿意跟别人及别的世代交换地位。我们在这场努力中所献出的精力、信念与虔诚、将照亮我们的国家以及所有为国家服务的人，而从这一火焰所聚出的光辉必能照明全世界。所以，同胞们：不要问你们的国家能为你们做些什么，而要问你们能为国家做些什么。

全世界的公民：不要问美国愿为你们做些什么，而应问我们在一起能为人类的自由做些什么。

最后，不管你是美国的公民或世界它国的公民，请将我们所要求于你们的有关力量与牺牲的高标准拿来要求我们。我们唯一可靠的报酬是问心无愧，我们行为的最后裁判者是历史，让我们向前引导我们所挚爱的国土，企求上帝的保佑与扶携，但我们知道，在这个世界上，上帝的任务肯定就是我们自己所应肩负的任务。

第五篇：肯尼迪就职演讲

全世界最著名的十大演讲稿排行-第十名

肯尼迪就职演讲 约翰.F.肯尼迪，1961 今天我们庆祝的不是政党的胜利，而是自由的胜利。这象征着一个结束，也象征着一个开端;意味着延续也意味着变革。因为我已在你们和全能的上帝面前，宣读了我们的先辈在170多年前拟定的庄严誓言。

现在的世界已大不相同了。人类的巨手掌握着既能消灭人间的各种贫困，又能毁灭人间的各种生活的力量。但我们的先辈为之奋斗的那些革命信念，在世界各地仍然有着争论。这个信念就是：人的权利并非来自国家的慷慨，而是来自上帝恩赐。

今天，我们不敢忘记我们是第一次革命的继承者。让我们的朋友和敌人同样听见我此时此地的讲话：火炬已经传给新一代美国人。这一代人在本世纪诞生，在战争中受过锻炼，在艰难困苦的和丅平时期受过陶冶，他们为我国悠久的传统感到自豪--他们不愿目睹或听任我国一向保证的、今天仍在国内外作出保证的人权渐趋毁灭。

让每个国家都知道--不论它希望我们繁荣还是希望我们衰落--为确保自由的存在和自由的胜利，我们将付出任何代价，承受任何负担，应付任何艰难，支持任何朋友，反抗任何敌人。

这些就是我们的保证--而且还有更多的保证。

对那些和我们有着共同文化和精神渊源的老盟友、我们保证待以诚实朋友那样的忠诚。我们如果团结一致，就能在许多合作事业中无往不胜;我们如果分歧对立，就会一事无成--因为我们不敢在争吵不休、四分五裂时迎接强大的挑战。

对那些我们欢迎其加入到自由丅行列中来的新国家，我们格守我们的誓言：决不让一种更为残酷的XX来取代一种消失的殖民统治。我们并不总是指望他们会支持我们的观点。但我们始终希望看到他们坚强地维护自己的自由--而且要记住，在历史上，凡愚蠢地狐假虎威者，终必葬身虎口。

对世界各地身居茅舍和乡村、为摆脱普遍贫困而斗争的人们，我们保证尽最大努力帮助他们自立，不管需要花多长时间--之所以这样做，并不是因为共丅产党可能正在这样做，也不是因为我们需要他们的选票，而是因为这样做是正确的。自由社会如果不能帮助众多的穷人，也就无法挽救少数富人。

对我国南面的姐妹共和国，我们提出一项特殊的保证--在争取进步的新同盟中，把我们善意的话变为善意的行动，帮助自由的人们和自由的政丅府摆脱贫困的枷锁。但是，这种充满希望的和丅平革命决不可以成为敌对国家的牺牲品。我们要让所有邻国都知道，我们将和他们在一起，反对在美洲任何地区进行侵略和颠覆活动。让所有其他国家都知道，本半球的人仍然想做自己家园的主人。

对联合国，主丅权国家的世界性议事机构，我们在战争手段大大超过和丅平手段的时代里最后的、最美好的希望所在，我们重申予以支持：防止它仅仅成为谩骂的场所;加强它对新生国家和弱小国家的保护;扩大它的行使法令的管束范围。

最后，对那些与我们作对的国家，我们提出一个要求而不是一项保证：在科学释放出可怕的破坏力量，把全人类卷入预谋的或意外的自我毁灭的深渊之前，让我们双方重新开始寻求和丅平。

我们不敢以怯弱来引诱他们。因为只有当我们毫无疑问地拥有足够的军备，我们才能毫无疑问地确信永远不会使用这些军备。

但是，这两个强大的国家集团都无法从目前所走的道路中得到安慰--发展现代武器所需的费用使双方负担过重，致命的原子武器的不断扩散理所当然使双方忧心忡忡，但是，双方却争着改变那制止人类发动最后战争的不稳定的恐怖均势。

因此，让我们双方重新开始--双方都要牢记，礼貌并不意味着怯弱，诚意永远有待于验证。让我们决不要由于畏惧而谈判。但我们决不能畏惧谈判。

让双方都来探讨使我们团结起来的问题，而不要操劳那些使我们分裂的问题。让双方首次为军备检查和军备控制制订认真而又明确的提案，把毁灭他国的绝对力量置于所有国家的绝对控制之下。

让双方寻求利用科学的奇迹，而不是乞灵于科学造成的恐怖。让我们一起探索星球，征服沙漠，根除疾患，开发深海，并鼓励艺术和商业的发展。

让双方团结起来，在全世界各个角落倾听以赛亚的训令--“解下轭上的索，使被欺压的得自由。”(注：《圣经?旧约全书?以塞亚书》第58章6节。)如果合作的滩头阵地能逼退猜忌的丛林，那么就让双方共同作一次新的努力;不是建立一种新的均势，而是创造一个新的法治世界，在这个世界中，强者公正，弱者安全、和丅平将得到维护。

所有这一切不可能在今后一百天内完成，也不可能在今后一千天或者在本届政丅府任期内完成，甚至也许不可能在我们居住在这个星球上的有生之年内完成。但是，让我们开始吧。

公民们，我们方针的最终成败与其说掌握在我手中，不如说掌握在你们手中。自从合众国建立以来，每一代美国人都曾受到召唤去证明他们对国家的忠诚。响应召唤而献身的美国青年的坟墓遍及全球。

现在，号角已再次吹响--不是召唤我们拿起武器，虽然我们需要武器;不是召唤我们去作战，虽然我们严阵以待。它召唤我们为迎接黎明而肩负起漫长斗争的重任，年复一年，从希望中得到欢乐，在磨难中保持耐性，对付人类共同的敌人--专制、社团、疾病和战争本身。

为反对这些敌人，确保人类更为丰裕的生活，我们能够组成一个包括东西南北各方的全球大联盟吗?你们愿意参加这一历史性的努力吗? 在漫长的世界历史中，只有少数几代人在自由处于最危急的时刻被赋予保卫自由的责任。我不会推卸这一责任，我欢迎这一责任。我不相信我们中间有人想同其他人或其他时代的人交换位置。我们为这一努力所奉献的精力、信念和忠诚，将照亮我们的国家和所有为国效劳的人，而这火焰发出的光芒定能照亮全世界。

因此，美国同胞们，不要问国家能为你们做些什么，而要问你们能为国家做些什么。全世界的公民们，不要问美国将为你们做些什么，而要问我们共同能为人类的自由做些什么。

最后，不论你们是美国公民还是其他国家的公民，你们应要求我们献出我们同样要求于你们的高度力量和牺牲。问心无愧是我们唯一可靠的奖赏，历史是我们行动的最终裁判，让我们走向前去，引导我们所热爱的国家。我们祈求上帝的福佑和帮助，但我们知道，确切地说，上帝在尘世的工作必定是我们自己的工作。

@肖稀君 整理