美国总统里根负责的故事[本站推荐]

第一篇：美国总统里根负责的故事[本站推荐]

美国总统里根负责的故事

1920年，有个12岁的美国小男孩和他的伙伴正踢足球时，一不小心小男孩将足球踢到了邻居的窗户上，将一块玻璃打碎了。一位老人立即从屋里跑出来，勃然大怒，大声责问是谁干的？伙伴们纷纷逃跑了，小男孩却走到老人跟前，低着头向老人认错，并请求老人宽恕。然而老人却十分的固执，小男孩委屈的哭了。最后，老人同意小男孩回家拿钱赔偿。

回到家中，闯了祸的小男孩怯生生的将事情的经过告诉了父亲。父亲并没有因为其年龄还小而开恩，却是板着脸沉思着一言不发，坐在一旁的母亲总是为儿子说情，开导父亲。不知过了多久，父亲才冷冰冰的说道：“家里虽然有钱，但祸是他闯的，就应该由他对自己的过失行为负责。”停了一下，父亲还是掏出了钱，严肃的对小男孩儿说：“这15美元我暂时借给你赔人家，不过，你必须想办法还给我。”小男孩从父亲手中接过钱，飞快的跑去赔给老人。在当时，15美元是笔不小的数目，足足可以买125只生蛋的母鸡！

从此，小男孩一边刻苦地读书，一边用空闲时间打工挣钱来还给父亲。由于人小，不能干重活，他就到餐馆帮别人洗碗、刷盘子，有时还捡捡破烂。经过半年的努力，终于挣够了15美元这一“天文数字”，并自豪的交还给了他的父亲。父亲欣然的拍着他的肩膀说：“一个能为自己过失负责的人，将来一定会有出息的。”

许多年以后，这位男孩成为美国的总统，他就是里根。后来，他在回忆往事时深有感触的说：“那一次闯祸之后，使我懂得了什么是责任。”

第二篇：美国总统演讲稿之里根2

Ronald Reagan: Address from the Brandenburg Gate(Berlin

Wall)

Delivered 12 June 1987 Thank you very much.Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty four years ago, President John F.Kennedy visited Berlin, speaking to the people of this city and the world at the city hall.Well, since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn, to Berlin.And today I, myself, make my second visit to your city.We come to Berlin, we American Presidents, because it's our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom.But I must confess, we're drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in this city, more than 500 years older than our own nation;by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten;most of all, by your courage and determination.Perhaps the composer, Paul Lincke, understood something about American Presidents.You see, like so many Presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: “Ich hab noch einen koffer in Berlin.“ [I still have a suitcase in Berlin.] Our gathering today is being broadcast throughout Western Europe and North America.I understand that it is being seen and heard as well in the East.To those listening throughout Eastern Europe, I extend my warmest greetings and the good will of the American people.To those listening in East Berlin, a special word: Although I cannot be with you, I address my remarks to you just as surely as to those standing here before me.For I join you, as I join your fellow countrymen in the West, in this firm, this unalterable belief: Es gibt nur ein Berlin.[There is only one Berlin.]

Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe.From the Baltic, south, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guard towers.Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall.But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same--still a restriction on the right to travel, still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state.Yet it is here in Berlin where the wall emerges most clearly;here, cutting across your city, where the news photo and the television screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the world.Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men.Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar.President von Weizsacker has said: ”The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed.“ Today I say: As long as this gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind.Yet I do not come here to lament.For I find in Berlin a message of hope, even in the shadow of this wall, a message of triumph.In this season of spring in 1945, the people of Berlin emerged from their air raid shelters to find devastation.Thousands of miles away, the people of the United States reached out to help.And in 1947 Secretary of State--as you've been told-George Marshall announced the creation of what would become known as the Marshall plan.Speaking precisely 40 years ago this month, he said: ”Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.“

In the Reichstag a few moments ago, I saw a display commemorating this 40th anniversary of the Marshall plan.I was struck by the sign on a burnt-out, gutted structure that was being rebuilt.I understand that Berliners of my own generation can remember seeing signs like it dotted throughout the Western sectors of the city.The sign read simply: ”The Marshall plan is helping here to strengthen the free world.“ A strong, free world in the West, that dream became real.Japan rose from ruin to become an economic giant.Italy, France, Belgium--virtually every nation in Western Europe saw political and economic rebirth;the European Community was founded.In West Germany and here in Berlin, there took place an economic miracle, the Wirtschaftswunder.Adenauer, Erhard, Reuter, and other leaders understood the practical importance of liberty--that just as truth can flourish only when the journalist is given freedom of speech, so prosperity can come about only when the farmer and businessman enjoy economic freedom.The German leaders reduced tariffs, expanded free trade, lowered taxes.From 1950 to 1960 alone, the standard of living in West Germany and Berlin doubled.Where four decades ago there was rubble, today in West Berlin there is the greatest industrial output of any city in Germany-busy office blocks, fine homes and apartments, proud avenues, and the spreading lawns of park land.Where a city's culture seemed to have been destroyed, today there are two great universities, orchestras and an opera, countless theaters, and museums.Where there was want, today there's abundance--food, clothing, automobiles-the wonderful goods of the Ku'damm.From devastation, from utter ruin, you Berliners have, in freedom, rebuilt a city that once again ranks as one of the greatest on Earth.The Soviets may have had other plans.But, my friends, there were a few things the Soviets didn't count on Berliner herz, Berliner humor, ja, und Berliner schnauze.[Berliner heart, Berliner humor, yes, and a Berliner schnauze.] [Laughter]

In the 1950's, Khrushchev predicted: ”We will bury you.“ But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history.In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind-too little food.Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself.After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity.Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace.Freedom is the victor.And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom.We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness.Some political prisoners have been released.Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed.Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control.Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it? We welcome change and openness;for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace.There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate!Mr.Gorbachev, open this gate!Mr.Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

I understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict this continent--and I pledge to you my country's efforts to help overcome these burdens.To be sure, we in the West must resist Soviet expansion.So we must maintain defenses of unassailable strength.Yet we seek peace;so we must strive to reduce arms on both sides.Beginning 10 years ago, the Soviets challenged the Western alliance with a grave new threat, hundreds of new and more deadly SS-20 nuclear missiles, capable of-striking every capital in Europe.The Western alliance responded by committing itself to a counter deployment unless the Soviets agreed to negotiate a better solution;namely, the elimination of such weapons on both sides.For many months, the Soviets refused to bargain in earnestness.As the alliance, in turn, prepared to go forward with its counter deployment, there were difficult days--days of protests like those during my 1982 visit to this city--and the Soviets later walked away from the table.But through it all, the alliance held firm.And I invite those who protested then--I invite those who protest today--to mark this fact: Because we remained strong, the Soviets came back to the table.And because we remained strong, today we have within reach the possibility, not merely of limiting the growth of arms, but of eliminating, for the first time, an entire class of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth.As I speak, NATO ministers are meeting in Iceland to review the progress of our proposals for eliminating these weapons.At the talks in Geneva, we have also proposed deep cuts in strategic offensive weapons.And the Western allies have likewise made far-reaching proposals to reduce the danger of conventional war and to place a total ban on chemical weapons.While we pursue these arms reductions, I pledge to you that we will maintain the capacity to deter Soviet aggression at any level at which it might occur.And in cooperation with many of our allies, the United States is pursuing the Strategic Defense Initiative-research to base deterrence not on the threat of offensive retaliation, but on defenses that truly defend;on systems, in short, that will not target populations, but shield them.By these means we seek to increase the safety of Europe and all the world.But we must remember a crucial fact: East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed;we are armed because we mistrust each other.And our differences are not about weapons but about liberty.When President Kennedy spoke at the City Hall those 24 years ago, freedom was encircled, Berlin was under siege.And today, despite all the pressures upon this city, Berlin stands secure in its liberty.And freedom itself is transforming the globe.In the Philippines, in South and Central America, democracy has been given a rebirth.Throughout the Pacific, free markets are working miracle after miracle of economic growth.In the industrialized nations, a technological revolution is taking place--a revolution marked by rapid, dramatic advances in computers and telecommunications.In Europe, only one nation and those it controls refuse to join the community of freedom.Yet in this age of redoubled economic growth, of information and innovation, the Soviet Union faces a choice: It must make fundamental changes, or it will become obsolete.Today thus represents a moment of hope.We in the West stand ready to cooperate with the East to promote true openness, to break down barriers that separate people, to create a safer, freer world.And surely there is no better place than Berlin, the meeting place of East and West, to make a start.Free people of Berlin: Today, as in the past, the United States stands for the strict observance and full implementation of all parts of the Four Power Agreement of 1971.Let us use this occasion, the 750th anniversary of this city, to usher in a new era, to seek a still fuller, richer life for the Berlin of the future.Together, let us maintain and develop the ties between the Federal Republic and the Western sectors of Berlin, which is permitted by the 1971 agreement.And I invite Mr.Gorbachev: Let us work to bring the Eastern and Western parts of the city closer together, so that all the inhabitants of all Berlin can enjoy the benefits that come with life in one of the great cities of the world.To open Berlin still further to all Europe, East and West, let us expand the vital air access to this city, finding ways of making commercial air service to Berlin more convenient, more comfortable, and more economical.We look to the day when West Berlin can become one of the chief aviation hubs in all central Europe.With our French and British partners, the United States is prepared to help bring international meetings to Berlin.It would be only fitting for Berlin to serve as the site of United Nations meetings, or world conferences on human rights and arms control or other issues that call for international cooperation.There is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds, and we would be honored to sponsor summer youth exchanges, cultural events, and other programs for young Berliners from the East.Our French and British friends, I'm certain, will do the same.And it's my hope that an authority can be found in East Berlin to sponsor visits from young people of the Western sectors.One final proposal, one close to my heart: Sport represents a source of enjoyment and ennoblement, and you many have noted that the Republic of Korea--South Korea-has offered to permit certain events of the 1988 Olympics to take place in the North.International sports competitions of all kinds could take place in both parts of this city.And what better way to demonstrate to the world the openness of this city than to offer in some future year to hold the Olympic Games here in Berlin, East and West?

In these four decades, as I have said, you Berliners have built a great city.You've done so in spite of threats--the Soviet attempts to impose the East-mark, the blockade.Today the city thrives in spite of the challenges implicit in the very presence of this wall.What keeps you here? Certainly there's a great deal to be said for your fortitude, for your defiant courage.But I believe there's something deeper, something that involves Berlin’s whole look and feel and way of life--not mere sentiment.No one could live long in Berlin without being completely disabused of illusions.Something instead, that has seen the difficulties of life in Berlin but chose to accept them, that continues to build this good and proud city in contrast to a surrounding totalitarian presence that refuses to release human energies or aspirations.Something that speaks with a powerful voice of affirmation, that says yes to this city, yes to the future, yes to freedom.In a word, I would submit that what keeps you in Berlin is love--love both profound and abiding.Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to the most fundamental distinction of all between East and West.The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship.The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and of worship an affront.Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz.Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower's one major flaw, treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind.Yet even today when the Sun strikes that sphere--that sphere that towers over all Berlin--the light makes the sign of the cross.There in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of love, symbols of worship, cannot be suppressed.As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner, ”This wall will fall.Beliefs become reality." Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall.For it cannot withstand faith;it cannot withstand truth.The wall cannot withstand freedom.And I would like, before I close, to say one word.I have read, and I have been questioned since I've been here about certain demonstrations against my coming.And I would like to say just one thing, and to those who demonstrate so.I wonder if they have ever asked themselves that if they should have the kind of government they apparently seek, no one would ever be able to do what they're doing again.Thank you and God bless you all.☼注释☼:

♫ unalterable ♫ totalitarian ♫ shelter ♫ doctrine []

adj.不能变更的 adj.极权主义的 [] [] [] []

n.掩蔽处, 身避处, 庇护所 n.教条, 学说

n.管弦乐队, 乐队演奏处 ♫ orchestra ♫ unprecedented ♫ liberalization ♫ conventional ♫ retaliation ♫ implementation ♫ aviation [] adj.空前的

[] n.自由主义化, 使宽大 [] []

adj.惯例的, 常规的 n.报复, 报仇 n.执行 n.飞行, 航空 [] [] []

♫ distinction ♫ embodiment

n.区别, 差别

n.体现, 具体化, 化身

[]

第三篇：美国总统演讲稿之里根1

Ronald Reagan: First Inaugural Address

Delivered 20 January 1981

Senator Hatfield, Mr.Chief Justice, Mr.President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens: To a few of us here today this is a solemn and most momentous occasion, and yet in the history of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence.The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are.In the eyes of ma in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.Mr.President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition.By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwark of our Republic.The business of our nation goes forward.These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions.We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history.It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike.It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, human misery, and personal indignity.Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending.For decades we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present.To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a

limited period of time.Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we're not bound by that same limitation? We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow.And let there be no misunderstanding: We are going to begin to act, beginning today.The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades.They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away.They will go away because we as Americans have the capacity now, as we've had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.Well, if no one among us is capable of governing

himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden.The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.We hear much of special interest groups.Well, our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected.It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines.It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we're sick--professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers.They are, in short, ”We the people,” this breed called Americans.Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunities for all Americans with no barriers born of bigotry or

discrimination.Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work.Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs.All must share in the productive work of this ``new beginning,'' and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy.With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America, at peace with itself and the world.So, as we begin, let us take inventory.We are a nation that has a government--not the other way around.And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth.Our government has no power except that granted it by the people.It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people.All of us need to be

reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States;the States created the Federal Government.Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it's not my intention to do away with

government.It is rather to make it work--work with us, not over us;to stand by our side, not ride on our back.Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it;foster productivity, not stifle it.If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before.Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the

intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government.It is time for us to realize that we're too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.We're not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable

decline.I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do.I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.So, with all the creative energy at our

command, let us begin an era of national renewal.Let us renew our determination, our

courage, and our strength.And let us renew our faith and our hope.We have every right to dream heroic dreams.Those who say that we're in a time when there are not heroes, they just don't know where to look.You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates.Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond.You meet heroes across a counter, and they're on both sides of that counter.There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity.They're individuals and families whose taxes support the government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education.Their patriotism is quiet, but deep.Their values sustain our national life.Now, I have used the words ``they'' and ``their'' in speaking of these heroes.I could say ``you'' and ``your,'' because I'm addressing the heroes of whom I speak--you, the citizens of this blessed land.Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help me God.We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup.How can we love our country and not love our countrymen;and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they're sick, and provide opportunity to make them

self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?

Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic ``yes.'' To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I've just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity.Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government.Progress may be slow, measured in inches and feet, not miles, but we will progress.It is time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden.And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles there will be no compromise.On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr.Joseph Warren, president of the

Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, “Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of....On you depend the fortunes of America.You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn.Act worthy of yourselves.”

Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children, and our children's children.And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world.We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment.We will match loyalty with loyalty.We will strive for mutually beneficial relations.We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for our own sovereignty is not for sale.As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be

reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people.We will negotiate

for it, sacrifice for it;we will not surrender for it, now or ever.Our forbearance should never be misunderstood.Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will.When action is required to preserve our national

security, we will act.We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.Above all, we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.It is a weapon that we as Americans do have.Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.I'm told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I'm deeply grateful.We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free.It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inaugural Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.This is the first time in our history that this ceremony has been held, as you've been told, on this West Front of the Capitol.Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city's special beauty and history.At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man, George Washington, father of our country.A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly.He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood.Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson.The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence.And then, beyond the Reflecting Pool, the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial.Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David.They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero I spoke of earlier.Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.Under one such marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small

town barbershop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division.There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.We're told that on his body was found a diary.On the flyleaf under the heading, ``My Pledge,'' he had written these words: ``America must win this war.Therefore I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.''

The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make.It does require, however, our best effort and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our

capacity to perform great deeds, to believe that together with God's help we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.And after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.God bless you, and thank you.☼注释☼:

♫ commonplace

♫ bulwark

♫ penalize

♫ upheaval

♫ boundary

♫ vigorous

壮的♫ bigotry

♫ stifle

♫ renewal

♫ compassion

♫ unequivocal

♫ compromise

♫ exemplar

♫ strive

♫ prevail

♫ formidable

难的♫ battalion

[]adj.平凡的 []n.壁垒, 防波堤 []v.处罚 []n.剧变 []n.边界, 分界线 []adj.精力旺盛的, 有力的, 健[]n.固执, 顽固[]vt.使窒息, 抑制[]n.复兴, 恢复[]n.同情,怜悯[]adj.不含糊的[]n.妥协, 折衷 []n.模范, 榜样, 标本 []v.努力, 奋斗, 力争, 斗争 []vi.获胜, 成功 []adj.强大的, 令人敬畏的, 艰[]n.军营, 军队

第四篇：美国总统演讲稿之里根3

Ronald Reagan: Farewell Address

Delivered 11 January 1989 My fellow Americans: This is the 34th time I'll speak to you from the Oval Office and the last.We've been together 8 years now, and soon it'll be time for me to go.But before I do, I wanted to share some thoughts, some of which I've been saving for a long time.It's been the honor of my life to be your President.So many of you have written the past few weeks to say thanks, but I could say as much to you.Nancy and I are grateful for the opportunity you gave us to serve.One of the things about the Presidency is that you're always somewhat apart.You spent a lot of time going by too fast in a car someone else is driving, and seeing the people through tinted glass--the parents holding up a child, and the wave you saw too late and couldn't return.And so many times I wanted to stop and reach out from behind the glass, and connect.Well, maybe I can do a little of that tonight.People ask how I feel about leaving.And the fact is, 'parting is such sweet sorrow.' The sweet part is California and the ranch and freedom.The sorrow--the goodbyes, of course, and leaving this beautiful place.You know, down the hall and up the stairs from this office is the part of the White House where the President and his family live.There are a few favorite windows I have up there that I like to stand and look out of early in the morning.The view is over the grounds here to the Washington Monument, and then the Mall and the Jefferson Memorial.But on mornings when the humidity is low, you can see past the Jefferson to the river, the Potomac, and the Virginia shore.Someone said that's the view Lincoln had when he saw the smoke rising from the Battle of Bull Run.I see more prosaic things: the grass on the banks, the morning traffic as people make their way to work, now and then a sailboat on the river.I've been thinking a bit at that window.I've been reflecting on what the past 8 years have meant and mean.And the image that comes to mind like a refrain is a nautical one--a small story about a big ship, and a refugee, and a sailor.It was back in the early eighties, at the height of the boat people.And the sailor was hard at work on the carrier Midway, which was patrolling the South China Sea.The sailor, like most American servicemen, was young, smart, and fiercely observant.The crew spied on the horizon a leaky little boat.And crammed inside were refugees from Indochina hoping to get to America.The Midway sent a small launch to bring them to the ship and safety.As the refugees made their way through the choppy seas, one spied the sailor on deck, and stood up, and called out to him.He yelled, 'Hello, American sailor.Hello, freedom man.'

A small moment with a big meaning, a moment the sailor, who wrote it in a letter, couldn't get out of his mind.And, when I saw it, neither could I.Because that's what it was to be an American in the 1980's.We stood, again, for freedom.I know we always have, but in the past few years the world again--and in a way, we ourselves--rediscovered it.It's been quite a journey this decade, and we held together through some stormy seas.And at the end, together, we are reaching our destination.The fact is, from Grenada to the Washington and Moscow summits, from the recession of '81 to '82, to the expansion that began in late '82 and continues to this day, we've made a difference.The way I see it, there were two great triumphs, two things that I'm proudest of.One is the economic recovery, in which the people of America created--and filled--19 million new jobs.The other is the recovery of our morale.America is respected again in the world and looked to for leadership.Something that happened to me a few years ago reflects some of this.It was back in 1981, and I was attending my first big economic summit, which was held that year in Canada.The meeting place rotates among the member countries.The opening meeting was a formal dinner of the heads of goverment of the seven industrialized nations.Now, I sat there like the new kid in school and listened, and it was all Francois this and Helmut that.They dropped titles and spoke to one another on a first-name basis.Well, at one point I sort of leaned in and said, 'My name's Ron.' Well, in that same year, we began the actions we felt would ignite an economic comeback--cut taxes and regulation, started to cut spending.And soon the recovery began.Two years later, another economic summit with pretty much the same cast.At the big opening meeting we all got together, and all of a sudden, just for a moment, I saw that everyone was just sitting there looking at me.And then one of them broke the silence.'Tell us about the American miracle,' he said.Well, back in 1980, when I was running for President, it was all so different.Some pundits said our programs would result in catastrophe.Our views on foreign affairs would cause war.Our plans for the economy would cause inflation to soar and bring about economic collapse.I even remember one highly respected economist saying, back in 1982, that 'The engines of economic growth have shut down here, and they're likely to stay that way for years to come.' Well, he and the other opinion leaders were wrong.The fact is what they call 'radical' was really 'right.' What they called 'dangerous' was just 'desperately needed.'

And in all of that time I won a nickname, 'The Great Communicator.' But I never though it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: it was the content.I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation--from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries.They called it the Reagan revolution.Well, I'll accept that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense.Common sense told us that when you put a big tax on something, the people will produce less of it.So, we cut the people's tax rates, and the people produced more than ever before.The economy bloomed like a plant that had been cut back and could now grow quicker and stronger.Our economic program brought about the longest peacetime expansion in our history: real family income up, the poverty rate down, entrepreneurship booming, and an explosion in research and new technology.We're exporting more than ever because American industry because more competitive and at the same time, we summoned the national will to knock down protectionist walls abroad instead of erecting them at home.Common sense also told us that to preserve the peace, we'd have to become strong again after years of weakness and confusion.So, we rebuilt our defenses, and this New Year we toasted the new peacefulness around the globe.Not only have the superpowers actually begun to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons--and hope for even more progress is bright--but the regional conflicts that rack the globe are also beginning to cease.The Persian Gulf is no longer a war zone.The Soviets are leaving Afghanistan.The Vietnamese are preparing to pull out of Cambodia, and an American-mediated accord will soon send 50,000 Cuban troops home from Angola.The lesson of all this was, of course, that because we're a great nation, our challenges seem complex.It will always be this way.But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours.And something else we learned: Once you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it will end.We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a world.Countries across the globe are turning to free markets and free speech and turning away from the ideologies of the past.For them, the great rediscovery of the 1980's has been that, lo and behold, the moral way of government is the practical way of government: Democracy, the profoundly good, is also the profoundly productive.When you've got to the point when you can celebrate the anniversaries of your 39th birthday you can sit back sometimes, review your life, and see it flowing before you.For me there was a fork in the river, and it was right in the middle of my life.I never meant to go into politics.It wasn't my intention when I was young.But I was raised to believe you had to pay your way for the blessings bestowed on you.I was happy with my career in the entertainment world, but I ultimately went into politics because I wanted to protect something precious.Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: 'We the People.' 'We the People' tell the government what to do;it doesn't tell us.'We the People' are the driver;the government is the car.And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast.Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are.Our Constitution is a document in which 'We the People' tell the government what it is allowed to do.'We the People' are free.This belief has been the underlying basis for everything I've tried to do these past 8 years.But back in the 1960's, when I began, it seemed to me that we'd begun reversing the order of things--that through more and more rules and regulations and confiscatory taxes, the government was taking more of our money, more of our options, and more of our freedom.I went into politics in part to put up my hand and say, 'Stop.' I was a citizen politician, and it seemed the right thing for a citizen to do.I think we have stopped a lot of what needed stopping.And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited.There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.Nothing is less free than pure communism--and yet we have, the past few years, forged a satisfying new closeness with the Soviet Union.I've been asked if this isn't a gamble, and my answer is no because we're basing our actions not on words but deeds.The detente of the 1970's was based not on actions but promises.They'd promise to treat their own people and the people of the world better.But the gulag was still the gulag, and the state was still expansionist, and they still waged proxy wars in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.Well, this time, so far, it's different.President Gorbachev has brought about some internal democratic reforms and begun the withdrawal from Afghanistan.He has also freed prisoners whose names I've given him every time we've met.But life has a way of reminding you of big things through small incidents.Once, during the heady days of the Moscow summit, Nancy and I decided to break off from the entourage one afternoon to visit the shops on Arbat Street--that's a little street just off Moscow's main shopping area.Even though our visit was a surprise, every Russian there immediately recognized us and called out our names and reached for our hands.We were just about swept away by the warmth.You could almost feel the possibilities in all that joy.But within seconds, a KGB detail pushed their way toward us and began pushing and shoving the people in the crowd.It was an interesting moment.It reminded me that while the man on the street in the Soviet Union yearns for peace, the government is Communist.And those who run it are Communists, and that means we and they view such issues as freedom and human rights very differently.We must keep up our guard, but we must also continue to work together to lessen and eliminate tension and mistrust.My view is that President Gorbachev is different from previous Soviet leaders.I think he knows some of the things wrong with his society and is trying to fix them.We wish him well.And we'll continue to work to make sure that the Soviet Union that eventually emerges from this process is a less threatening one.What it all boils down to is this: I want the new closeness to continue.And it will, as long as we make it clear that we will continue to act in a certain way as long as they continue to act in a helpful manner.If and when they don't, at first pull your punches.If they persist, pull the plug.It's still trust by verify.It's still play, but cut the cards.It's still watch closely.And don't be afraid to see what you see.I've been asked if I have any regrets.Well, I do.The deficit is one.I've been talking a great deal about that lately, but tonight isn't for arguments, and I'm going to hold my tongue.But an observation: I've had my share of victories in the Congress, but what few people noticed is that I never won anything you didn't win for me.They never saw my troops, they never saw Reagan's regiments, the American people.You won every battle with every call you made and letter you wrote demanding action.Well, action is still needed.If we're to finish the job.Reagan's regiments will have to become the Bush brigades.Soon he'll be the chief, and he'll need you every bit as much as I did.Finally, there is a great tradition of warnings in Presidential farewells, and I've got one that's been on my mind for some time.But oddly enough it starts with one of the things I'm proudest of in the past 8 years: the resurgence of national pride that I called the new patriotism.This national feeling is good, but it won't count for much, and it won't last unless it's grounded in thoughtfulness and knowledge.An informed patriotism is what we want.And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? Those of us who are over 35 or so years of age grew up in a different America.We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American.And we absorbed, almost in the air, a love of country and an appreciation of its institutions.If you didn't get these things from your family you got them from the neighborhood, from the father down the street who fought in Korea or the family who lost someone at Anzio.Or you could get a sense of patriotism from school.And if all else failed you could get a sense of patriotism from the popular culture.The movies celebrated democratic values and implicitly reinforced the idea that America was special.TV was like that, too, through the mid-sixties.But now, we're about to enter the nineties, and some things have changed.Younger parents aren't sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children.And as for those who create the popular culture, well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style.Our spirit is back, but we haven't reinstitutionalized it.We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise.And freedom is special and rare.It's fragile;it needs protection.So, we've got to teach history based not on what's in fashion but what's important--why the Pilgrims came here, who Jimmy Doolittle was, and what those 30 seconds over Tokyo meant.You know, 4 years ago on the 40th anniversary of D-day, I read a letter from a young woman writing to her late father, who'd fought on Omaha Beach.Her name was Lisa Zanatta Henn, and she said, 'we will always remember, we will never forget what the boys of Normandy did.' Well, let's help her keep her word.If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are.I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit.Let's start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual.And let me offer lesson number one about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table.So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins.And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let 'em know and nail 'em on it.That would be a very American thing to do.And that's about all I have to say tonight, except for one thing.The past few days when I've been at that window upstairs, I've thought a bit of the 'shining city upon a hill.' The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined.What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man.He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat;and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free.I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it.But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace;a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity.And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.That's how I saw it, and see it still.And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago.But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm.And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.We've done our part.And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for 8 years did the work that brought America back.My friends: We did it.We weren't just marking time.We made a difference.We made the city stronger, we made the city freer, and we left her in good hands.All in all, not bad, not bad at all.And so, goodbye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.☼注释☼:

♫ prosaic

♫ Indochina ♫ destination

♫ communicator ♫ protectionist ♫ ideology

♫ bestow

♫ confiscatory ♫ expansionist ♫ proxy ♫ regiment

♫ resurgence ♫ eradication

♫ prosperous []

adj.平凡的

[]

n.印度支那

[] n.目的地

[]

n.交流者

[] adj.保护贸易论的 []

n.意识形态 []

vt.给予, 安放 []

adj.没收的, 充公的

[] n.扩张主义者, 领土扩张论者

[]

n.代理人

[]

n.团, 大群 []

n.苏醒 []

n.连根拔除, 根除

[]

adj.繁荣的

第五篇：美国总统罗纳德-里根就职演讲稿(下)

美国总统罗纳德-里根就职演讲稿（下）我们听到许多关于特殊利益集团的谈论，然而。我们必须关心一个被忽视了大久的特殊利益集团。这个集团没有区域之分，没有人种之分，没有民族之分，没有政党之分，这个集团由许许多多的男人与女人组成，他们生产粮食，巡逻街头，管理厂矿，教育儿童，照料家务和治疗疾病。他们是专业人员、实业家、店主、职 员、出租汽车司机和货车驾驶员，总而言之，他们就是“我们人民”——这个称之为美国人的民族。

本届政府的日标是必须建立一种健全的、生气勃勃的和不断发展的经济，为全体美国人民提供一种不因偏执或歧视而造成障碍的均等机会，让美国重新工作起 来，意味着让全体美国人重新工作起来。制止通货膨胀，意味着让全体美国人从失控的生活费用所造成的恐惧中解脱出来。人人都应分担“新开端”的富有成效的工 作，人人都应分享经济复苏的硕果。我国制度和力量的核心是理想主义和公正态度，有了这些，我们就能建立起强大、繁荣、国内稳定并同全世界和平相处的美国。因此，在我们开始之际，让我们看看实际情况。我们是一个拥有政府的国家——而不是一个拥有国家的政府。这一点使我们在世界合国中独树一帜，我们的政府 除了人民授予的权力，没有任何别的权力。目前，政府权力的膨胀已显示出超过被统治者同意的迹象，制止并扭转这种状况的时候到了。

我打算压缩联邦机构的规模和权力，并要求大家承认联邦政府被授予的权力同各州或人民保留的权利这两者之间的区别。我们大家都需要提醒：不是联邦政府创 立了各州，而是各州创立了联邦政府。因此，请不要误会，我的意思不是要取消政府，而是要它发挥作用——同我们一起合作，而不是凌驾于我们之上；同我们并肩 而立，而不是骑在我们的背上。政府能够而且必须提供机会，而不是扼杀机会，它能够而且必须促进生产力，而不是抑制生产力。

如果我们要探究这么多年来我们为什么能取得这么大成就，并获得了世界上任何一个民族未曾获得的繁荣昌盛，其原因是在这片土地上，我们使人类的能力和个 人的才智得到了前所未有的发挥。在这里，个人所享有并得以确保的自由和尊严超过了世界上任何其他地方。为这种自由所付出的代价有时相当高昂，但我们从来没 有不愿意付出这代价。

我们目前的困难，与政府机构因为不必要的过度膨胀而干预、侵扰我们的生活同步增加，这决不是偶然的巧合。我们是一个泱泱大国，不能自囿于小小的梦想，现在正是认识到这一点的时候。我们并非注定走向衰落，尽管有些人想让我们相信这一点。我不相信，无论我们做些什么，我们都将命该如此，但我相信，如果我们什么也不做，我们将的确命该如此。为此，让我们以掌握的一切创造力来开创一个国家复兴的时代吧。让我们重新拿出决心、勇气和力量，让我们重新建立起我们的信念和希望吧。我们完全有权去做英雄梦。

有人告诉我们在他的身上发现一本日记。扉页上写着这样的标题：“我的誓言”。他写下了这样的话语：“美国必须赢得这场战争。为此，我会奋斗，我会拯救，我会牺牲，我会忍受，我会并将尽我最大的努力英勇奋战，就好比所有的战争问题都将由我一个人来肩负。”