第一篇:纪念美国总统肯尼迪遇刺——肯尼迪家族的传奇故事
肯尼迪家族的传奇故事
肯尼迪家族是从爱尔兰来美国的移民后裔。1848年一个名叫帕特里克·肯尼迪的穷苦爱尔兰人乘船漂洋过海来到美国的波士顿。他的儿子帕特里克·约瑟夫很会做生意,酒馆生意日渐兴隆。之后便开始涉足政治,竞选州议会议员成功后他又娶了富有的酒店老板的女儿玛丽为妻,生下了儿子约瑟夫·肯尼迪。帕特里克·约瑟夫很有远见,为了让孩子接受最好的教育,他把儿子送进了哈佛大学。
一从哈佛大学毕业,约瑟夫·肯尼迪选择了银行业作为生财的方向。在父亲的支持下他成为一家银行的董事长,并自称为是全美国最年轻的银行董事长。在积聚了几亿美元的资产后,约瑟夫开始留心政治活动。1937年罗斯福任命他出任驻英国大使。这对一个爱尔兰天主教徒的后裔来说以前是连想都不敢想的事。但是,约瑟夫虽然精于赚钱,在政治上还很笨拙,当了不到三年外交官就被召回国。
望子成龙
肯尼迪家族有一个长久怀有的梦想:总统之梦,这个家族中一定要有人成为美国的总统。约瑟夫有一次在教堂里祈祷时就暗暗发誓:我已登上了财富的最高峰,我要让儿子登上权力的最高峰。他们夫妇有9个孩子,在政治上有潜力的自然是4个男孩。这4个男孩是大儿子小约瑟夫·肯尼迪、二儿子约翰·肯尼迪、三儿子罗伯特·肯尼迪、四儿子爱德华·肯尼迪。
在父亲的心目中,四个儿子中最有资格成为总统的是大儿子小约瑟夫。但无情的战争打碎了他的如意算盘。在对德战争中小约瑟夫参军成为飞行员,1944年奉命去炸毁纳粹德国的V-1飞弹发射架。在执行任务时,他驾驶的飞机因故障在英国上空爆炸,他和副驾驶被炸得粉身碎骨。这是以后多灾多难的肯尼迪家族所遇到的第一个灾难。
在长子遇难后,家中的希望更多地寄托在二儿子约翰·肯尼迪身上。按照约翰·肯尼迪后来的说法,“我的哥哥约瑟夫是一家中从政的当然人选。如果他活着,我会继续当作家。如果我死了,我弟弟会当参议员。如果他出事,我的另一个弟弟会为我们去竞选。”子承父业,弟承兄业,就像一幅前仆后继的从政序列图。
约翰·肯尼迪政治上最大的成功是在1960年当选美国总统。他的父亲约瑟夫是实现总统梦的总策划、总导演,他拿出大量的金钱调动新闻界、出版界,狂轰滥炸般地宣传他的儿子。他儿子终于成为美国历史上最年轻的总统。在约翰·肯尼迪组阁时,老父亲让他把弟弟罗伯特安排到内阁中去,罗伯特如愿以偿地得到了司法部长一职。这是肯尼迪家族政治上的巅峰时刻。遇刺之谜
在当选总统没多久,杰奎琳为新总统生了个儿子,他就是小约翰·菲茨杰拉德·肯尼迪。肯尼迪总统在飞机上得到这个喜讯,一时沉浸在中年得子和入主白宫的双重喜悦之中。时间过得真快,不到三年肯尼迪又要为竞选连任奔忙。1963年11月22日,他们夫妇到达拉斯城为连任拉选票。中午12点30分,从街旁一座大楼射出的子弹击中了肯尼迪的头部,打碎了他的脑壳,肯尼迪被刺身亡。
灾难接踵而至
肯尼迪总统遇刺后,担任司法部长的罗伯特·肯尼迪成了肯尼迪家族的当家人。1968年罗伯特决定参加总统竞选,肯尼迪家族似乎有可能再产生一位总统。不幸的是再一次公众集会上,有个年轻人对他头部开枪,罗伯特死在医院中。凶手是个叫瑟汉的巴勒斯坦难民,他讨厌罗伯特强烈的亲犹倾向。
三个哥哥死于非命,爱德华·肯尼迪颀果仅存。但在1969年7月发生的一件意外事件断送了他的前程。一天晚上他开车带着漂亮的金发姑娘科佩克内小姐回旅馆,在过一座小桥时汽车冲入河中。爱德华逃生,姑娘却死在车中,而且爱德华报案还很不及时。这一事件损害了肯尼迪家族的名誉,也使得爱德华不得不放弃竞选总统。
本来这个家族最后的希望都寄托在小约翰·菲茨杰拉德·肯尼迪身上。他仪表堂堂,很有人缘,有在政治上振兴肯尼迪家族的实力。可是小约翰·菲茨杰拉德·肯尼迪死在了空难事故中,这差不多是断绝了肯尼迪家族最后的指望。或许多灾多难的肯尼迪家族只能把重新崛起的希望寄托在下一代的身上。
第二篇:肯尼迪有关马丁路德金遇刺的讲话
Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.Delivered on April 4, 1968 Ladies and Gentlemen,I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening, because I have some very sad news for all of you could you lower those signs, please?-I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world;and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings.He died in the cause of that effort.In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.For those of you who are black-considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible-you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization-black(两极化,分化)people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another.Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend(理解,包容), and replace that violence(暴力,暴行), that stain of bloodshed(留血)that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion(同情,怜惜)and love.For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling.I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.My favorite poem, my favorite poet was Aeschylus.And he once wrote:
“Even in our sleep,pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart,until, in our own despair,against our will,comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.”
What we need in the United States is not division(分裂,分开);what we need in the United States is not hatred;what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness(非法行为,违法行为), but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King-yeah, it's true-but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love-a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.We can do well in this country.We will have difficult times.We've had difficult times in the past.And we will have difficult times in the future.It is not the end of violence;it is not the end of lawlessness;and it's not the end of disorder.But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide忍受
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people,Thank you very much,就马丁·路德·金遇刺事件评论
发表干1968年4月4日 女士们、先生们:
今天晚上,我打算只占用大家大概几分钟的时间。因为我有一个非常让人悲伤的噩耗要告诉大家--能不能把那些牌子放低一点--我有一个令人万分悲痛的噩耗要告诉大家,我想,对于我们全体美国公民,对于全世界热爱和平的人民而言,这是一个令人扼腕的噩耗。这个噩耗就是:就在今天晚上,马丁·路德·金博士在田纳西州的孟菲斯市被枪杀身亡。
马丁·路德·金将其一生奉献给人类的关爱及正义事业。他的生命消逝于他为之努力的这项事业中。在这艰难困苦的日子里,在美国艰难困苦的时期,也许最应该问的问题是:我们身置其中的到底是个什么样的国家,我们又希望朝何方向前行。
对于你们当中的黑人同胞而言--考虑到有明显的证据证实:的确有白人须为这桩暗杀负责--你们心中一定充满着痛苦、仇恨以及复仇的欲望。
我们的国家可以朝两极分化更 为严重的方向前行--黑人与黑人站在一起,白人与白人站在一起,彼此之间充满仇恨。又或者我们作出努力,就像马丁·路德·金曾经做的那样,力图相互理解、相互包容、从而将暴力及染满我们土地的斑斑血迹取而代之,并且竭尽所能地去谅解、同情和关爱。
对于因为此次天理不容的暗杀而趋向于对所有白人充满仇恨及怀疑的黑人同胞们,我要说的是,我的心情和你们的是一样的。我也曾有一个家庭成员被杀害,而他也恰是被白人杀的。
但我们一定要作出努力,力图达成理解,并摆脱美国现今如此困难的时势。
我最喜欢的诗,我最喜爱的诗人是埃斯库罗斯,他曾写道:
即使我们在酣睡中,仍有不能忘却的痛
点点滴滴地坠落心头,直到,在我们绝望的谷底,非我所愿地,通过上帝威严优雅的面容,长出智慧之花。
我们美国需要的不是隔离,我们美国需要的不是仇恨,我们美国需要的不是暴力和无法无天,而是关爱和智慧,还有惺惺相惜,以及对那些仍在我们国家中受着苦难--不论他们是白人还是黑人--的民众的秉持正义的心。
所以,我希望大家今天晚上回家后,为马丁·路德·金的家人作祷告--我真心如此希望--同时更重要的是为我们所有人都深爱的祖国作一次祷告,为我刚才所提到的理解和仁义作一次祷告。
我们可以在这个国家安居乐业,但我们也将会有艰难时刻。过去我们经历过困苦时期,将来我们仍可能遭遇艰难困苦。因此,暴力还会出现,目无法纪依然存在,社会秩序混乱仍在持续。
我们国家的大多数白人和大多数的黑人都希望和平共处,希望生活质量得到提高,希望栖息在这片大陆上的所有民众都能享有公正。
让我们致力于许多年前希腊人所描述的伟大事业当中吧:驯服人类的野蛮之心,让世界上的生活文明起来。让我们致力于此吧,也让我们衷心为我们的国家和人民作一次祷告。
非常感谢你们!
第三篇:英语演讲+肯尼迪宣布马丁路德金遇刺
Robert F.Kennedy: Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.“Ladies and Gentlemen...Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee”
Ladies and Gentlemen: I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening, because I have some very sad news for all of you--Could you lower those signs, please?--I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world;and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings.He died in the cause of that effort.In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.For those of you who are black--considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible--you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization--black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another.Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling.I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to
understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.My favorite poem, my favorite poet was Aeschylus.And he once wrote:
“Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart,until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
What we need in the United States is not division;what we need in the United States is not hatred;what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King--yeah, it's true--but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love--a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.We can do well in this country.We will have difficult times.We've had difficult times in the past.And we will have difficult times in the future.It is not the end of violence;it is not the end of lawlessness;and it's not the end of disorder.But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.Thank you very much.
第四篇:8美国总统肯尼迪就职演说(1961年)
1961年美国总统肯尼迪就职演说
Inaugural Address of John F.Kennedy
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1961
Vice President Johnson, Mr.Speaker, Mr.Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, 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.火炬已经传给新一代美国人
约翰-肯尼迪 就职演讲
星期五,1961年1月20日
首席法官先生、艾森豪威尔总统、尼克松副总统、杜鲁门总统、尊敬的牧师、各位公民:
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,表示了一种更新,也表示了一种变革。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:人的权利井非来自国家的慷慨,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在而下胜;我们如果分歧对立,就会一事无成——因为我们不敢在争吵下休、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暴政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,凡愚蠢地骑在虎背上谋求权力的人,都是以葬身虎口而告终。
对世界各地身居茅舍和乡村,为摆脱普遍贪困而斗争的人们,我们保证尽量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,也就无法保全少数富人。
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府摆脱贫困的枷锁。但是,这种充满希望的和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。
联合国是主权国家的世界性议事机构,是我们在战争手段大大超过和平手段的时代里最后的、最美好的希望所在。因此,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,对那些想与我们作时的国家,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,把全人类卷人到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下会使用这些军备。
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,双方却在争着改变那制止人类发动最后战争的不移定的恐怖均势。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,诚意永远有侍于验证。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,开发深梅,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。”
如果合作的滩头阵地的逼退猜忌的丛林,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,和平将得到维护。
所有这一切下可能在第一个一百天内完成,也不可能在第一个一千天或者在本届政府任期内完成,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,在苦难中保持坚韧”,去反对人类共同的敌人——专制、贫困、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力国效劳的人,而这火焰发出的光芒定能照亮全世界。
因此,美国同胞们,不要问国家能力你们做些什么,而要问你们能为国家做些什么。
全世界的公民们,不要间美国将为你们做些什么,而要问我们共同能为人类的自中做些什么。
最后,不论你们是美国公民还是其他国家的公民,你们应该要求我们现出我们同样要求于你们地高度力量和牺牲。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,引导我们所珍爱的国家。我们祈求上帝的福佑和帮助,但我们知道,确切的说,上帝在尘世的工作必定是我们自己的工作。1949年美国总统杜鲁门就职演说
Inaugural Address of Harry S.Truman
THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 1949
Mr.Vice President, Mr.Chief Justice, and fellow citizens, I accept with humility the honor which the American people have conferred upon me.I accept it with a deep resolve to do all that I can for the welfare of this Nation and for the peace of the world.In performing the duties of my office, I need the help and prayers of every one of you.I ask for your encouragement and your support.The tasks we face are difficult, and we can accomplish them only if we work together.Each period of our national history has had its special challenges.Those that confront us now are as momentous as any in the past.Today marks the beginning not only of a new administration, but of a period that will be eventful, perhaps decisive, for us and for the world.It may be our lot to experience, and in large measure to bring about, a major turning point in the long history of the human race.The first half of this century has been marked by unprecedented and brutal attacks on the rights of man, and by the two most frightful wars in history.The supreme need of our time is for men to learn to live together in peace and harmony.The peoples of the earth face the future with grave uncertainty, composed almost equally of great hopes and great fears.In this time of doubt, they look to the United States as never before for good will, strength, and wise leadership.It is fitting, therefore, that we take this occasion to proclaim to the world the essential principles of the faith by which we live, and to declare our aims to all peoples.The American people stand firm in the faith which has inspired this Nation from the beginning.We believe that all men have a right to equal justice under law and equal opportunity to share in the common good.We believe that all men have the right to freedom of thought and expression.We believe that all men are created equal because they are created in the image of God.From this faith we will not be moved.The American people desire, and are determined to work for, a world in which all nations and all peoples are free to govern themselves as they see fit, and to achieve a decent and satisfying life.Above all else, our people desire, and are determined to work for, peace on earth--a just and lasting peace--based on genuine agreement freely arrived at by equals.In the pursuit of these aims, the United States and other like-minded nations find themselves directly opposed by a regime with contrary aims and a totally different concept of life.That regime adheres to a false philosophy which purports to offer freedom, security, and greater opportunity to mankind.Misled by this philosophy, many peoples have sacrificed their liberties only to learn to their sorrow that deceit and mockery, poverty and tyranny, are their reward.That false philosophy is communism.Communism is based on the belief that man is so weak and inadequate that he is unable to govern himself, and therefore requires the rule of strong masters.Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with reason and justice.Communism subjects the individual to arrest without lawful cause, punishment without trial, and forced labor as the chattel of the state.It decrees what information he shall receive, what art he shall produce, what leaders he shall follow, and what thoughts he shall think.Democracy maintains that government is established for the benefit of the individual, and is charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the individual and his freedom in the exercise of his abilities.Communism maintains that social wrongs can be corrected only by violence.Democracy has proved that social justice can be achieved through peaceful change.Communism holds that the world is so deeply divided into opposing classes that war is inevitable.Democracy holds that free nations can settle differences justly and maintain lasting peace.These differences between communism and democracy do not concern the United States alone.People everywhere are coming to realize that what is involved is material well-being, human dignity, and the right to believe in and worship God.I state these differences, not to draw issues of belief as such, but because the actions resulting from the Communist philosophy are a threat to the efforts of free nations to bring about world recovery and lasting peace.Since the end of hostilities, the United States has invested its substance and its energy in a great constructive effort to restore peace, stability, and freedom to the world.We have sought no territory and we have imposed our will on none.We have asked for no privileges we would not extend to others.We have constantly and vigorously supported the United Nations and related agencies as a means of applying democratic principles to international relations.We have consistently advocated and relied upon peaceful settlement of disputes among nations.We have made every effort to secure agreement on effective international control of our most powerful weapon, and we have worked steadily for the limitation and control of all armaments.We have encouraged, by precept and example, the expansion of world trade on a sound and fair basis.Almost a year ago, in company with 16 free nations of Europe, we launched the greatest cooperative economic program in history.The purpose of that unprecedented effort is to invigorate and strengthen democracy in Europe, so that the free people of that continent can resume their rightful place in the forefront of civilization and can contribute once more to the security and welfare of the world.Our efforts have brought new hope to all mankind.We have beaten back despair and defeatism.We have saved a number of countries from losing their liberty.Hundreds of millions of people all over the world now agree with us, that we need not have war--that we can have peace.The initiative is ours.We are moving on with other nations to build an even stronger structure of international order and justice.We shall have as our partners countries which, no longer solely concerned with the problem of national survival, are now working to improve the standards of living of all their people.We are ready to undertake new projects to strengthen the free world.In the coming years, our program for peace and freedom will emphasize four major courses of action.First, we will continue to give unfaltering support to the United Nations and related agencies, and we will continue to search for ways to strengthen their authority and increase their effectiveness.We believe that the United Nations will be strengthened by the new nations which are being formed in lands now advancing toward self-government under democratic principles.Second, we will continue our programs for world economic recovery.This means, first of all, that we must keep our full weight behind the European recovery program.We are confident of the success of this major venture in world recovery.We believe that our partners in this effort will achieve the status of self-supporting nations once again.In addition, we must carry out our plans for reducing the barriers to world trade and increasing its volume.Economic recovery and peace itself depend on increased world trade.Third, we will strengthen freedom-loving nations against the dangers of aggression.We are now working out with a number of countries a joint agreement designed to strengthen the security of the North Atlantic area.Such an agreement would take the form of a collective defense arrangement within the terms of the United Nations Charter.We have already established such a defense pact for the Western Hemisphere by the treaty of Rio de Janeiro.The primary purpose of these agreements is to provide unmistakable proof of the joint determination of the free countries to resist armed attack from any quarter.Each country participating in these arrangements must contribute all it can to the common defense.If we can make it sufficiently clear, in advance, that any armed attack affecting our national security would be met with overwhelming force, the armed attack might never occur.I hope soon to send to the Senate a treaty respecting the North Atlantic security plan.In addition, we will provide military advice and equipment to free nations which will cooperate with us in the maintenance of peace and security.Fourth, we must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas.More than half the people of the world are living in conditions approaching misery.Their food is inadequate.They are victims of disease.Their economic life is primitive and stagnant.Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas.For the first time in history, humanity possesses the knowledge and the skill to relieve the suffering of these people.The United States is pre-eminent among nations in the development of industrial and scientific techniques.The material resources which we can afford to use for the assistance of other peoples are limited.But our imponderable resources in technical knowledge are constantly growing and are inexhaustible.I believe that we should make available to peace-loving peoples the benefits of our store of technical knowledge in order to help them realize their aspirations for a better life.And, in cooperation with other nations, we should foster capital investment in areas needing development.Our aim should be to help the free peoples of the world, through their own efforts, to produce more food, more clothing, more materials for housing, and more mechanical power to lighten their burdens.We invite other countries to pool their technological resources in this undertaking.Their contributions will be warmly welcomed.This should be a cooperative enterprise in which all nations work together through the United Nations and its specialized agencies wherever practicable.It must be a worldwide effort for the achievement of peace, plenty, and freedom.With the cooperation of business, private capital, agriculture, and labor in this country, this program can greatly increase the industrial activity in other nations and can raise substantially their standards of living.Such new economic developments must be devised and controlled to benefit the peoples of the areas in which they are established.Guarantees to the investor must be balanced by guarantees in the interest of the people whose resources and whose labor go into these developments.The old imperialism--exploitation for foreign profit--has no place in our plans.What we envisage is a program of development based on the concepts of democratic fair-dealing.All countries, including our own, will greatly benefit from a constructive program for the better use of the world's human and natural resources.Experience shows that our commerce with other countries expands as they progress industrially and economically.Greater production is the key to prosperity and peace.And the key to greater production is a wider and more vigorous application of modern scientific and technical knowledge.Only by helping the least fortunate of its members to help themselves can the human family achieve the decent, satisfying life that is the right of all people.Democracy alone can supply the vitalizing force to stir the peoples of the world into triumphant action, not only against their human oppressors, but also against their ancient enemies--hunger, misery, and despair.On the basis of these four major courses of action we hope to help create the conditions that will lead eventually to personal freedom and happiness for all mankind.If we are to be successful in carrying out these policies, it is clear that we must have continued prosperity in this country and we must keep ourselves strong.Slowly but surely we are weaving a world fabric of international security and growing prosperity.We are aided by all who wish to live in freedom from fear--even by those who live today in fear under their own governments.We are aided by all who want relief from the lies of propaganda--who desire truth and sincerity.We are aided by all who desire self-government and a voice in deciding their own affairs.We are aided by all who long for economic security--for the security and abundance that men in free societies can enjoy.We are aided by all who desire freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom to live their own lives for useful ends.Our allies are the millions who hunger and thirst after righteousness.In due time, as our stability becomes manifest, as more and more nations come to know the benefits of democracy and to participate in growing abundance, I believe that those countries which now oppose us will abandon their delusions and join with the free nations of the world in a just settlement of international differences.Events have brought our American democracy to new influence and new responsibilities.They will test our courage, our devotion to duty, and our concept of liberty.But I say to all men, what we have achieved in liberty, we will surpass in greater liberty.Steadfast in our faith in the Almighty, we will advance toward a world where man's freedom is secure.To that end we will devote our strength, our resources, and our firmness of resolve.With God's help, the future of mankind will be assured in a world of justice, harmony, and peace.四项主要的行动方针
哈里-杜鲁门 就职演讲
星期四,1949年1月20日
我国历史上的各个时期都面临过特殊的挑战。我们现在面临的挑战和过去面临的任何挑战一样严重,今天不仅标志着一届新政府的起点,而且标志着一个新时期的开始。对我们来说,对整个世界来说,这个时期特是个多事之秋,也许还将是决定性的岁月。也许命运注定我们要去体验,或者在更大程度上是去促成人类漫长历史中的一个重大转折。本世纪上半叶的特点是,人权遭到史无前例的粗暴践踏,并经历了历史上最可怕的两场战争。我们这个时代最迫切的需要是学会和睦相处。
世界各国人民都怀着忐忑不安的心情面对着未来,他们既充满希望又满腹忧虑。在这疑虑的时刻,他们比以往任何时候更期待着合众国的善意、力量以及明智的领导。
因此,我们审时度势,利用这一时机向全世界宣布指导我们生活的信念的基本原则,向所有的民族宜布我们的目标。
在今后几年,我们的和平自由纲领将着重于四项主要的行动方针。
第一,我们将继续坚定不移地支持联合国及其有关机构,继续寻求各种方法来加强这些机构的权威和增加这些机构的效率。今天,不少新的国家正在成立,正在民主原则的指引下向自治方向迈进,我们相信,联合国将因这些新国家而得到加强。
第二,我们将继续执行我们制定的世界经济复兴计划。
这意味着我们必须首先全力支持欧洲复兴计划。对于世界复兴中这一重大事业的成功,我们充满了信心。我们相信,通过这项工作,我们的伙伴将再一次取得自给国家的地位。此外,我们还必须执行为减少世界贸易壁垒、增加世界贸易额而制定的计划。经济复兴与和平本身都取决于世界贸易的增加。
第三,我们要加强热爱自由的国家的力量,以抵御侵略的威胁。
我们和许多国家一起,正在为增加北大西洋地区的安全面起草一项共同协议。这种协议将根据联合国宪章的规定,采取集体防御协定的形式。
我们已经根据里约热内卢公约为西半球建立了这样一个防御同盟。
这些协议的主要目的是明确表示自由国家抵抗来自任何地方的武装进攻的共同决心。参加这些协议的每个国家必须为共同防御贡献出全部力量。
如果我们能预先充分地表明,任何影响到我们国家安全的武装进攻必将遭到强大的抵抗,那么武装进攻也许就永远不会发生。
我希望关于北大西洋安全计划的条约不久将呈送参议院。
此外,我们还将向在维护和平与安全时同我们进行合作的自由国家,提供军事顾问和军事装备。
第四,我们必须着手拟定一项大胆的新计划,使不发达地区的进步与发展能受益于我们的先进的科学和发达的工业。
全世界半数以上的人口正濒临悲惨的境地,他们食不果腹、疾患加身。他们的经济生活原始落后,滞缀不振。无论对于他们自己还是对于比较繁荣的地区来说,他们的贫困既是一种阻碍又是一种威胁。
人类有史以来第一次掌握了能解除这些人苦难的知识和技术。
合众国在工业和科学技术发展方面居各国之首。尽管我们用来援助其他国家人民的物质资源是有限的,但我们在技术知识方面的资源却是无法估量的,是不断增长和用之不竭的。
我认为,为了帮助各爱好和平民族实现他们对美好生活的愿望,我们应该使他们受惠于我们丰富的技术知识。同时,我们还应该和其他国家合作,支持对急待开发的地区进行投资。
我们的目标应该是帮助世界上各个自由民族通过他们自己的努力,生产更多的食物,更多的衣物,更多的建筑材料,以及更多的机器来减轻他们的负担。
我们吁请其他国象汇集他们的技术力量以进行这项工作。我们热烈欢迎他们作出贡献。这应该是一种合作事业,所有国家通过联合国及其专门机构在任何可行的方面为此共同工作。这必须是在世界范围内为实现和平、繁荣和自由而作出的努力。
在我国企业、私人资本、农业和劳工等方面的协作下,这一计划能够极大促进其他国家的工业活动,从实质上提高他们的生活水平。
这种新的经济发展必须加以规划和控制,从而使被开发地区的人民有所得益。在保证投资者利益的同时,必须兼顾人民的利益,因为在这些经济发展中倾注着人民的才智和劳动。
在我们的计划中,剥削他国利润的老牌帝国主义没有立足之地。我们拟定的是一个以民主的公平交易的概念为基础的发展规划。
所有国家,包括我国在内,将极大地受益于为更合理地使用世界上的人力资源和自然资源而制定的一项建设性计划。经验证明,我们同其他国家的贸易将随着这些国家在工业和经济上的发展而扩大。
提高生产是繁荣与和平的关键,而提高生产的关键是更广泛、更积极地运用现代科学技术知识。
人类大家庭只有通过帮助最不幸的成员自助,才能享受体面的、令人满意的生活,而所有人郁有权过上这样的生活。
只有民主政治才能产生生机勃勃的力量,以激励世界人民不仅为反抗人类的压迫者,而且压力反抗人类古老的敌人——饥饿、贫困、失望——而斗争。
根据这四项主要的行动方针,我们希望有助于创造各种条件,最终实现个人自由和全人类的幸福。
1933年美国总统罗斯福就职演说
First Inaugural Address of Franklin D.Roosevelt
SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1933
I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels.This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today.This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties.They concern, thank God, only material things.Values have shrunken to fantastic levels;taxes have risen;our ability to pay has fallen;government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income;the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade;the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side;farmers find no markets for their produce;the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return.Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance.We are stricken by no plague of locusts.Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for.Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it.Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply.Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated.Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition.Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money.Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence.They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers.They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization.We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths.The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money;it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits.These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit;and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing.Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance;without them it cannot live.Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone.This Nation asks for action, and action now.Our greatest primary task is to put people to work.This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously.It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources.Hand in hand with this we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land.The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities.It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms.It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced.It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, and unequal.It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character.There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it.We must act and act quickly.Finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order;there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments;there must be an end to speculation with other people's money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.There are the lines of attack.I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States.Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo.Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy.I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first.I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic.It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in all parts of the United States--a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer.It is the way to recovery.It is the immediate way.It is the strongest assurance that the recovery will endure.In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor--the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others--the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other;that we can not merely take but we must give as well;that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective.We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good.This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife.With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.Action in this image and to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors.Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form.That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced.It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations.It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us.But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require.These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me.I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis--broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time.I can do no less.We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of the national unity;with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values;with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stem performance of duty by old and young alike.We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life.We do not distrust the future of essential democracy.The people of the United States have not failed.In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action.They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership.They have made me the present instrument of their wishes.In the spirit of the gift I take it.In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God.May He protect each and every one of us.May He guide me in the days to come.我们唯一不得不害怕的就是害怕本身
富兰克林-罗斯福 第一次就职演讲
星期六,1933年3月4日
我肯定,同胞们都期待我在就任总统时,会像我国目前形势所要求的那样,坦率而果断地向他们讲话。现在正是但白、勇敢地说出实话,说出全部实话的最好时刻,我们不必畏首畏尾,不着老实实面对我国今天的情况,这个伟大的国家会一如既住地坚持下去,它会复兴和繁荣起来。因此,让我首先表明我的坚定信念:我们唯一下得不害怕的就是害怕本身——一种莫明其妙的、丧失理智的、毫无根据的恐惧,它会把转退为进所需的种种努力化为泡影。凡在我国生活阴云密布的时刻,坦率而有活力的领导都得到过人民的理解和支持,从而为胜利准备了必不可少的条件。我相信,在目前危急时刻,大家会再次给予同样的支持。我和你们都要以这种槽神,来面对我们共同的困难。感谢上帝,这些困难只是物质方面的。价值难以想象地贬缩了;课税增加了,我们的支付能力下降了;各级政府面临着严重的收入短缺;交换手段在贸易过程中遭到了冻结;工业企业枯萎的落叶到处可见;农场主的产品找不到销路;千家万户多年的积蓄付之东流。
更重要的是,大批失业公民正面临严峻的生育问题,还有大批公民正以艰辛的劳动换取微薄的报酬。只有愚蠢的乐天派会否认当前这些阴暗的现实。但是,我们的苦恼决不是因为缺乏物资。我们没有遭到什么蝗虫灾害。我们的先辈曾以信念和无畏一次次转危为安,比起他们经历过的险阻,我们仍大可感到欣慰。大自然仍在给予我们恩惠,人类的努力已使之倍增。富足的憎景近在咫尺,但就在我们见到这种情景的时候,宽裕的生活却悄然离去。这主要是因为主宰人类物资交换的统治者们失败了,他们固执己见而又无能为力,因而已经认定失败,并撒手不管了,贪得无厌的货币兑换商的种种行径,将受到舆论法庭的起诉,将受到人类心灵和理智的唾弃。
幸福并不在于单纯地占有主钱;幸福还在于取得成就后的喜悦,在于创造性努力时的激情。务必不能再忘记劳动带来的喜悦和激励,而去疯狂地追逐那转瞬即逝的利润。如果这些暗淡的时日能使我们认识到,我们真正的夭命不是要别人侍奉,而是为自己和同胞们服务,那么,我们付出的代价就完全是值得的。认识到把物质财富当作成功的标准是错误的,我们就会抛弃以地位尊严和个人收益为唯一标准。来衡量公职和高级政治地位的错误信念,我们必须制止银行界和企业界的一种行为,它常常使神圣的委托混同于无情和自私的不正当行为,难怪信心在减弱,因为增强信心只有靠诚实、荣誉感、神圣的责任感,忠实地加以维护和无私地履行职责,而没有这些,就不可能有信心。
但是,复兴不仅仅要求改变伦理观念。这个国家要求行动起来,现在就行动起来。
根据宪法赋予我的职责、我准备提出一些措施,而一个受灾世界上的受灾国家也许需要这些措施。对于这些措施,以及国会根据本身的经验和智慧可能制订的其他类似措施,我将在宪法赋予我的权限内,设法迅速地予以采纳。
但是,如果国会拒不采纳这两条路线中的一条,如果国家紧急情况依然如故,我将下回避我所面临的明确的尽责方向。我将要求国会准许我使用唯一剩下的手殷来应付危机——向非常情况开战的广泛的行政 权,就像我们真的遭到外敌人侵时授予我那样的广泛权力。
对大家寄予我的信任,我一定报以时代所要求的勇气和献身精神,我会竭尽全力。
让我们正视面前的严峻岁月,怀着举国一致给我们带来的热情和勇气,怀着寻求传统的、珍贵的道德观念的明确意识,怀着老老少少都能通过克尽职守而得到的问心无愧的满足。我们的国标是要保证国民生活的圆满和长治久安。
我们并不怀疑基本民主制度的未来。合众国人民并没有失败。他们在困难中表达了自己的委托,即要求采取直接而有力的行动。他们要求有领导的纪律和方向。他们现在选择了我作为实现他们的愿望的工具。我接受这份厚赠。
在此举国奉献之际,我们谦卑地请求上帝赐福。愿上帝保佑我们大家和每一个人,愿上帝在未来的日子里指引我。
第五篇:kennedy 肯尼迪家族介绍
August 27, 2009
EDITORIAL
Senator Edward Kennedy
Three decades ago, Senator Edward Moore Kennedy ruined his last hope to be elected to the White House when a television interviewer asked him why he wanted to be president.He could not articulate an answer, offering instead a rambling, empty response that persuaded his party that he may not really have wanted or been suited for the job that his brother John had held and to which his brother Robert had aspired.Yet as so often happened in an extraordinary life that careened from success to misfortune and scandal and back to success again, this bumbling moment worked to Mr.Kennedy’s advantage and, as it turned out, to the even greater advantage of the nation as a whole.Having failed in his insurgent challenge to President Jimmy Carter, Mr.Kennedy was finally free to focus with passion and political craft on his more natural calling as one of the master legislators and great reformers in the modern Senate.The record Mr.Kennedy leaves after 46 years can only be envied by his peers as they join the nation in mourning his passing after a 15-month fight against brain cancer — a record firmly anchored in Mr.Kennedy’s insistence that politics be grasped and administered through the prism of human needs.Together with a hard-won mastery of parliamentary intricacies, and a willingness to reach across party lines to win crucial votes, Mr.Kennedy’s unwavering taproot liberalism left a robust legacy: signature laws and reforms on civil rights, the judiciary, refugees, social welfare, foreign policy(he was one of 23 senators to vote against authorizing the Iraq invasion), voting rights, job training, public education and the minimum wage.Last year, in his bittersweet adieu before the Democratic convention, the senator stirred his party to act on what he called “the cause of my life” — quality health care as a fundamental right of American citizenship.The fate of Senator Kennedy’s cause remains in the hands of a conflicted Congress and President Obama, the Democratic candidate whom Mr.Kennedy dared to champion when other party leaders hesitated.And while his leadership will be missed in the intricate legislative warfare ahead, it would be a fitting tribute if his death could resolve for the better an issue too long in doubt.Mr.Kennedy’s life was burdened with personal tragedy, including the assassinations of two brothers, and personal embarrassment, mostly
self-inflicted.He was pronounced finished 40 years ago after Mary Jo Kopechne drowned in a car the senator drove off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island off Martha’s Vineyard.But Massachusetts voters stuck with him, and in the last 15 years Mr.Kennedy seemed to get a much firmer grip on his personal life, not least in an effort to set a better example as the patriarch of the Kennedy clan.“I recognize my own shortcomings,” he conceded in 1991, knowing that they will not be erased from the pages of history.But neither will his spirit, his devotion to helping Americans in need and his belief that politics, not always a savory calling, can make a real difference.His mantra, forged in tragedy, and expressed most eloquently to the Democratic National Convention when he abandoned his presidential quest in 1980, was simple and ennobling: “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.” In his final speeches, he explicitly handed on this mantra to President Obama.This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: January 3, 2010
An article last Sunday about the death of Edward M.Kennedy in August misstated the length of his tenure in the Senate.He served 47 years, not 46 years.(The error appeared in Mr.Kennedy’s obituary and another article, about memories of the Senator, on Aug.27, and also in an editorial that day.The error was repeated in an article on Aug.28 about how the Senate had changed during the time he served.)The article also referred incorrectly to the assassination of his brother President John F.Kennedy.The president was assassinated in 1963, the year after Edward Kennedy was elected to the Senate — not the same year.This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: January 10, 2010
An article on Dec.27 about the death of Edward M.Kennedy in August referred incorrectly to the assassination of his brother President John F.Kennedy, and a correction in this space last Sunday erroneously corrected the length of his tenure in the Senate.The president was assassinated in 1963, the year after Edward Kennedy was elected to the Senate — not the same year.And as the article correctly reported, Senator Kennedy served 46 years — not 47 as the correction said.(The correction also erred in stating that the length of tenure was incorrect in Mr.Kennedy’s obituary, in two other articles on Aug.27 and Aug.28 and in an editorial on Aug.28.All four correctly reported the tenure as 46 years.)