奥巴马就职演说中英文对照版

奥巴马就职演说中英文对照版

美利坚合众国的同胞们：今天我站在这里，为眼前的一切所折服，为你们的信任而感动，为我们先辈的付出铭感于怀。感谢布什总统对这个国家的勤恳服务，也感谢他在整个交接过程中所表现出的宽容与风度。



历史上曾有四十四个美国人宣誓就任总统。誓言曾回荡在这个国家澎湃如潮的繁荣时期以及平静如水的和平年代。但是，铿锵有力的誓言往往伴随着些许阴霾更或凄风骤雨。但每当危机来临之时，我们的国家总能克复匹敌。这不仅仅是因为身居高位者的运筹帷幄、远见卓识，更因为我们的人民对先辈的理想坚定不移，对这个国家的建国纲领矢志不渝。



所以我们能风雨无惧。所以，我们这一代美国人要将它传承下去。



我想大家都认识到自己正处于危机之中。我们的国家正在经历战争，抵抗一张由暴力与仇恨交织而成的巨网。我们经济已是病骨支离，一方面是由于贪婪和失责，另一方面则是长久以来在重要决定上的屡屡失策，以及为这个新的时代而付出必要代价。流离失所、民生凋敝、百业俱废，我们的健康因此得不到保证，我们的教育亦难当重任。每一天，不尽合理的能源消耗方式让我们的敌人愈强，却让我们共同的家园满目疮痍。



看得见的危机，我们可以用数据和统计来加以衡量。但是不可名状却又显而易见的危机正在动摇我们这个国家的信心——一种悲观而恐惧的声音不绝于耳，他们说美国的衰落积重难返，我们的后代将失掉自信。



让我告诉你吧，这些威胁并非子虚乌有，他们不仅迫在眉睫而且多乱如麻。要想一挥而就解决这些问题绝非易事。但是，我坚信一点，美国定将披荆斩棘，九转功成。



今天我们相聚于此，是因为我们不惧危险，义无反顾地选择了希望，选择同舟共济来消解分歧和对抗。



今天我们相聚与此，向那些斤斤计较的宿怨说再见，向失信于民的承诺说再见，向唾沫横飞的争吵说再见，向陈腐不堪的教条说再见。长久以来，正是这些流毒让我们的政治步伐举步维艰。



诚然我们的国家还很年轻，但我们信条却铮铮如铁。现在，就让我们摒弃那些幼稚的行为，代之以成熟和坚毅。让我们重申那经久不灭的伟大精神；重拾历久弥新的辉煌历史；让我们继承这份珍贵的遗产、高尚的思想，代代传承上帝的对我们的承诺：众生平等、万物自由，人人可奋而自助，极乐未央。



在重申这个国家的伟大之时，我们知道，所谓伟大并非不劳而获的天赐，它需要我们为之殚精竭虑。我们的征途上并无投机取巧的捷径，亦不能因为点滴之功而沾沾自喜。我们不需要胆小鬼，不需要好逸恶劳之辈，更不容趋炎附势、贪慕虚荣的苟且之人。与我们同行的必是横刀立马的勇士、鞠躬尽瘁的实干家以及胜利的缔造者——那些为我们所熟知，却总是埋头苦干的男男女女，是他们铺平了崎岖的征途，带领我们通向繁荣和自由。



为了我们的今天，他们收拾起简朴的行囊，跨越大洋寻找新的生活。



为了我们的今天，他们流血流汗、任劳任怨，甘愿充当西进的先锋，忍受毒辣的皮鞭，用锄头在坚硬的土地上挥就历史。



为了我们的今天，他们奋起反抗、死而后已，从康科德到盖茨堡，再从诺曼底到济山。

抗争、牺牲，一次又一次，这些人为了我们能过上更好的生活不吝辛劳，直至精疲力竭。在他们的眼中，美国的名字高过个人的欲望，高过与生俱来的差异、贵贱之分抑或派系之别。

时至今日，我们仍然在这条路上继续向前，我们的国家因繁荣和富强仍屹立于地球之颠。危机的来临并非因为工人不勤奋、科技欠创新，并非因为我们的产品和服务质量每况愈下。事实上，我们的能力从未削弱过。问题在于我们曾站错了立场、被少数人的利益诉求所牵制，对那些有助改善的苦口良药反而嗤之以鼻——但是我想告诉你们，这样的时代已经终结！从今天开始，我们将重拾信心、掸去阴霾，与民更始，再造美国！

放眼望去，任务艰巨。不断恶化的经济环境需要我们采取行动，大胆而迅速的行动，行动的目标不仅仅是创造新的工作岗位，而是为经济的再次增长夯实基础。我们会铺架道路、桥梁、电站和宽带，这些都是经济的血脉和我们联络的纽带。要重新确立科学技术的地位，用科技力量改善医疗质量，降低医疗成本。用太阳能、风能和地热资源将为我们的车和工厂提供动力。学校、学院和大学也将力行改革、与时俱进。我们不仅能做到，而且说到做到！

话音刚毕，就有人质疑我们的理想好高骛远——说我们体制无法承载太多的宏图巨构。他们太健忘了，竟然忘记了这个国家曾经创造的一切，忘记了自由的美国人民总能将理想和现实结合起来、将客观条件和主观意愿结合起来，最终拥抱成功。

愤世嫉俗者不曾看到，我们周围的环境已经发生了改变——袭扰我们多年的陈腐政风已被驱散。我们今天的问题不是政府太大或太小，而是它是否作为、如何作为——是否能为每家每户提供体面的收入、急人民之所需、让老有所养、老有所依。对于每一项政策，如果人民回答是“肯定的”，那么我们就再接再厉；如果大家的回答是“否定的”，那么不妨当机立断、另辟蹊径。那些掌管公共财富的人将受到监督——要精打细算、力祛恶习，光明正大地履行人民赋予的职责——因为只有这样我们才能重塑人民与政府的信任纽带。

关于市场制度是好是坏的争论也该停一停了。诚然，它创造财富、推行自由思想的能力不容置疑，但眼下的危机让我们警醒，如若放任自流，市场制度就会如脱缰野马失去控制——国家如果一味贪慕繁荣，必被繁荣所累，不可长久。衡量一个国家经济健康与否的标志从来都不仅仅是GDP的大小，而在于繁荣和景气程度；在于我们能否提供每个积极上进的人以公平机会——而非坐视不理，这是社会公益的必由之路。

在公共安全方面，我们将摒弃那些有关国家安全，威胁国家理念的错误决定。面对我们难以想象的凶险，建国之父们将法治精神和公民权利写入宪章，一代又一代人为了捍卫和拓展它献出了宝贵的生命。这些理想至今历久弥新、光耀世人，永远不要以方便的托词或是任何理由凌驾其上。对那些现在正注视着我们的国家和人民，不论你来自世界最繁华城市还是我父亲出生的那个小村庄：我想告诉你们，请记住美国对所有国家、所有人民一视同仁，不管你性别如何、年龄怎样，只要你认同我们今天再次引领的责任，和我们一样致力于建设一个和平繁荣的未来，我们就是你的朋友！

不要忘记，我们的先辈之所以能挫败法西斯和意识形态阴谋，并不仅仅是靠导弹和坦克，而是因为有坚定的盟友和信仰。他们知道，我们的力量还不足以保卫国家，更没有赋予我们肆意妄为的权力。相反，他们明白，慎用权力能让权力获得滋养；我们的安全来自我们正义的诉求，来自我们树立起来的典范，来自谦逊与克制。

我们是这份遗产的守护者。再次将这些信条铭记于心能让我们应对更大的挑战——甚至在各国之间谋求更大的合作和更广泛的共识。我们将以负责任的态度将伊拉克交付给他的人民去管理，保证阿富汗来之不易的和平。我们将和老朋友以及从前的敌人一道，不遗余力地减少核威胁，应对全球变暖。但美国不会为自己的行为方式道歉，也不会动摇一丝一毫。对那些仍然伺机发动恐怖袭击，屠杀无辜的人，我们的信念愈加强烈、坚不可摧；你们已经走投无路，胜利将属于我们！

因为我们知道，这份由不同文化积累起来的遗产正是美国的优势而非弱点。这是一个由基督徒、穆斯林、犹太教徒、印度教徒和无神论者组成的国家，世界上的各种语言和文化造就了今日的美国。我们尝过内战和分裂的苦楚，并从那一页黑暗的片段走出，重新走向强大和团结。对于历史积怨，我们也许无能为力但却坚信终有冰消云散的一天；族裔界限的消融指日可待；随着世界越来越小，我们的联系会越来越紧，人性中的共同点终会共鸣；到那时，美国必将扮演引领迈向和平时代的角色。

面对穆斯林世界，我们将基于互利互惠、互相尊重的原则采取新的态度。那些四处挑起争端，将本国祸乱归咎于西方的领导者们，请记住，人民评价你，只会因你的功绩而非淫威。那些通过腐败、欺骗和党伐异己手段把持权力的人，请记住，你正站在历史的错误一面；如果愿意松开紧握的拳头我们将伸出友好的双手。

那些还在落后国家饱受生计煎熬的人民，我们发誓将与你们一道努力，让你们的土地繁茂、清水长流；不仅为你们提供食物，更要给你们送去教育。对那些和我们一样过着相对富足生活的国家，我想说，我们再也不能对他国的困难置若罔闻了，我们的财富来自这个世界，所以应该回报这个世界。世界已经改变，我们要和它一起改变。

看着眼前四通八达的道路，我们不禁感激那些此时此刻坚守自己职责，巡逻在戈壁沙漠和崎岖山岭的勇敢的美国士兵。他们带给今天别样的话语，好似长眠于阿灵顿的英雄们在世代低吟。我们尊敬他们，并非仅仅因为他们是这个国家自由的守护者，更因为在他们身上体现了一种公仆精神，一种能够舍弃自我，成就大义的精神。此时此刻——在这个定义一代人的历史时点上——这种精神正是我们所要学习和发扬的。

政府所能做也必须做的事情便是坚定地忠于这个国家赖以生存的基础，她的人民。但是在政府能力之外，我们所看到的是这个国家的另一种伟大。是将因洪水受灾的陌生人迎回家的友善，是在国家处于困难时期甘愿缩短工作时间来换取工友工作的无私，是消防队员不顾浓烟滚滚冲向楼梯的勇气以及父母对孩子无微不至的关爱，决定了这个国家的命运。

我们所面临的挑战也许闻所未闻，我们应对挑战的武器也许还疏于操练，但是我们从未失掉过成功的关键——勤勉和诚实、勇敢和公平、宽容和创新、忠诚和爱国，这些都是颠扑不破的真理。历史进程中，它们就是那股无声的力量，我们要做的就是回归这些真理。摆在你我眼前的是一个充满责任的新时代——一种植根于每个美国人心中的认同，即我们肩负着对自己、对国家、对这个世界的使命。我们不仅没有逃避责任，反而欣然接受、紧握手里，你我知道世间更无它事能如此契合我们的气质，让我们如此甘之如饴，乐此不疲地倾尽全力。

这是公民的代价和承诺。

这是我们自信的源泉——我们带着上帝的使命去塑造未知的命运。

这是我们自由和信仰的应有之义——不论种族和信仰，男人、妇女和孩子能够穿过那宏伟的建筑聚在这里纵情高歌。曾经有一个父亲因为肤色而在小餐馆里遭到了不公平的待遇，短短不到60年，他的孩子就已经在这里，向所有人立下最为神圣的誓言。

让我们用记忆标记这一天，记得我们是谁，记得我们走了多远。曾记美利坚新国乍开之日，一小群爱国者围着奄奄一息的篝火相互依偎，时值冬月，寒风凛冽、河水结冰。国都刚遭遗弃，敌人步步紧逼，洁白的雪地沾满了鲜血。在革命受到质疑的那一刻，我们的国父为他的人民写下了这样的词句：“让后世的人们记得……在唯有希望和美德可以幸存的严冬……在这个共同威胁的警钟响彻每个角落的土地上，我们曾勇敢战斗过。”

美利坚合众国。再一次面对我们的共同威胁，面对寒冬，让我们一起铭记这段不朽的语言。用希望和美德，再一次勇敢面对那无情的冰凌，经受风暴的洗礼。让我们的子孙也以相同的语言记录我们的历史，我们也曾无惧挑战，我们没有却步，我们未曾动摇，我们拒绝屈服。我们的眼睛注视着地平线和上帝的恩泽，我们将自由一代一代，薪火相传。

Obama's Inaugural Address（奥巴马就职演说中英文对照版）

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 co-operation 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. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; 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 our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; 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 shortcuts 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 labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

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 individual ambitions; 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 country has already done; 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 favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; 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 defence, 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 and communism 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 through its prudent use; 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 co-peration 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 spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, 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 and cannot be broken; 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 Earth; 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 hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; 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 ofdissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; 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 let clean waters flow; 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 outside our borders; 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 honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; 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 travelled. 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 back nor did we falter; 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.