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President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address
  Jan. 21, 2013
  Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
  Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
  Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self- that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.
  For more than two hundred years, we have.
  Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
  Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed schools and colleges to train our workers.
  Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
  Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
  Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initi our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.
  But we have always understood that when times change, that fidelity to our founding principles requires new respons that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.
  This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: di an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.
  For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.
  We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.
  We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do no they strengthen us. They do not make u they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
  We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot re we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our f our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.
  We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.
  We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are na?ve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to A from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: toler human dignity and justice.
  We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star
just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and S just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that
to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
  It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.
  That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on e it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.
  For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.
  My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.
  They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.
  You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.
  You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.
  Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.
  Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.
奥巴马2013年就职演说
& & 谢谢,非常感谢大家。拜登副总统、首席大法官先生、国会议员们、尊敬的各位嘉宾、亲爱的公民们。
  每一次我们集会庆祝总统就职都是在见证美国宪法的持久力量。我们都是在肯定美国民主的承诺。我们重申,将这个国家紧密联系在一起的不是我们的肤色,也不是我们信仰的教条,更不是我们名字的来源。让我们与众不同,让我们成为美国人的是我们对于一种理念的恪守。200多年前,这一理念在一篇宣言中被清晰阐述:
  “我们认为下述真理是不言而喻的,人人生而平等。造物主赋予他们若干不可剥夺的权利,包括生存、自由和追求幸福的权利。”
  今天,我们继续着这一未竟的征程,架起这些理念与我们时代现实之间的桥梁。因为历史告诉我们,即便这些真理是不言而喻的,它们也从来不会自动生效。因为虽然自由是上帝赋予的礼物,但仍需要世间的子民去捍卫。1776年,美国的爱国先驱们不是只为了推翻国王的暴政而战,也不是为赢得少数人的特权,建立暴民的统治。先驱们留给我们一个共和国,一个民有、民治、民享的政府。他们委托每一代美国人捍卫我们的建国信条。
  在过去的200多年里,我们做到了。
  从奴役的血腥绳索,和刀剑的血光厮杀中我们懂得了,建立在自由与平等原则之上的联邦不能永远维持半奴隶和半自由的状态。我们赢得了新生,誓言共同前进。
  我们共同努力,建立起现代的经济体系。架设铁路与高速公路,加速了旅行和商业交流。建立学校与大学,培训我们的工人。
  我们一起发现,自由市场的繁荣只能建立在保障竞争与公平竞争的原则之上。
  我们共同下决心让这个伟大的国家远离危险,保护她的人民不受生命威胁和不幸侵扰。一路走来,我们从未放弃对集权的质疑。我们同样不屈服于这一谎言:一切的社会弊端都能够只靠政府来解决。我们对积极向上与奋发进取的赞扬,我们对努力工作与个人责任的坚持,这些都是美国精神的基本要义。
  我们也理解,时代在变化,我们同样要变革。对建国精神的忠诚,需要我们肩负起新的责任,迎接新的挑战。保护我们的个人自由,最终需要所有人的共同努力。因为美国人不能再独力迎接当今世界的挑战,正如美国士兵们不能再像先辈一样,用步枪和民兵同敌人(法西斯主义与共产主义)作战。一个人无法培训所有的数学与科学老师,我们需要他们为了未来去教育孩子们。一个人无法建设道路、铺设网络、建立实验室来为国内带来新的工作岗位和商业机会。现在,与以往任何时候相比,我们都更需要团结合作。作为一个国家,一个民族团结起来。
  这一代美国人经历了危机的考验,经济危机坚定了我们的决心,证明了我们的恢复力。长达十年的战争正在结束,经济的复苏已经开始。美国的可能性是无限的,因为我们拥有当今没有边界的世界所需要的所有品质:年轻与活力,多样性与开放,无穷的冒险精神以及创造的天赋才能。我亲爱的同胞们,我们正是为此刻而生,我们更要在此刻团结一致,抓住当下的机会。
  因为我们,美国人民,清楚如果只有不断萎缩的少数人获得成功,而大多数人不能成功,我们的国家就无法成功。我们相信,美国的繁荣必须建立在不断上升的中产阶级的宽阔臂膀上,我们知道美国的繁荣只有这样才能实现。只有当每个人都能找到工作中的自立与自豪时才能实现。只有当诚实劳动的薪水足够让家庭摆脱困苦的悬崖时才能实现。我们忠诚于我们的事业,保证让一个生于最贫穷环境中的小女孩都能知道,她有同其他所有人一样的成功机会。因为她是一个美国人,她是自由的、平等的。她的自由平等不仅由上帝来见证,更由我们亲手保护。
  我们知道,我们已然陈旧的程序不足以满足时代的需要。我们必须应用新理念和新技术重塑我们的政府,改进我们的税法,改革我们的学校,让我们的公民拥有他们所需要的技能,更加努力地工作,学更多的知识,向更高的地方发展。这意味着变革,我们的目标是:国家可以奖励每个美国人的努力和果断。
  这是现在需要的。这将给我们的信条赋予真正的意义。
  我们,人民,仍然认为,每个公民都应当获得基本的安全和尊严。我们必须做出艰难抉择,降低医疗成本,缩减赤字规模。但我们拒绝必须在照顾建设国家的这一代和投资即将建设国家的下一代间做出选择。因为我们记得过去的教训:老年人的夕阳时光在贫困中度过,家有残障儿童的父母无处求助。我们相信,在这个国家,自由不只是那些幸运儿的专属,或者说幸福只属于少数人。我们知道,不管我们是怎样负责任地生活,我们任何人在任何时候都可能面临失业、突发疾病或住房被可怕的飓风摧毁的风险。
  我们通过医疗保险、联邦医疗补助计划、社会保障项目向每个人做出承诺,这些不会让我们的创造力衰竭,而是将会让我们强大。这些不会让我们成为充满不劳而获者的国度,这些让我们敢于承担风险,让国家伟大。
  我们,人民,仍然相信,我们作为美国人的义务不只是对我们自己而言,还包括对子孙后代。我们将应对气候变化的威胁,认识到不采取措施应对气候变化就是对我们的孩子和后代的背叛。一些人可能仍在否定科学界压倒性的判断,但没有人能够避免火灾、严重旱灾、更强力风暴带来的灾难性打击。通向可再生能源利用的道路是漫长的,有时是困难的。但美国不能抵制这种趋势,我们必须引领这种趋势。我们不能把制造新就业机会和新行业的技术让给其他国家,我们必须声明这一承诺。这将是我们保持经济活力和国家财富(我们的森林和航道,我们的农田与雪峰)的方法。这将是我们保护我们星球的办法,上帝把它托付给我们照顾。这将为我们的建国之父们曾宣布的信条赋予意义。
  我们,人民,仍然相信持久的安全与和平,不需要持续的战争。我们勇敢的男女士兵经受了战火的考验,他们的技能和勇气是无可匹敌的。我们的公民依然铭记着那些阵亡者,他们非常清楚我们为自由付出的代价。明白他们的牺牲将让我们永远对那些试图伤害我们的势力保持警惕。但我们也是那些赢得和平而不只是战争的人们的后代,他们将仇敌转变成最可靠的朋友,我们也必须把这些经验带到这个时代。
  我们将通过强大的军力和法制保护我们的人民,捍卫我们的价值观。我们将展现试图和平解决与其它国家分歧的勇气,但这不是因为我们对面临的危险持幼稚的态度,而是因为接触能够更持久地化解疑虑和恐惧。美国将在全球保持强大的联盟,我们将更新这些能扩展我们应对海外危机能力的机构。因为作为世界上最强大的国家,我们在世界和平方面拥有最大的利益。我们将支持从亚洲到非洲、从美洲至中东的民主国家,因为我们的利益和良心驱使我们代表那些想获得自由的人们采取行动。我们必须成为贫困者、病患者、被边缘化的人士、异见受害者的希望来源,不仅仅是出于慈善,也是因为这个时代的和平需要不断推进我们共同信念中的原则:宽容和机遇,人类尊严与正义。
  我们,人民,今天昭示的最明白的事实是——我们所有人都是生而平等的,这是依然引领我们的恒星。它引领我们的先辈穿越纽约塞尼卡瀑布城(女权抗议事件)、塞尔马(黑人权力事件)和石墙骚乱(同性恋与警察发生的暴力事件),引领着所有的男性和女性,留下姓名和没留姓名的人。在伟大的征程中,一路上留下足迹的人。曾经听一位牧师说,我们不能独自前行。马丁-路德-金说,我们个人的自由与地球上每个灵魂的自由不可分割。
  继续先辈开创的事业是我们这代人的任务。直到我们的妻子、母亲和女儿的付出能够与她们的努力相称,我们的征途才会结束。我们的征途不会终结,我们要让同性恋的兄弟姐妹在法律之下得到与其他人同样的待遇。如果我们真正是生而平等的,那么我们对彼此的爱也应该是平等的。我们的征途没有结束,直到没有公民需要等待数小时去行使投票权。我们的征途不会结束,直到我们找到更好的方法迎接努力、有憧憬的移民,他们依旧视美国是一块充满机会的土地。直到聪颖年轻的学生和工程师为我们所用,而不是被驱逐出美国。我们的征途不会结束,直到我们所有的儿童,从底特律的街道到阿巴拉契亚的山岭,再到康涅狄格州纽镇安静的小巷,直到他们得到关心和珍视,永远避免受到伤害。
  那是我们这一代的任务——让生存、自由和追求幸福的说辞、权力和价值切实体现在每个美国人的身上。我们的立国文本没有要求我们将每个人的生活一致化。这并不意味着,我们会以完全一样的方式去定义自由,沿着同样的道路通向幸福。进步不会终止几个世纪以来一直纠结的关于政府角色的争论,但这要求我们现在就采取行动。
  目前是由我们决策,我们不能拖延。我们不能将绝对主义当作原则,或者以假象代替政纲,或将中伤视作理性的辩论。我们必须行动,要意识到我们的工作并不完美。我们必须行动,意识到今天的胜利是并不完全的。这些将有赖于未来4年、40年或是400年致力于这项事业的人,去推进当年在费城制宪会议大厅传承给我们的永恒精神。
  我的美国同胞,我今天在你们面前宣读的誓词,如同在国会山服务的其他人曾宣读过的誓词一样,是对上帝和国家的誓词,不是对党派或是派别的,我们必须在任期内忠实地履行这些承诺。但我今天宣读的誓词与士兵报名参军或者是移民实现梦想时所宣读的誓词没有多少差别。我的誓词与我们所有的人向我们头顶飘扬的、让我们心怀自豪的国旗所表达的誓言没有多大差别。
  这些是公民的誓词,代表着我们最伟大的希望。
  你和我,作为公民,都有为这个国家设定道路的权力。
  你和我,作为公民,有义务塑造我们时代的辩题,不仅是通过我们的选票,而且要为保卫最悠久的价值观和持久的理想发声。
  现在让我们互相拥抱,怀着庄严的职责和无比的快乐,这是我们永久的与生俱来的权利。有共同的努力和共同的目标,用热情与奉献,让我们回答历史的召唤,将宝贵的自由之光带入并不确定的未来。
  感谢你们,上帝保佑你们,愿上帝永远保佑美利坚合众国。
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Inaugural Address of Barack Obama
  January 20,2009
  My fellow citizens:
  I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
  Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
  So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
  That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. H businesses shuttered. Our healt our s and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
  These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
  Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
  On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
  On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
  We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm to choos to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
  In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
  For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
  For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the W endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
  For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and G Normandy and Khe Sanh.
  Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our
greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
  This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
  For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
  Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this coun what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
  What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
  Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the rea on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
  As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
  Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows thr our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
  We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger
you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
  For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this E and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatred that the lines of tribe that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
  To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the w but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
  To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and l to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
  As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody t a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
  For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
  Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
  This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
  This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
  This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
  So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
  "Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
  America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn ba and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
奥巴马2009年就职演说
  同胞们:
  我今天站在这里,因为面前的任务而感到谦卑,因为你们的信任而心存感激,同时铭记先辈们做所出的巨大牺牲。感谢布什总统为这个国家做出的贡献,同时也谢谢他在整个政权交接期间表现出的慷慨与合作。
  迄今已经有44名美国人宣誓就任总统。这些誓词曾出现在繁荣的上升趋势和如水般平静的和平中,当然,也经常会出现在乌云密布和狂风暴雨之时。在这各种时刻,美国一直在继续前行,这不仅仅是因为执政的技巧或者有先见之明,而是因为我们的人民一直在坚守先辈们的理想,忠实履行我们的建国宣言。过去是这样,这一代的美国人仍将会坚持这样做。
  众所周知,我们目前正处在危机之中。我们的国家正在对暴力和仇恨宣战。我们的经济也被严重削弱,这是一些人贪婪和不负责任的后果,但在做出艰难选择和准备迎接新时代方面,我们出现了集体性的失误。房屋失去了;工作丢掉了;商业萧条了;我们的卫生保健耗资巨大;我们太多的学校不合格;每天都能找到更多的证据表明我们利用能源的方式使得对手更加强大,并且威胁到了我们整个星球。
  这些数据和统计都是危机的表现特征。虽然无法具备测量,但产生的深远影响是我们的信心受到了侵蚀--担心美国的衰退不可避免,担心下一代会降低他们的期待。今天我要向你们说的是,我们面临的挑战是真实存在的。这些挑战很多,而且非常严重,它们不会轻易地或者在短时间内就能得以解决。但大家也必须认识到,美国,终将会解决这些困难。
  今天,我们聚集在这里,是因为我选择用希望来战胜恐惧,用团结来战胜冲突与分歧。今天,我们来到这里将结束悲戚和错误的承诺,抛弃指责和教条主义这些扼杀我们政治的东西。我们仍然是一个年轻的国家,但现在应该摒弃充满孩子气的行为,重申我们不朽的精神;选择我们更好的历史;宏扬那些珍贵而且高尚的理念,并将这一代一代地传递下去。上帝认为天下众生皆平等,众生皆自由,而且都应该拥有追求幸福的机会。
  在重申我们国家的伟大时,我们必须明白,伟大绝对不会是一种馈赠,而是要靠我们去努力争取。我们的征途从来没有捷径,也不属于那些胆怯懦弱、消谴工作或者只追求财富名利的人。为了我们,他们整理起自己不多的物品开始穿越大海寻找新的生活;为了我们,他们在血汗工厂辛苦劳作,忍受着皮鞭的抽打并且犁开坚硬的土地;为了我们,他们在诸如康科得、盖茨堡、诺曼底等等地方作战并献出生命。
  这些男男女女们不停地奋斗和牺牲,一直工作直到双手生疼,目的只是为了过上更好一些的生活。在他们的眼中,美国比他们个人的报负更加重要,也比所有出身、财富或者宗派之间的差别更加重要。这就是我们今天仍在继续的征程。我们仍然是世界上最繁荣、最强大的国家。当这场危机开始后,我们工人的生产力并没有下降;我们的思想也没有失去创造力;我们现在需要的商品和服务,并没有比上周、上月或者去年减少;我们的生产力并没有降低。从今天开始,我们必须振作起来,拂去身上的灰尘,重新开始振兴美国。
  环视周围,到处是要做的工作。目前的经济状况要求我们采取大胆和迅速的行动,我们将采取行动,不仅是创造新的工作岗位,而且是为经济的增长奠定新的基石。我们将建设道路和桥梁、电网和数字网络,它们将为我们的商业活动服务,把我们联系在一起。我们将使科学回归其位,应用科学技术来提高医疗的质量并降低其费用。我们将利用太阳能、风能、潮汐能来驱动我们的汽车,运营我们的工厂。我们将变革我们的学校、学院和大学以满足新时代的需求。这些是我们能够做的,我们将做这一切。
  现在,有些人质疑我们的雄心壮志。他们称,我们的制度不能容忍太多宏伟的计划,他们很健忘,因为他们已忘记了这个国家曾经作过的事情,忘记了自由的男女在想像力和共同目标、必要性和勇气相结合的情况下所能取得的成就。
  愤世嫉俗者未能理解的是,他们脚下的土地已发生了变动,过去那种消耗我们太长时间的陈腐的政治争论将不会重现。我们今天问的问题将不是我们的政府是过大或者过小,而是它是否有效-它是否能帮助家庭找到可支付体面工资的工作,向他们提供可支付得起的医疗服务,提供有尊严的退休。当答案是肯定时,我们就会推动这一项目。当答案是否定时,我们就会结束这一项目。我们所有管理公共资金的人将在这一标准下工作-明智地花钱、改革坏习惯、使我们的活动透明化,因为只有这样,我们才能恢复人民和他们政府之间的至关重要的信任。
  对于我们来说,市场是好是坏并不是一个问题,市场产生财富和扩展自由的能力是无以匹敌的。但这场危机提醒我们,没有有效的监管,市场会失控。当一个国家只青睐富人时,它的繁荣将无法持久。我们经济的成功不仅取决于我们国民生产总值的总量,而且取决于我们共享繁荣的范围,取决于我们将机会扩大至每个愿意抓住机会的人,这不仅是出于慈善之心,而是因为这是一条通往我们共同利益的最确切的道路。
  就我们共同的防务而言,我们拒绝那种在我们的安全和我们的理想之间作出取舍的错误选择。我们的建国先辈曾面临我们几乎无法想像的危险,他们起草了确保法制和人权的宪章,数代美国人的鲜血扩展了这一宪章。这些理想仍然照亮着世界,我们将不会为了权宜之计而放弃它们。对于所有那些今天在观看就职典礼的世界其它各地的人民和政府,从宏伟的首都至我父亲所出生的那个小村庄,请明白,美国是所有国家、所有试图寻求和平和尊严男人、女人、儿童的朋友,我们已作好了再次担任领导者的准备。
  我们回忆起前几辈的美国人,他们不仅仅是靠导弹和坦克击败法西斯主义,而且是靠紧密的联盟和持久的信念。他们明白,我们自身的力量不足以保护我们,也不会使我们为所欲为。相反,他们知道,我们的力量只有在谨慎使用的情况下才会增涨,我们的安全来源于我们事业的正义、我们榜样的力量、人性和克制的品格。
  我们是这种遗产的继承者。这些原则将再次指引我们,我们可以应对那些需要更多努力的新威胁,这些新威胁需要国家之间进行更大程度的合作和理解。我们将负责任地把伊拉克交给它的人民,我们将在阿富汗推动负出重大代价才赢得的和平。我们将和老朋友和前敌手一起毫不松懈地削弱核威胁,应对全球变暖。我们将不会为我们的生活方式道歉,我们也不会放松我们的防务。对通过谋杀无辜者推动自己生活方式的人,我们对你们说,我们的精神更为强大,它无法被挫败,你们不可能消灭我们,我们将击败你们。
  我们都知道,我们各类遗产的汇集是一种力量,而不是脆弱。美国是由信仰基督教、伊斯兰教、犹太教和印度教的人们以及无信仰人士组成的国家,来自地球上每一个角落的语言和文化在这里融汇。我们有过内战和种族隔离的惨痛经历,翻过黑暗的一页,我们因此变得更加强大、更加团结,我们因此坚信古老的仇恨总有一天会化解,部族之间的隔阂很快就会消除。我们坚信,随着世界变得越来越小,我们共有的人道精神将放出光芒,美国必须克尽己职,开创一个和平的新纪元。
  对于穆斯林世界,我们将寻求新的共处之道,一种基于共同利益和相互尊重的方式。对于世界上那些播种冲突的种子或将自己社会的弊病归咎于西方的领导人,你们应该明白一点,你们的人民将根据你们所建设的而非破坏的来对你们作出评判。对于那些通过腐败、欺骗和镇压异见者来攫取权力的领导人,你们应该明白自己在违逆历史的潮流,但如果你们愿意松开拳头,我们将向你们提供帮助。
  对于那些贫穷国家的人民,我们发誓将跟你们并肩战斗,让你们的农场繁茂、让洁净的水源流淌,让挨饿的身体获得营养、让饥渴的头脑获得食粮。对于那些像我们一样相对富有的国家,我们要说,我们再也不能对自己国界之外的苦难漠不关心,我们再也不能不顾后果地消耗世界的资源。这个世界已经改变,我们必须与之俱变。
  当我们展望未来的路途,我们怀着谦卑的感激想起此时此刻正守卫在边远的沙漠和山区的勇敢的美国人。今天他们有话要对我们说,就像躺在阿林顿国家公墓里那些倒下的英雄的低语一样。我们之所以尊敬他们,不仅仅因为他们为我们的自由保驾护航,更是因为他们践行着服务的精神,以及在比自身更宏伟的事物上寻找意义的崇高意愿。然而就在此时,这个将影响一代人的时刻,我们所有人需要的正是这种精神。
  因为不论政府能做什么和必须做什么,最终这个国家都要依赖美国人民的信念和决心。它是当堤坝溃决后收留一个陌生人的仁善,它是那些宁愿减少自己的工时也不愿看见一位朋友失业、帮助我们度过黑暗时光的工人的大公无私,它是消防员们冲进浓烟滚滚的楼梯的勇气,也是那些养育小孩并最终决定我们的命运的父母们的意愿。
  我们可能面临着全新的挑战,我们应对这些挑战的手段也可能是全新的,但是我们的成功所仰赖的价值标准却是古老的——勤劳、诚实、勇气、公正、忍耐、好奇、忠诚和爱国。这些东西都是真实的,它们在整个美国历史上一直是我们取得进步的背后推动力。现在所亟需的是回归这些真理,现在我们需要进入一个新的责任时代——需要每个美国人都认识到,我们对自己、对这个国家、对整个世界都负有责任,不是勉强接受的责任,而是当仁不让,应该彻底明白一点,即除非将我们的一切献给一项艰巨的任务,我们的精神无法获得满足、我们的人格也无法获得塑造。
  这是作为一位公民的价值和承诺。
  这是我们的信心之源,是上帝召唤我们去塑造一个不确定的命运。
  这是我们的自由和信念的意义所在——为什么不同信仰、不同种族的男女老少能够在这个宏伟的大厅里欢聚一堂,以及为什么不到六十年前一个人的父亲还不能在当地餐馆里就餐、现在他却能够站在大家面前进行最庄严的宣誓。
  让我们为这一天打上标记吧,用对我们是谁以及走过的旅程的回忆。在美国诞生的那一年,在最寒冷的季节,一小队爱国志士围着河边快要熄灭的篝火,此时河流已经冰封。首府被遗弃了。敌人在挺进。雪地上血迹斑斑。在革命成败茫然未知的时刻,我们的国父让人民听到了下面的话语:
  “让未来的世界知道……在冰天雪地的寒冬里,当唯有希望和美德幸存的时候……这个城市和这个国家,在危险的警报响起之后,挺身迎向它们。”
  美国。现在我们面临共同的危险,在这个艰苦卓绝的寒冬,让我们记起这些不朽的话语。怀着希望和美德,让我们再次迎击冰冷的湍流,忍受可能来临的风暴。让我们的孙辈这样讲述我们:当我们面临考验之时,我们拒绝让这段旅程中止,我们没有转过身去,也没有摇摆不定,而是眼睛坚定地望着前方,承蒙上帝的恩典,我们携带着自由的伟大礼物,安全地将它交付给我们的后代。

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