第一篇:1981年里根第一任总统就职演说-译文
里根第一任总统就职演说
罗纳德-里根 第一次就职演说
第40任总统(1981年-1989年)
中文译文
议员海特菲尔德先生、法官先生、总统先生、副总统布什、蒙代尔先生、议员贝克先生、发言人奥尼尔先生、尊敬的摩麦先生,以及广大支持我的美国同胞们:今天对于我们中间的一些人来说,是一个非常庄严隆重的时刻。当然,对于这个国家的历史来说,却是一件普通的事情。按照宪法要求,政府权利正在有序地移交,我们已经如此“例行公事”了两个世纪,很少有人觉得这有什么特别的。但在世界上
更多人看来,这个我们已经习以为常的四年一次的仪式,却实在是一个奇迹。
总统先生,我希望我们的同胞们都能知道你为了这个传承而付出的努力。通过移交程序中的通力合作,你向观察者展示了这么一个事实:我们是发誓要团结起来维护这样一个政治体制的团体,这样的体制保证了我们能够得到比其他政体更为广泛的个人自由。同时我也要感谢你和你的伙伴们的帮助,因为
你们坚持了这样的传承,而这恰恰是我们共和国的根基。
我们国家的事业在继续前进。合众国正面临巨大的经济困难。我们遭遇到我国历史上历时最长、最严重之一的通货膨胀,它扰乱着我们的经济决策,打击着节俭的风气,压迫着正在挣扎谋生的青年人和
收入固定的中年人,威胁着要摧毁我国千百万人民的生计。
停滞的工业使工人失业、蒙受痛苦并失去了个人尊严。即使那些有工作的人,也因税收制度的缘故而得不到公正的劳动报酬,因为这种税收制度使我们无法在事业上取得成就,使我们无法保持充分的生
产力。
尽管我们的纳税负担相当沉重,但还是跟不上公共开支的增长。数十年来,我们的赤字额屡屡上升,我们为图目前暂时的方便,把自己的前途和子孙的前途抵押出去了。这一趋势如果长此以往,必然引起
社会、文化、政治和经济等方面的大动荡。
作为个人,你们和我可以靠借贷过一种人不敷出的生活,然而只能维持一段有限的时期,我们怎么可以认为,作为一个国家整体,我们就不应受到同样的约束呢?为了保住明天,我们今天就必须行动起
来。大家都要明白无误地懂得--我们从今天起就要采取行动。
我们深受其害的经济弊病,几十年来一直袭击着我们。这些弊病不会在几天、几星期或几个月内消失,但它们终将消失。它们之所以终将消失,是因为我们作为现在的美国人,一如既往地有能力去完成需要完成的事情,以保存这个最后而又最伟大的自由堡垒。
在当前这场危机中,政府的管理不能解决我们面临的问题。政府的管理就是问题所在。我们时常误以为,社会已经越来越复杂,已经不可能凭借自治方式加以管理,而一个由杰出人物组成的政府要比民享、民治、民有的政府高明。可是,假如我们之中谁也管理不了自己,那么,我们之中
谁还能去管理他人呢。
我们大家--不论政府官员还是平民百姓--必须共同肩负起这个责任,我们谋求的解决办法必须是公平的,不要使任何一个群体付出较高的代价。
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。”
第二篇:1981年里根第一任总统就职演说-english version
里根第一任总统就职演说 罗纳德-里根 第一次就职演说 第40任总统(1981年-1989年)
英文
First Inaugural Address of Ronald Reagan
TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 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 many 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, causing 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 are 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 have 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.From time to time, we have 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.But 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.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 our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are 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 opportunity 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 is 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 are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.We are not, as some would have us believe, loomed to an inevitable decline.I do not believe in a fate that will all 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 are in a time when there are no heroes 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 are 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 are 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.I have used the words “they” and “their” in speaking of these heroes.I could say “you” and “your” because I am 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 are sick, and provide opportunities 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 have 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.Is it 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 or 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 am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am 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 Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have 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 on 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 kinds 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 barber shop 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 are 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.
第三篇:小布什第一任总统就职演说
小布什第一任总统就职演说 2006-1-17 15:05
January 20, 2001
President Clinton, distinguished guests and my fellow citizens:
The peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country.With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings.As I begin, I thank President Clinton for his service to our nation;and I thank Vice President Gore for a contest conducted with spirit and ended with grace.I am honored and humbled to stand here, where so many of America's leaders have come before me, and so many will follow.We have a place, all of us, in a long story.A story we continue, but whose end we will not see.It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old, a story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom, the story of a power that went into the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer.It is the American story.A story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals.The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding American promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant person was ever born.Americans are called upon to enact this promise in our lives and in our laws;and though our nation has sometimes halted, and sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course.Through much of the last century, America's faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea.Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations.Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity, an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along;and even after nearly 225 years, we have a long way yet to travel.While many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise, even the justice, of our own country.The ambitions of some Americans are limited by failing schools and hidden prejudice and the circumstances of their birth;and sometimes our differences run so deep, it seems we share a continent, but not a country.We do not accept this, and we will not allow it.Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation;and this is my solemn pledge, “I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity.” I know this is in our reach because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves who creates us equal in His image and we are confident in principles that unite and lead us onward.America has never been united by blood or birth or soil.We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.【大 中 小】【打印】【我要纠错】【加入收藏】
Every child must be taught these principles.Every citizen must uphold them;and every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.Today, we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility.A civil society demands from each of us good will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness.Some seem to believe that our politics can afford to be petty because, in a time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small.But the stakes for America are never small.If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led.If we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose their gifts and undermine their idealism.If we permit our economy to drift and decline, the vulnerable will suffer most.We must live up to the calling we share.Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment.It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos.This commitment, if we keep it, is a way to shared accomplishment.America, at its best, is also courageous.Our national courage has been clear in times of depression and war, when defending common dangers defined our common good.Now we must choose if the example of our fathers and mothers will inspire us or condemn us.We must show courage in a time of blessing by confronting problems instead of passing them on to future generations.Together, we will reclaim America's schools, before ignorance and apathy claim more young lives;we will reform Social Security and Medicare, sparing our children from struggles we have the power to prevent;we will reduce taxes, to recover the momentum of our economy and reward the effort and enterprise of working Americans;we will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge;and we will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors.The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake, America remains engaged in the world by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom.We will defend our allies and our interests;we will show purpose without arrogance;we will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength;and to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth.America, at its best, is compassionate.In the quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise.Whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault.Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love.The proliferation of prisons, however necessary, is no substitute for hope and order in our souls.Where there is suffering, there is duty.Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens, not problems, but priorities, and all of us are diminished when any are hopeless.Government has great responsibilities for public safety and public health, for civil rights and common schools.Yet compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government.Some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer.Church and charity, synagogue and mosque lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an honored place in our plans and in our laws.Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to those who do.I can pledge our nation to a goal, “When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side.”
America, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected.Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience.Though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment.We find the fullness of life not only in options, but in commitments.We find that children and community are the commitments that set us free.Our public interest depends on private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness, on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom.Sometimes in life we are called to do great things.But as a saint of our times has said, every day we are called to do small things with great love.The most important tasks of a democracy are done by everyone.I will live and lead by these principles, “to advance my convictions with civility, to pursue the public interest with courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion, to call for responsibility and try to live it as well.” In all of these ways, I will bring the values of our history to the care of our times.What you do is as important as anything government does.I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort;to defend needed reforms against easy attacks;to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor.I ask you to be citizens.Citizens, not spectators;citizens, not subjects;responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves.When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it.When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson, “We know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong.Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?” Much time has passed since Jefferson arrived for his inauguration.The years and changes accumulate, but the themes of this day he would know, “our nation's grand story of courage and its simple dream of dignity.”
We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with His purpose.Yet His purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another.Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today;to make our country more just and generous;to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.This work continues.This story goes on.And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.God bless you all, and God bless America.
第四篇:里根就职演说
美国历届总统就职演说(里根)
Second Inaugural Address of Ronald Reagan MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 1985 Senator Mathias, Chief Justice Burger, Vice President Bush, Speaker O'Neill, Senator Dole, Reverend Clergy, members of my family and friends, and my fellow citizens: This day has been made brighter with the presence here of one who, for a time, has been absent--Senator John Stennis.God bless you and welcome back.There is, however, one who is not with us today: Representative Gillis Long of Louisiana left us last night.I wonder if we could all join in a moment of silent prayer.(Moment of silent prayer.)Amen.There are no words adequate to express my thanks for the great honor that you have bestowed on me.I will do my utmost to be deserving of your trust.This is, as Senator Mathias told us, the 50th time that we the people have celebrated this historic occasion.When the first President, George Washington, placed his hand upon the Bible, he stood less than a single day's journey by horseback from raw, untamed wilderness.There were 4 million Americans in a union of 13 States.Today we are 60 times as many in a union of 50 States.We have lighted the world with our inventions, gone to the aid of mankind wherever in the world there was a cry for help, journeyed to the Moon and safely returned.So much has changed.And yet we stand together as we did two centuries ago.When I took this oath four years ago, I did so in a time of economic stress.Voices were raised saying we had to look to our past for the greatness and glory.But we, the present-day Americans, are not given to looking backward.In this blessed land, there is always a better tomorrow.Four years ago, I spoke to you of a new beginning and we have accomplished that.But in another sense, our new beginning is a continuation of that beginning created two centuries ago when, for the first time in history, government, the people said, was not our master, it is our servant;its only power that which we the people allow it to have.That system has never failed us, but, for a time, we failed the system.We asked things of government that government was not equipped to give.We yielded authority to the National Government that properly belonged to States or to local governments or to the people themselves.We allowed taxes and inflation to rob us of our earnings and savings and watched the great industrial machine that had made us the most productive people on Earth slow down and the number of unemployed increase.By 1980, we knew it was time to renew our faith, to strive with all our strength toward the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with an orderly society.We believed then and now there are no limits to growth and human progress when men and women are free to follow their dreams.And we were right to believe that.Tax rates have been reduced, inflation cut dramatically, and more people are employed than ever before in our history.We are creating a nation once again vibrant, robust, and alive.But there are many mountains yet to climb.We will not rest until every American enjoys the fullness of freedom, dignity, and opportunity as our birthright.It is our birthright as citizens of this great Republic, and we'll meet this challenge.These will be years when Americans have restored their confidence and tradition of progress;when our values of faith, family, work, and neighborhood were restated for a modern age;when our economy was finally freed from government's grip;when we made sincere efforts at meaningful arms reduction, rebuilding our defenses, our economy, and developing new technologies, and helped preserve peace in a troubled world;when Americans courageously supported the struggle for liberty, self-government, and free enterprise throughout the world, and turned the tide of history away from totalitarian darkness and into the warm sunlight of human freedom.My fellow citizens, our Nation is poised for greatness.We must do what we know is right and do it with all our might.Let history say of us, “These were golden years--when the American Revolution was reborn, when freedom gained new life, when America reached for her best.” Our two-party system has served us well over the years, but never better than in those times of great challenge when we came together not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans united in a common cause.Two of our Founding Fathers, a Boston lawyer named Adams and a Virginia planter named Jefferson, members of that remarkable group who met in Independence Hall and dared to think they could start the world over again, left us an important lesson.They had become political rivals in the Presidential election of 1800.Then years later, when both were retired, and age had softened their anger, they began to speak to each other again through letters.A bond was reestablished between those two who had helped create this government of ours.In 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, they both died.They died on the same day, within a few hours of each other, and that day was the Fourth of July.In one of those letters exchanged in the sunset of their lives, Jefferson wrote: “It carries me back to the times when, beset with difficulties and dangers, we were fellow laborers in the same cause, struggling for what is most valuable to man, his right to self-government.Laboring always at the same oar, with some wave ever ahead threatening to overwhelm us, and yet passing harmless...we rode through the storm with heart and hand.” Well, with heart and hand, let us stand as one today: One people under God determined that our future shall be worthy of our past.As we do, we must not repeat the well-intentioned errors of our past.We must never again abuse the trust of working men and women, by sending their earnings on a futile chase after the spiraling demands of a bloated Federal Establishment.You elected us in 1980 to end this prescription for disaster, and I don't believe you reelected us in 1984 to reverse course.At the heart of our efforts is one idea vindicated by 25 straight months of economic growth: Freedom and incentives unleash the drive and entrepreneurial genius that are the core of human progress.We have begun to increase the rewards for work, savings, and investment;reduce the increase in the cost and size of government and its interference in people's lives.We must simplify our tax system, make it more fair, and bring the rates down for all who work and earn.We must think anew and move with a new boldness, so every American who seeks work can find work;so the least among us shall have an equal chance to achieve the greatest things--to be heroes who heal our sick, feed the hungry, protect peace among nations, and leave this world a better place.The time has come for a new American emancipation--a great national drive to tear down economic barriers and liberate the spirit of enterprise in the most distressed areas of our country.My friends, together we can do this, and do it we must, so help me God.--From new freedom will spring new opportunities for growth, a more productive, fulfilled and united people, and a stronger America--an America that will lead the technological revolution, and also open its mind and heart and soul to the treasures of literature, music, and poetry, and the values of faith, courage, and love.A dynamic economy, with more citizens working and paying taxes, will be our strongest tool to bring down budget deficits.But an almost unbroken 50 years of deficit spending has finally brought us to a time of reckoning.We have come to a turning point, a moment for hard decisions.I have asked the Cabinet and my staff a question, and now I put the same question to all of you: If not us, who? And if not now, when? It must be done by all of us going forward with a program aimed at reaching a balanced budget.We can then begin reducing the national debt.I will shortly submit a budget to the Congress aimed at freezing government program spending for the next year.Beyond that, we must take further steps to permanently control Government's power to tax and spend.We must act now to protect future generations from Government's desire to spend its citizens' money and tax them into servitude when the bills come due.Let us make it unconstitutional for the Federal Government to spend more than the Federal Government takes in.We have already started returning to the people and to State and local governments responsibilities better handled by them.Now, there is a place for the Federal Government in matters of social compassion.But our fundamental goals must be to reduce dependency and upgrade the dignity of those who are infirm or disadvantaged.And here a growing economy and support from family and community offer our best chance for a society where compassion is a way of life, where the old and infirm are cared for, the young and, yes, the unborn protected, and the unfortunate looked after and made self And there is another area where the Federal Government can play a part.As an older American, I remember a time when people of different race, creed, or ethnic origin in our land found hatred and prejudice installed in social custom and, yes, in law.There is no story more heartening in our history than the progress that we have made toward the “brotherhood of man” that God intended for us.Let us resolve there will be no turning back or hesitation on the road to an America rich in dignity and abundant with opportunity for all our citizens.Let us resolve that we the people will build an American opportunity society in which all of us--white and black, rich and poor, young and old--will go forward together arm in arm.Again, let us remember that though our heritage is one of blood lines from every corner of the Earth, we are all Americans pledged to carry on this last, best hope of man on Earth.I have spoken of our domestic goals and the limitations which we should put on our National Government.Now let me turn to a task which is the primary responsibility of National Government-the safety and security of our people.Today, we utter no prayer more fervently than the ancient prayer for peace on Earth.Yet history has shown that peace will not come, nor will our freedom be preserved, by good will alone.There are those in the world who scorn our vision of human dignity and freedom.One nation, the Soviet Union, has conducted the greatest military buildup in the history of man, building arsenals of awesome offensive weapons.We have made progress in restoring our defense capability.But much remains to be done.There must be no wavering by us, nor any doubts by others, that America will meet her responsibilities to remain free, secure, and at peace.There is only one way safely and legitimately to reduce the cost of national security, and that is to reduce the need for it.And this we are trying to do in negotiations with the Soviet Union.We are not just discussing limits on a further increase of nuclear weapons.We seek, instead, to reduce their number.We seek the total elimination one day of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth.Now, for decades, we and the Soviets have lived under the threat of mutual assured destruction;if either resorted to the use of nuclear weapons, the other could retaliate and destroy the one who had started it.Is there either logic or morality in believing that if one side threatens to kill tens of millions of our people, our only recourse is to threaten killing tens of millions of theirs? I have approved a research program to find, if we can, a security shield that would destroy nuclear missiles before they reach their target.It wouldn't kill people, it would destroy weapons.It wouldn't militarize space, it would help demilitarize the arsenals of Earth.It would render nuclear weapons obsolete.We will meet with the Soviets, hoping that we can agree on a way to rid the world of the threat of nuclear destruction.We strive for peace and security, heartened by the changes all around us.Since the turn of the century, the number of democracies in the world has grown fourfold.Human freedom is on the march, and nowhere more so than our own hemisphere.Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit.People, worldwide, hunger for the right of self-determination, for those inalienable rights that make for human dignity and progress.America must remain freedom's staunchest friend, for freedom is our best ally.And it is the world's only hope, to conquer poverty and preserve peace.Every blow we inflict against poverty will be a blow against its dark allies of oppression and war.Every victory for human freedom will be a victory for world peace.So we go forward today, a nation still mighty in its youth and powerful in its purpose.With our alliances strengthened, with our economy leading the world to a new age of economic expansion, we look forward to a world rich in possibilities.And all this because we have worked and acted together, not as members of political parties, but as Americans.My friends, we live in a world that is lit by lightning.So much is changing and will change, but so much endures, and transcends time.History is a ribbon, always unfurling;history is a journey.And as we continue our journey, we think of those who traveled before us.We stand together again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy--or we would have been standing at the steps if it hadn't gotten so cold.Now we are standing inside this symbol of our democracy.Now we hear again the echoes of our past: a general falls to his knees in the hard snow of Valley Forge;a lonely President paces the darkened halls, and ponders his struggle to preserve the Union;the men of the Alamo call out encouragement to each other;a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air.It is the American sound.It is hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair.That's our heritage;that is our song.We sing it still.For all our problems, our differences, we are together as of old, as we raise our voices to the God who is the Author of this most tender music.And may He continue to hold us close as we fill the world with our sound--sound in unity, affection, and love--one people under God, dedicated to the dream of freedom that He has placed in the human heart, called upon now to pass that dream on to a waiting and hopeful world.God bless you and may God bless America.
第五篇:里根总统演讲稿
January 20, 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:
议员海特菲尔德先生、法官先生、总统先生、副总统布什、蒙代尔先生、议员贝克先生、发言人奥尼尔先生、尊敬的摩麦先生,以及广大支持我的美国同胞们:
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 many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.今天对于我们中间的一些人来说,是一个非常庄严隆重的时刻。当然,对于这个国家的历史来说,却是一件普通的事情。按照宪法要求,政府权利正在有序地移交,我们已经如此“例行公事”了两个世纪,很少有人觉得这有什么特别的。但在世界上更多人看来,这个我们已经习以为常的四年一次的仪式,却实在是一个奇迹。
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.总统先生,我希望我们同胞们都能知道你为了这个传承而付出的努力。通过移交程序中的通力合作,你向观察者展示了这么一个事实:我们是发誓要团结起来维护这样一个政治体制的团体,这样的体制保证了我们能够得到比其他政体更为广泛的个人自由。同时我也要感谢你和你的伙伴们的帮助,因为你们坚持了这样的传承,而这恰恰是我们共和国的根基。
1The 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.我们国家的事业在继续前进。合众国正面临巨大的经济困难。我们遭遇到我国历史上历时最长、最严重之一的通货膨胀,它扰乱着我们的经济决策,打击着节俭的风气,压迫着正在挣扎谋生的青年人和收入固定的中年人,威胁着要摧毁我国千百万人民的生计。
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.停滞的工业使工人失业、蒙受痛苦并失去了个人尊严。即使那些有工作的人,也因税收制度的缘故而得不到公正的劳动报酬,因为这种税收制度使我们无法在事业上取得成就,使我们无法保持充分的生产力。
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.尽管我们的纳税负担相当沉重,但还是跟不上公共开支的增长。数十年来,我们的赤字额屡屡上升,我们为图目前暂时的方便,把自己的前途和子孙的前途抵押出去了。这一趋势如果长此以往,必然引起社会、文化、政治和经济等方面的大动荡。
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 are 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.作为个人,你们和我可以靠借贷过一种人不敷出的生活,然而只能维持一段有限的时期,我们怎么可以认为,作为一个国家整体,我们就不应受到同样的约束呢?为了保住明天,我们今天就必须行动起来。大家都要明白无误地懂得--我们从今天起就要采取行动。
2/ ◆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 have 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.我们深受其害的经济弊病,几十年来一直袭击着我们。这些弊病不会在几天、几星期或几个月内消失,但它们终将消失。它们之所以终将消失,是因为我们作为现在的美国人,一如既往地有能力去完成需要完成的事情,以保存这个最后而又最伟大的自由堡垒。
在当前这场危机中,政府的管理不能解决我们面临的问题。政府的管理就是问题所在。
From time to time, we have 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.But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?
我们时常误以为,社会已经越来越复杂,已经不可能凭借自治方式加以管理,而一个由杰出人物组成的政府要比民享、民治、民有的政府高明。可是,假如我们之中谁也管理不了自己,那么,我们之中谁还能去管理他人呢。
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.我们大家--不论政府官员还是平民百姓--必须共同肩负起这个责任,我们谋求的解决办法必须是公平的,不要使任何一个群体付出较高的代价。
We hear much of special interest groups.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 our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick--professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers.They are, in short, “We the people,” this breed called Americans.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。
Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity 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.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。
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.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。
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 is 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.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。
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.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。
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 are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.We are not, as some would have us believe, loomed to an inevitable decline.I do not believe in a fate that will all 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.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。
We have every right to dream heroic dreams.Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes 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 are 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 are 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.我们完全有权去做英雄梦。那些评论我们现在是一个没有英雄的时代的,他们只不过没有仔细看。看吧!每一天进出工厂大门的工人,辛勤耕作为我们提供食物的农民们,站在柜台后的服务生们;尽心尽业打拼为社会创造财富,提供就业机会的企业家们。交纳赋税,以维持国家运作的公民们。所有支持慈善事业,教会,文化及教育的人们,他们的举动是无声的,但爱国心却是不言自明的。他们的价值造就了我们的国家。
I have used the words “they” and “their” in speaking of these heroes.I could say “you” and “your” because I am 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.我刚才用了“他们”这个人称来形容这些英雄们,其实我也可以用”你们”这个人称。在这个上帝眷顾的国家,你们的梦想,你们的希望,你们的追求就是这个国家存在的理由。
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 are sick, and provide opportunities 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 have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.我们的天性包含了同情。倘若我们热爱这个国家,怎么会不热爱自己的同胞们。当他们挫折时,扶他们一把,当他们生病时,给予关照。对于弱者,给予体面的帮助,使其自立.我们是否战能胜现在摆在面前的问题?我说,回答是毫不含糊的“能!”
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.Is it 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.在未来的日子里,我们要扫清经济停滞和工业发展的路障,政府的各项政策要平衡。我们要一步步塌实缓慢的前进。该是唤醒这个工业巨人的时候了,削减沉重的赋税,让政府回归理性。这是我们原则,没有妥协的余地。
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.在国家立国的前夕,我们的建国先贤之一,马塞诸萨州州长约瑟夫*沃伦对他的同胞们说“我们的国家正在危险之中,但我们丝毫不需绝望--------美国的前途就在我们手中。这个无限自由的幸福的国度即将诞生,让我们行动吧!”
我相信,同胞们,今天,为了我们孩子的孩子的自由和幸福,我们一定也准备好了,让我们行动吧!
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 or own sovereignty is not for sale.我们庆祝重振美国的此时,全世界的人们都在关注着,我们依旧是那些尚未获得自由的人民心中的自由灯塔!
对于我们的邻居,自由世界的同盟们,我们将进一步加强联络,保证我们承担的义务。我们将以心换心,但我们决不会干涉你们的主权,希望你们也不会干涉我们。
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.对于自由世界的敌人,我们潜在的对手。我们要使其明白,和平是美国人最高愿望。我们可以与你们谈判,妥协,但我们决不会屈服,永远不会。
请你们不要误会我们的忍耐,我们努力避免冲突但绝不代表我们的屈服。当我们的国家安全受到威胁,我们会采取行动。我们将保持拥有压倒性对手的武力,因为我们知道,只有拥有了足够的武力,才能确保我们不会使用这些武力。
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.首先,我们必须认识到世界上没有任何武器能比自由人民的道义和勇气更强大。这恰恰是我们,美国人民所具备的,而我们的对手没有的武器。这一点,所有支持恐怖主义和觊觎弱小国家的都要明白。
I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am 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 Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.我听说今天各地举行了数以万计的祷告会,我衷心的感到欣慰。我们是上帝统治的国度,上帝给了我们自由。如果以后每一届的就职日都能成为祷告日,那是很好的事情。
This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have 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.大家都知道,这是历史上第一次在白宫西走廊举行的就职典礼。在这里,我们能看到整个首都的风貌。而在这广场另一端就是我们先贤们的圣坛。我的正前方就是乔治*华盛顿纪念碑,我们伟大的国父。是他领导了独立革命战争的胜利,并创建了这个国家。在其旁边则是另一位伟大的先贤,托马斯*杰弗逊,--独立宣言>的作者。而在水池的尽头,是雄伟的林肯纪念堂。从林肯的一生你能体会出什么是美国的精神。
Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on 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 kinds 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.在这些古迹旁是缓缓流淌的波托马可河,而岸边的斜斜的山坡正是我们的阿灵顿公墓。这些小小的十字架,六芒星下的墓志铭,述说着我们赢取自由而付出的代价。
每一个墓志铭都是我刚才说的英雄的事迹。这些英雄的生命倒在贝洛森林,阿尔贡丘陵,奥马哈海滩,萨勒诺,半个地球外的瓜岛,塔拉瓦岛,上甘岭,长津湖,以及遍地是稻田丛林的叫越南的地方。
Under one such marker lies a young man--Martin Treptow--who left his job in a small town barber shop 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 are 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.”
在这些墓碑中,有一个叫Martin Treptow的年轻人,他在1917年辞掉了小镇的理发店工作,跟随著名的“彩虹师"去了法国,在西线,他在为营长传递命令时,被重炮击中牺牲.后来,在他的尸体上我们发现了一本日记。在扉页上,他写到”我发誓,美国必须赢的这场战争,所以,我会奋斗,我会拯救,我会牺牲,我会忍受,我会勇奋战斗,就好比所有挣扎都将由我一个人来肩负。”
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.今天我们面临的危机并不要求我们像 Martin Treptow作出如此的牺牲。但我们也要竭尽全力,有所作为。拥有上帝的协助,我们能度过危机。
最后,我们有什么理由不相信呢?记住!我们是美国人。上帝保佑你们,谢谢你们。