奥巴马就职演说
美国当选总统、民主党人奥巴马2009年1月20日在美国国会大厦西侧的露天平台上正式宣誓就任美国第44任总统。宣誓就职后，奥巴马发表就职演说。以下为演说的英文版全文：
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
各位同胞：
今天我站在这里，为眼前的重大责任感到谦卑，对各位的信任心怀感激，对先贤的牺牲铭记在心。我要谢谢布什总统为这个国家的服务，也感谢他在政权转移期间的宽厚和配合。
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 cl
ouds 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 forebearers,and true to our founding documents.
四十四位美国人发表过总统就职誓言，这些誓词或是在繁荣富强及和平宁静之际发表，或是在乌云密布，时局动荡之时。在艰困的时候，美国能箕裘相继，不仅因为居高位者有能力或愿景，也因为人民持续对先人的抱负有信心，也忠于创建我国的法统。
So it has been.So it must be with this generation of Americans.
因此，美国才能承继下来。因此，这一代美国人必须承继下去。
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.
现在大家都知道我们正置身危机核心，我国正处于对抗深远暴力和憎恨的战争。我们的经济元气大伤，是某些人贪婪且不负责任的后果，也是大众未能做出艰难的选择，为国家进入新时代做淮备所致。许多人失去房子，丢了工作，生意垮了。我们的医疗照护太昂贵，学校教育辜负了许多人。每天都有更多证据显示，我们利用能源的方式壮大我们的对敌，威胁我们的星球。
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.
这些都是得自资料和统计数据的危机指标。比较无法测量但同样深沉的，是举国信心尽失─持续担心美国将无可避免地衰退，也一定会害怕下一代眼界的变低。
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.
今天我要告诉各位，我们面临的挑战是真的，挑战非常严重，且不在少数。它们不是可以轻易，或在短时间内解决。但是，美国要了解，这些挑战会被解决。
On this day,we gather because we have chosen hope over fear,unity of purpose over conflict and discord.在这一天，我们聚在一起，因为我们选择希望而非恐惧，有意义的团结而非纷争和不合。
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.
在这一天，我们来此宣示，那些无用的抱怨和虚伪的(hypocritical,hypocrisy)承诺已终结，那些扭曲我们政治已久的相互指控和陈旧教条已终结。
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.
我们仍是个年轻的国家，但借用圣经的话，摆脱幼稚事物的时刻到来了，重申我们坚忍精神的时刻到来了，选择我们更好的历史，实践那种代代传承的珍贵权利，那种高贵的理念：就是上帝的应许，我们每个人都是平等的，每个人都是自由的，每个人都应该有机会追求全然的幸福。
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 fainthearted --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 ofte
就职演说
n men and women obscure in their labor--who have carried us up the long,rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.
再次肯定我们国家的伟大，我们了解伟大绝非赐予而来，必须努力达成。我们的旅程从来就不是抄捷径或很容易就满足。这条路一直都不是给胆小懦弱之人走的----那些偏好逸乐胜过工作，或者只想追求名利就满足的人。恰恰相反，走这条路的始终是勇于冒险的人，做事的人，成事的人，其中有些人很出名，但更常见的是在各自岗位上的男男女女无名英雄，在这条漫长崎区的道路上支撑我们，迈向繁荣与自由。
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 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.
为了我们，他们携带很少的家当，远渡重洋，追寻新生活。
为了我们，他们胼手胝足，在西部安顿下来；忍受风吹雨打，筚路蓝缕。
为了我们，他们奋斗不懈，在康科特和盖茨堡，诺曼地和溪山等地葬身。
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.
前人不断的奋斗与牺牲，直到双手皮开肉绽，我们才能享有比较好的生活。他们将美国视为大于所有个人企图心总和的整体，超越出身、财富或小团体的差异。
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.
这是我们今天继续前进的旅程。我们仍旧是全球最繁荣强盛的国家。这场危机爆发时，我们的劳工生产力并未减弱。我们的心智一样创新，我们的产品和劳务和上周或上个月或去年相比，一样是必需品。我们的能力并未减损。但是我们墨守成规、维护狭小利益、推迟引人不悦的决定，这段时期肯定已经过去。从今天起，我们必须重新出发、再次展开再造美国的工程。
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.
我们无论朝何处望去，都有工作必须完成。经济情势需要大胆、迅速的行动，我们将有所行动，不光是创造新工作，更要奠定成长的新基础。我们将造桥铺路，为企业兴建电力网格与数位线路，将我们联系在一起。我们将让科学回归合适的用途，运用科技的奇迹来提高医疗品质并降低费用。我们将利用太阳能、风力和土壤作为汽车的燃料和工厂的能源。我们将让中小学及大专院校转型，因应新时代的需要。这些我们可以做到。我们也将会做到。
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.
现在，有人质疑我们的企图心规模，暗示说我们的体系无法承受太多的大计画。这些人的记性不好。因为他们忘记了这个国家已经完成的成就，当创造力朝同一个目标发展，不受约束的男男女女可以完成何等成就，必要的是勇气。
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.
怀疑者无法理解的是他们的主张已经站不住脚，长期以来折磨我们的陈腐政治争议已经行不通。我们今天的问题不是政府太大或太小，而是有无功效，是否能帮助家庭到体面薪水(薪水不错)的工作，支付得起照顾费用，有尊严的退休。哪个方向能够提供肯定的答案，我们就往那里走。答案是否定的地方，计画就会停止。所有我们这些管理大众金钱的人都将负起责任，花钱要精明，改掉恶习，正大光明做事情，只有这样我们才能重建政府与人民间最重要的信任。
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 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.
我们眼前的问题也不是说市场的力量是善或恶。市场创造财富和增加自由的力量无与伦比，但是这场危机提醒我们没有监督时，市场发展将失控，当市场只偏爱有钱人时，国家无法永续繁荣。我们经济成功的依据，不只是国内生产毛额的规模，还有繁荣可及的范围，以及我们将机会拓展给每个愿意打拼的人，不是因为施舍，而是因为这就是达到我们共同利益最稳健的途径。
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.
至于我们的共同防卫，我们认为必须在我们的自由和理想之间作一抉择是不确实的，我们拒绝接受。我们建国诸父在我们难以想象的危难之中。拟具了确保法治和人权的宪章，被一代代以鲜血扩大充实的宪章。这些理想依然照亮这个世界，我们不会为了便宜行事而扬弃它。同样地，今日在观看此情此景的其他民族和政府，从最宏伟的都城到家父出生的小村庄，我要说：任何一个国家、男、女、和孩童，只要你在追求一个和平且有尊严的未来，美国就是你的朋友，我们淮备再次带领大家。
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.
回想先前的世代力抗法西斯主义和共产主义，靠的除了飞弹和战车之外，还有强固的联盟和持久的信念。他们知道单单力量本身不足以让我们自保，也不能让我们为所欲为。相反地，他们知道我们的力量因为谨慎使用而增强，我们的安全源自我们理想的正当性，我们所树立楷模的力量，以及谦逊和克制所具有的调和特质。
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 responsibility 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 and cannot be broken;you cannot outlast us,and we will defeat you.
我们是这些遗产的保存者。在这些原则的再次指引下，我们可以面对那些新的威胁，这些威胁有赖国与国间更大的合作与谅解方能因应。我们将开始以负责任的方式把伊拉克还给它的人民，并在阿富汗建立赢来不易的和平。我们会努力不懈地与老朋友和昔日的对手合作，以减轻核子威胁，和地球的暖化。我们不会为我们的生活方式而道歉，也会毫不动摇地保护它，对那些想要藉由带来恐怖与杀害无辜以遂其目的者，我们现在告诉你，我们的精神强过你们，无法摧折，你们不可能比我们长久，我们必定打败你们。
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 nonbelievers.We are shaped by every language and culture,draw
n 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.
因为我们知道，我们拼凑组合而成的遗产是我们的强处，而非弱点。我们是由基督徒和穆斯林，犹太教徒和印度教徒，以及非信徒组成的国家。我们由取自世界四面八方的各种语文和文化所形塑。而且由於我们曾尝过内战和种族隔离的苦果，并且在走出那黑暗时期之后变得更坚强和团结，这让我们不得不相信旧日的仇恨终究会过去，部族之间的界线很快就会泯灭。随着世界越来越小，我们共通的人性也会彰显，而美国必须扮演引进新和平时代的角。
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 wrong side of history;but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
对穆斯林世界，我们寻求一种新的前进方式，以共同的利益和尊重为基础。那些想播植冲突并把自己社会的问题怪罪于西方的领袖，须知你的国民藉以判断你的，是你能建立什么，而非你能毁坏什么。那些靠着贪腐欺骗和箝制异己保住权势的人，须知你们站在历史错误的一边，而只要你愿意松手，我们就会帮忙。
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.
那些穷国的人民，我们保证会和你们合作，让们的农场丰收，让清流涌入，滋补饿坏的身体，喂养饥饿的心灵。而对那些和我们一样比较富裕的国家，我要说，我们不能再对国界以外的苦痛视而不见，也不能再消耗世上的资源而不计后果。因为世界已经变了，我们也要跟着改变。
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 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.
在我们思索眼前道路的此际，我们以谦虚感激的心想到，有些勇敢的美国同胞正在遥远的沙漠和山岭上巡逻。今天他们有话要对我们说，就和躺在阿灵顿（公墓）的英雄们世世代代轻声诉说的一样。我们尊荣他们，不只因为他们扞卫我们的自由，更因为他们代表着服务的精神；愿意在比自己更大的事物上寻意义。而在此刻，能够界定一个世代的此刻，必须常驻你我心中的，正是这种精神。
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