克林頓就職演講稿中英文對(duì)照版
威廉·杰斐遜·克林頓,是第42任,52屆美國(guó)總統(tǒng)。在克林頓的執(zhí)政下,美國(guó)經(jīng)歷了歷史上和平時(shí)期持續(xù)時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)的一次經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展。在美國(guó)人眼中最偉大的總統(tǒng)是林肯,其次是肯尼迪,第三名就是克林頓!下面學(xué)習(xí)啦小編為大家?guī)砜肆诸D就職演講中英文稿,希望對(duì)你有所幫助!
克林頓就職演講稿英文版:
My fellow citizens :
Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal.
This ceremony is held in the depth of winter. But, by the words we speak and the faces we show the world, we force the spring. A spring reborn in the world's oldest democracy, that brings forth the vision and courage to reinvent America.
When our founders boldly declared America's independence to the world and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, would have to change. Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals; life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Though we march to the music of our time, our mission is timeless. Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American.
On behalf of our nation, I salute my predecessor, President Bush, for his half-century of service to America. And I thank the millions of men and women whose steadfastness and sacrifice triumphed over Depression, fascism and Communism.
Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the Cold War assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues.
Raised in unrivaled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant wages, increasing inequality, and deep divisions among our people.
When George Washington first took the oath I have just sworn to uphold, news traveled slowly across the land by horseback and across the ocean by boat. Now, the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast instantaneously to billions around the world.
Communications and commerce are global; investment is mobile; technology is almost magical; and ambition for a better life is now universal. We earn our livelihood in peaceful competition with people all across the earth.
Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and the urgent question of our time is whether we can make change our friend and not our enemy.
This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans who are able to compete and win in it. But when most people are working harder for less; when others cannot work at all; when the cost of health care devastates families and threatens to bankrupt many of our enterprises, great and small; when fear of crime robs law-abiding citizens of their freedom; and when millions of poor children cannot even imagine the lives we are calling them to lead, we have not made change our friend.
We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps. But we have not done so. Instead, we have drifted, and that drifting has eroded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence.
Though our challenges are fearsome, so are our strengths. And Americans have ever been a restless, questing, hopeful people. We must bring to our task today the vision and will of those who came before us.
From our revolution, the Civil War, to the Great Depression to the civil rights movement, our people have always mustered the determination to construct from these crises the pillars of our history.
Thomas Jefferson believed that to preserve the very foundations of our nation, we would need dramatic change from time to time. Well, my fellow citizens, this is our time. Let us embrace it.
Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.
And so today, we pledge an end to the era of deadlock and drift; a new season of American renewal has begun. To renew America, we must be bold. We must do what no generation has had to do before. We must invest more in our own people, in their jobs, in their future, and at the same time cut our massive debt. And we must do so in a world in which we must compete for every opportunity. It will not be easy; it will require sacrifice. But it can be done, and done fairly, not choosing sacrifice for its own sake, but for our own sake. We must provide for our nation the way a family provides for its children.
Our Founders saw themselves in the light of posterity. We can do no less. Anyone who has ever watched a child's eyes wander into sleep knows what posterity is. Posterity is the world to come; the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility. We must do what America does best: offer more opportunity to all and demand responsibility from all.
It is time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing, from our government or from each other. Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country. To renew America, we must revitalize our democracy.
This beautiful capital, like every capital since the dawn of civilization, is often a place of intrigue and calculation. Powerful people maneuver for position and worry endlessly about who is in and who is out, who is up and who is down, forgetting those people whose toil and sweat sends us here and pays our way.
Americans deserve better, and in this city today, there are people who want to do better. And so I say to all of us here, let us resolve to reform our politics, so that power and privilege no longer shout down the voice of the people. Let us put aside personal advantage so that we can feel the pain and see the promise of America. Let us resolve to make our government a place for what Franklin Roosevelt called "bold, persistent experimentation," a government for our tomorrows, not our yesterdays. Let us give this capital back to the people to whom it belongs.
To renew America, we must meet challenges abroad as well at home. There is no longer division between what is foreign and what is domestic; the world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS crisis, the world arms race; they affect us all.
Today, as an old order passes, the new world is more free but less stable. Communism's collapse has called forth old animosities and new dangers. Clearly America must continue to lead the world we did so much to make.
While America rebuilds at home, we will not shrink from the challenges, nor fail to seize the opportunities, of this new world. Together with our friends and allies, we will work to shape change, lest it engulf us.
When our vital interests are challenged, or the will and conscience of the international community is defied, we will act; with peaceful diplomacy when ever possible, with force when necessary. The brave Americans serving our nation today in the Persian Gulf, in Somalia, and wherever else they stand are testament to our resolve.
But our greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still new in many lands. Across the world, we see them embraced, and we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands, are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom. Their cause is America's cause.
The American people have summoned the change we celebrate today. You have raised your voices in an unmistakable chorus. You have cast your votes in historic numbers. And you have changed the face of Congress, the presidency and the political process itself. Yes, you, my fellow Americans have forced the spring. Now, we must do the work the season demands.
To that work I now turn, with all the authority of my office. I ask the Congress to join with me. But no president, no Congress, no government, can undertake this mission alone. My fellow Americans, you, too, must play your part in our renewal. I challenge a new generation of young Americans to a season of service; to act on your idealism by helping troubled children, keeping company with those in need, reconnecting our torn communities. There is so much to be done; enough indeed for millions of others who are still young in spirit to give of themselves in service, too.
In serving, we recognize a simple but powerful truth, we need each other. And we must care for one another. Today, we do more than celebrate America; we rededicate ourselves to the very idea of America.
An idea born in revolution and renewed through two centuries of challenge. An idea tempered by the knowledge that, but for fate we, the fortunate and the unfortunate, might have been each other. An idea ennobled by the faith that our nation can summon from its myriad diversity the deepest measure of unity. An idea infused with the conviction that America's long heroic journey must go forever upward.
And so, my fellow Americans, at the edge of the 21st century, let us begin with energy and hope, with faith and discipline, and let us work until our work is done. The scripture says, "And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not."
From this joyful mountaintop of celebration, we hear a call to service in the valley. We have heard the trumpets. We have changed the guard. And now, each in our way, and with God's help, we must answer the call.
Thank you, and God bless you all.
克林頓就職演講稿中文版:
同胞們:
今天,我們慶祝美國(guó)復(fù)興的奇跡。這個(gè)儀式雖在隆冬舉行,然而,我們通過自己的言語和向世界展示的面容、卻促使春回大地--回到了世界上這個(gè)最古老的民主國(guó)家,并帶來了重新創(chuàng)造美國(guó)的遠(yuǎn)見和勇氣。
當(dāng)我國(guó)的締造者勇敢地向世界宣布美國(guó)獨(dú)立,并向上帝表明自 己的目的時(shí),他們知道,美國(guó)若要永存,就必須變革。不是為變革而變革,而是為了維護(hù)美國(guó)的理想--為了生命、自由和追求幸福而變革。盡管我們隨著當(dāng)今時(shí)代 的節(jié)拍前進(jìn),但我們的使命永恒不變。每一代美國(guó)人,部必須為作為一個(gè)美國(guó)人意味著什么下定義。今天,在冷戰(zhàn)陰影下成長(zhǎng)起來的一代人,在世界上負(fù)起了新的責(zé) 任。這個(gè)世界雖然沐浴著自由的陽光,但仍受到舊仇宿怨和新的禍患的威脅。
我們?cè)跓o與倫比的繁榮中長(zhǎng)大,繼承了仍然是世界上最強(qiáng)大的經(jīng)濟(jì)。但由于企業(yè)倒閉,工資增長(zhǎng)停滯、不平等狀況加劇,人民的分歧加深,我們的經(jīng)濟(jì)已經(jīng)削弱。
當(dāng)喬治•華盛頓第一次宣讀我剛才宜讀的誓言時(shí),人們騎馬把 那個(gè)信息緩慢地傳遍大地,繼而又來船把它傳過海洋。而現(xiàn)在,這個(gè)儀式的情景和聲音即刻向全球幾十億人播放。通信和商務(wù)具有全球性,投資具有流動(dòng)性;技術(shù)幾 乎具有魔力;改善生活的理想現(xiàn)在具有普遍性。今天,我們美國(guó)人通過同世界各地人民進(jìn)行和平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)來謀求生存。各種深遠(yuǎn)而強(qiáng)大的力量正在震撼和改造我們的世 界,當(dāng)今時(shí)代的當(dāng)務(wù)之急是我們能否使變革成為我們的朋友,而不是成為我們的敵人。
這個(gè)新世界已經(jīng)使幾百萬能夠參與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)并且取勝的美國(guó)人過上 了富裕的生活。但是,當(dāng)多數(shù)人干得越多反而掙得越少的時(shí)候,當(dāng)有些人根本不可能工作的時(shí)候,當(dāng)保健費(fèi)用的重負(fù)使眾多家庭不堪承受、使大大小小的企業(yè)瀕臨破 產(chǎn)的時(shí)候,當(dāng)犯罪活動(dòng)的恐懼使守法公民不能自由行動(dòng)的時(shí)候,當(dāng)千百萬貧窮兒童甚至不能想象我們呼喚他們過的那種生活的時(shí)候,我們就沒有使變革成為我們的朋 友。我們知道,我們必須面對(duì)嚴(yán)酷的事實(shí)真相,并采取強(qiáng)有力的步驟。但我們沒有這樣做,而是聽之任之,以致?lián)p耗了我們的資源,破壞了我們的經(jīng)濟(jì),動(dòng)搖了我們 的信心。
我們面臨驚人的挑戰(zhàn),但我們同樣具有驚人的力量,美國(guó)人歷來是不安現(xiàn)狀、不斷追求和充滿希望的民族,今天,我們必須把前人的遠(yuǎn)見卓識(shí)和堅(jiān)強(qiáng)意志帶到我們的任務(wù)中去。從革命,內(nèi)戰(zhàn),大蕭條,直到民權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng),我國(guó)人民總是下定決心,從歷次危機(jī)中構(gòu)筑我國(guó)歷史的支柱。
托馬斯•杰斐遜認(rèn)為,為了維護(hù)我國(guó)的根基,我們需要時(shí)常進(jìn)行激動(dòng)人心的變革。美國(guó)同胞們,我們的時(shí)代就是變革的時(shí)代,讓我們擁抱這個(gè)時(shí)代吧!
我們的民主制度不僅要成為舉世稱羨的目標(biāo),而且要成為舉國(guó)復(fù)興的動(dòng)力。美國(guó)沒有任何錯(cuò)誤的東西不能被正確的東西所糾正。因此,我們今天立下誓言,要結(jié)束這個(gè)僵持停頓、放任自流的時(shí)代,一個(gè)復(fù)興美國(guó)的新時(shí)代已經(jīng)開始。
我們要復(fù)興美國(guó),就必須鼓足勇氣。我們必須做前人無需做的 事情。我們必須更多地投資于人民,投資于他們的工作和未來,與此同時(shí),我們必須減少巨額債務(wù)。而且,我們必須在一個(gè)需要為每個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)而競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的世界上做到這一 切。這樣做并不容易:這樣做要求作出犧牲。但是,這是做得到的,而且能做得公平合理。我們不是為犧牲而犧牲,我們必須像家庭供養(yǎng)子女那樣供養(yǎng)自己的國(guó)家。
我國(guó)的締造者是用子孫后代的眼光來審視自己的。我們也必須 這樣做。凡是注意過孩子蒙?o人睡的人,都知道后代意味著什么,后代就是將要到來的世界--我們?yōu)橹畧?jiān)持自己的理想,我們向之借用這個(gè)星球,我們對(duì)之負(fù)有 神圣的責(zé)任。我們必須做美國(guó)最拿手的事情:為所有的人提供更多的機(jī)會(huì),要所有的人負(fù)起更多的責(zé)任。
現(xiàn)在是破除只求向政府和別人免費(fèi)索取的惡習(xí)的時(shí)候了。讓我們大家不僅為自己和家庭,而且為社區(qū)和國(guó)家擔(dān)負(fù)起更多的責(zé)任吧。
我們要復(fù)興美國(guó),就必須恢復(fù)我們民主制度的活力。這個(gè)美麗的首都,就像文明的曙光出現(xiàn)以來的每一個(gè)首都一樣,常常是爾虞我詐、明爭(zhēng)暗斗之地。大腕人物爭(zhēng)權(quán)奪勢(shì),沒完沒了地為官員的更替升降而煩神,卻忘記了那些用辛勤和汗水把我們送到這里來,并養(yǎng)活了我們的人。
美國(guó)人理應(yīng)得到更好的回報(bào)。在這個(gè)城市里,今天有人想把事 情辦得更好一些。因此,我要時(shí)所有在場(chǎng)的人說:讓我們下定決心改革政治,使權(quán)力和特權(quán)的喧囂不再壓倒人民的呼聲。讓我們撇開個(gè)人利益。這樣我們就能覺察美 國(guó)的病痛,并看到官的希望。讓我們下定決心,使政府成為富蘭克林•羅斯福所說的進(jìn)行"大膽而持久試驗(yàn)"的地方,成為一個(gè)面向未來而不是留戀過去的政府。讓 我們把這個(gè)首都?xì)w還給它所屬于的人民。
我們要復(fù)興美國(guó),就必須迎接國(guó)內(nèi)外的種種挑戰(zhàn)。國(guó)外和國(guó)內(nèi)事務(wù)之間已不再有明確的界限--世界經(jīng)濟(jì),世界環(huán)境,世界艾滋病危機(jī),世界軍備競(jìng)賽,這一切都在影響著我們大家。
我們?cè)趪?guó)內(nèi)進(jìn)行重建的同時(shí),面對(duì)這個(gè)新世界的挑戰(zhàn)不會(huì)退縮不前,也下會(huì)坐失良機(jī)。我們將同盟友一起努力進(jìn)行變革,以免被變革所吞沒。當(dāng)我們的重要利益受到挑戰(zhàn),或者,當(dāng)國(guó)際社會(huì)的意志和良知受到蔑視,我們將采取行動(dòng)--可能時(shí)就采用和平外交手段,必要時(shí)就使用武力。
今天,在波斯灣、索馬里和任何其他地方為國(guó)效力的勇敢的美國(guó)人,都證明了我們的決心。
但是,我們最偉大的力量是我們思想的威力。這些思想在許多國(guó)家仍然處于萌芽階段??吹竭@些思想在世界各地被接受,我們感到歡欣鼓舞。我們的希望,我們的心,與每一個(gè)大陸正在建立民主和自由的人們是連在一起的。他們的事業(yè)也是美國(guó)的事業(yè)。
美國(guó)人民喚來了我們今天所慶祝的變革。你們毫不含糊地齊聲疾呼。你們以前所未有的人數(shù)參加了投票。你們使國(guó)會(huì)、總統(tǒng)職務(wù)和政治進(jìn)程本身全都面目一新。是的,是你們,我的美國(guó)同胞們,促使春回大地。
現(xiàn)在,我們必須做這個(gè)季節(jié)需要做的工作?,F(xiàn)在,我就運(yùn)用我的全部職權(quán)轉(zhuǎn)向這項(xiàng)工作。我請(qǐng)求國(guó)會(huì)同我一道做這項(xiàng)工作。任何總統(tǒng)、任何國(guó)會(huì)、任何政府都不能單獨(dú)完成這一使命。同胞們,在我國(guó)復(fù)興的過程中,你們也必須發(fā)揮作用。
我向新一代美國(guó)年輕人挑戰(zhàn),要求你們投入這一奉獻(xiàn)的季節(jié)--按照你們的理想主義行動(dòng)起來,使不幸的兒童得到幫助,使貧困的人們得到關(guān)懷,使四分五裂的社區(qū)恢復(fù)聯(lián)系。要做的事情很多--確實(shí)夠多的,以至幾百萬在精神上仍然年輕的人也可作出奉獻(xiàn)。
在奉獻(xiàn)過程中,我們認(rèn)識(shí)到相互需要這一簡(jiǎn)單而又強(qiáng)大的真 理。我們必須相互關(guān)心.今天,我們不僅是在贊頌美國(guó),我們?cè)僖淮伟炎约悍瞰I(xiàn)給美國(guó)的理想:這個(gè)理想在革命中誕生,在兩個(gè)世紀(jì)的挑戰(zhàn)中更新;這個(gè)理想經(jīng)受了 認(rèn)識(shí)的考驗(yàn),大家認(rèn)識(shí)到,若不是命運(yùn)的安排,幸運(yùn)者或不幸者有可能互換位置;這個(gè)理想由于一種信念而變得崇高,即我國(guó)能夠從紛繁的多佯性中實(shí)現(xiàn)最深刻的統(tǒng) 一性,這個(gè)理想洋溢著一種信:美國(guó)漫長(zhǎng)而英勇的旅程必將永遠(yuǎn)繼續(xù)。同胞們,在我惻即將跨入21世紀(jì)之際,讓我們以旺盛的精力和滿腔的希望,以堅(jiān)定的信心和 嚴(yán)明的紀(jì)律開始工作,直到把工作完成?!妒ソ?jīng)》說:"我們行善,不可喪志,若不灰心,到了時(shí)候,就要收成。"
在這個(gè)歡樂的山巔,我們聽見山谷里傳來了要我們作出奉獻(xiàn)的召喚。我們聽到了號(hào)角聲。我們已經(jīng)換崗?,F(xiàn)在,我們必須以各自的方式,在上帝的幫助下響應(yīng)這一召喚。
謝謝大家。上帝保佑大家。
克林頓就職演講稿中英文對(duì)照:
My fellow citizens :
我的同胞們:
Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal.
今天,我們慶祝美國(guó)復(fù)興的奇跡。
This ceremony is held in the depth of winter. But, by the words we speak and the faces we show the world, we force the spring. A spring reborn in the world's oldest democracy, that brings forth the vision and courage to reinvent America.
這個(gè)儀式雖在隆冬舉行,然而,我們通過自己的言語和向世界展示的面容、卻促使春回大地--回到了世界上這個(gè)最古老的民主國(guó)家,并帶來了重新創(chuàng)造美國(guó)的遠(yuǎn)見和勇氣。
When our founders boldly declared America's independence to the world and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, would have to change. Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals; life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Though we march to the music of our time, our mission is timeless. Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American.
當(dāng)我國(guó)的締造者勇敢地向世界宣布美國(guó)獨(dú)立,并向上帝表明自己的目的時(shí),他們知道,美國(guó)若要永存,就必須變革。不是為變革而變革,而是為了維護(hù)美國(guó)的理想--為了生命、自由和追求幸福而變革。盡管我們隨著當(dāng)今時(shí)代的節(jié)拍前進(jìn),但我們的使命永恒不變。每一代美國(guó)人,部必須為作為一個(gè)美國(guó)人意味著什么下定義。
On behalf of our nation, I salute my predecessor, President Bush, for his half-century of service to America. And I thank the millions of men and women whose steadfastness and sacrifice triumphed over Depression, fascism and Communism.
Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the Cold War assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues.
今天,在冷戰(zhàn)陰影下成長(zhǎng)起來的一代人,在世界上負(fù)起了新的責(zé)任。這個(gè)世界雖然沐浴著自由的陽光,但仍受到舊仇宿怨和新的禍患的威脅。
Raised in unrivaled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant wages, increasing inequality, and deep divisions among our people.
我們?cè)跓o與倫比的繁榮中長(zhǎng)大,繼承了仍然是世界上最強(qiáng)大的經(jīng)濟(jì)。但由于企業(yè)倒閉,工資增長(zhǎng)停滯、不平等狀況加劇,人民的分歧加深,我們的經(jīng)濟(jì)已經(jīng)削弱。
When George Washington first took the oath I have just sworn to uphold, news traveled slowly across the land by horseback and across the ocean by boat. Now, the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast instantaneously to billions around the world.
當(dāng)喬治·華盛頓第一次宣讀我剛才宜讀的誓言時(shí),人們騎馬把那個(gè)信息緩慢地傳遍大地,繼而又來船把它傳過海洋。而現(xiàn)在,這個(gè)儀式的情景和聲音即刻向全球幾十億人播放。
Communications and commerce are global; investment is mobile; technology is almost magical; and ambition for a better life is now universal. We earn our livelihood in peaceful competition with people all across the earth.
通信和商務(wù)具有全球性,投資具有流動(dòng)性;技術(shù)幾乎具有魔力;改善生活的理想現(xiàn)在具有普遍性。今天,我們美國(guó)人通過同世界各地人民進(jìn)行和平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)來謀求生存。
Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and the urgent question of our time is whether we can make change our friend and not our enemy.
各種深遠(yuǎn)而強(qiáng)大的力量正在震撼和改造我們的世界,當(dāng)今時(shí)代的當(dāng)務(wù)之急是我們能否使變革成為我們的朋友,而不是成為我們的敵人。
This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans who are able to compete and win in it. But when most people are working harder for less; when others cannot work at all; when the cost of health care devastates families and threatens to bankrupt many of our enterprises, great and small; when fear of crime robs law-abiding citizens of their freedom; and when millions of poor children cannot even imagine the lives we are calling them to lead, we have not made change our friend.
這個(gè)新世界已經(jīng)使幾百萬能夠參與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)并且取勝的美國(guó)人過上了富裕的生活。但是,當(dāng)多數(shù)人干得越多反而掙得越少的時(shí)候,當(dāng)有些人根本不可能工作的時(shí)候,當(dāng)保健費(fèi)用的重負(fù)使眾多家庭不堪承受、使大大小小的企業(yè)瀕臨破產(chǎn)的時(shí)候,當(dāng)犯罪活動(dòng)的恐懼使守法公民不能自由行動(dòng)的時(shí)候,當(dāng)千百萬貧窮兒童甚至不能想象我們呼喚他們過的那種生活的時(shí)候,我們就沒有使變革成為我們的朋友。
We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps. But we have not done so. Instead, we have drifted, and that drifting has eroded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence.
我們知道,我們必須面對(duì)嚴(yán)酷的事實(shí)真相,并采取強(qiáng)有力的步驟。但我們沒有這樣做,而是聽之任之,以致?lián)p耗了我們的資源,破壞了我們的經(jīng)濟(jì),動(dòng)搖了我們的信心。
Though our challenges are fearsome, so are our strengths. And Americans have ever been a restless, questing, hopeful people. We must bring to our task today the vision and will of those who came before us.
我們面臨驚人的挑戰(zhàn),但我們同樣具有驚人的力量,美國(guó)人歷來是不安現(xiàn)狀、不斷追求和充滿希望的民族,今天,我們必須把前人的遠(yuǎn)見卓識(shí)和堅(jiān)強(qiáng)意志帶到我們的任務(wù)中去。
From our revolution, the Civil War, to the Great Depression to the civil rights movement, our people have always mustered the determination to construct from these crises the pillars of our history.
從革命,內(nèi)戰(zhàn),大蕭條,直到民權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng),我國(guó)人民總是下定決心,從歷次危機(jī)中構(gòu)筑我國(guó)歷史的支柱。
Thomas Jefferson believed that to preserve the very foundations of our nation, we would need dramatic change from time to time. Well, my fellow citizens, this is our time. Let us embrace it.
托馬斯·杰斐遜認(rèn)為,為了維護(hù)我國(guó)的根基,我們需要時(shí)常進(jìn)行激動(dòng)人心的變革。美國(guó)同胞們,我們的時(shí)代就是變革的時(shí)代,讓我們擁抱這個(gè)時(shí)代吧!
Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.
我們的民主制度不僅要成為舉世稱羨的目標(biāo),而且要成為舉國(guó)復(fù)興的動(dòng)力。美國(guó)沒有任何錯(cuò)誤的東西不能被正確的東西所糾正。
And so today, we pledge an end to the era of deadlock and drift; a new season of American renewal has begun. To renew America, we must be bold. We must do what no generation has had to do before. We must invest more in our own people, in their jobs, in their future, and at the same time cut our massive debt. And we must do so in a world in which we must compete for every opportunity. It will not be easy; it will require sacrifice. But it can be done, and done fairly, not choosing sacrifice for its own sake, but for our own sake. We must provide for our nation the way a family provides for its children.
因此,我們今天立下誓言,要結(jié)束這個(gè)僵持停頓、放任自流的時(shí)代,一個(gè)復(fù)興美國(guó)的新時(shí)代已經(jīng)開始。我們要復(fù)興美國(guó),就必須鼓足勇氣。我們必須做前人無需做的事情。我們必須更多地投資于人民,投資于他們的工作和未來,與此同時(shí),我們必須減少巨額債務(wù)。而且,我們必須在一個(gè)需要為每個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)而競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的世界上做到這一切。這樣做并不容易:這樣做要求作出犧牲。但是,這是做得到的,而且能做得公平合理。我們不是為犧牲而犧牲,我們必須像家庭供養(yǎng)子女那樣供養(yǎng)自己的國(guó)家。
Our Founders saw themselves in the light of posterity. We can do no less. Anyone who has ever watched a child's eyes wander into sleep knows what posterity is. Posterity is the world to come; the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility. We must do what America does best: offer more opportunity to all and demand responsibility from all.
我國(guó)的締造者是用子孫后代的眼光來審視自己的。我們也必須這樣做。凡是注意過孩子蒙昽人睡的人,都知道后代意味著什么,后代就是將要到來的世界--我們?yōu)橹畧?jiān)持自己的理想,我們向之借用這個(gè)星球,我們對(duì)之負(fù)有神圣的責(zé)任。我們必須做美國(guó)最拿手的事情:為所有的人提供更多的機(jī)會(huì),要所有的人負(fù)起更多的責(zé)任。
It is time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing, from our government or from each other. Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country. To renew America, we must revitalize our democracy.
現(xiàn)在是破除只求向政府和別人免費(fèi)索取的惡習(xí)的時(shí)候了。讓我們大家不僅為自己和家庭,而且為社區(qū)和國(guó)家擔(dān)負(fù)起更多的責(zé)任吧。我們要復(fù)興美國(guó),就必須恢復(fù)我們民主制度的活力。
This beautiful capital, like every capital since the dawn of civilization, is often a place of intrigue and calculation. Powerful people maneuver for position and worry endlessly about who is in and who is out, who is up and who is down, forgetting those people whose toil and sweat sends us here and pays our way.
這個(gè)美麗的首都,就像文明的曙光出現(xiàn)以來的每一個(gè)首都一樣,常常是爾虞我詐、明爭(zhēng)暗斗之地。大腕人物爭(zhēng)權(quán)奪勢(shì),沒完沒了地為官員的更替升降而煩神,卻忘記了那些用辛勤和汗水把我們送到這里來,并養(yǎng)活了我們的人。
Americans deserve better, and in this city today, there are people who want to do better. And so I say to all of us here, let us resolve to reform our politics, so that power and privilege no longer shout down the voice of the people. Let us put aside personal advantage so that we can feel the pain and see the promise of America. Let us resolve to make our government a place for what Franklin Roosevelt called "bold, persistent experimentation," a government for our tomorrows, not our yesterdays. Let us give this capital back to the people to whom it belongs.
美國(guó)人理應(yīng)得到更好的回報(bào)。在這個(gè)城市里,今天有人想把事情辦得更好一些。因此,我要時(shí)所有在場(chǎng)的人說:讓我們下定決心改革政治,使權(quán)力和特權(quán)的喧囂不再壓倒人民的呼聲。讓我們撇開個(gè)人利益。這樣我們就能覺察美國(guó)的病痛,并看到官的希望。讓我們下定決心,使政府成為富蘭克林·羅斯福所說的進(jìn)行"大膽而持久試驗(yàn)"的地方,成為一個(gè)面向未來而不是留戀過去的政府。讓我們把這個(gè)首都?xì)w還給它所屬于的人民。
To renew America, we must meet challenges abroad as well at home. There is no longer division between what is foreign and what is domestic; the world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS crisis, the world arms race; they affect us all.
我們要復(fù)興美國(guó),就必須迎接國(guó)內(nèi)外的種種挑戰(zhàn)。國(guó)外和國(guó)內(nèi)事務(wù)之間已不再有明確的界限--世界經(jīng)濟(jì),世界環(huán)境,世界艾滋病危機(jī),世界軍備競(jìng)賽,這一切都在影響著我們大家。
Today, as an old order passes, the new world is more free but less stable. Communism's collapse has called forth old animosities and new dangers. Clearly America must continue to lead the world we did so much to make.
While America rebuilds at home, we will not shrink from the challenges, nor fail to seize the opportunities, of this new world. Together with our friends and allies, we will work to shape change, lest it engulf us.
我們?cè)趪?guó)內(nèi)進(jìn)行重建的同時(shí),面對(duì)這個(gè)新世界的挑戰(zhàn)不會(huì)退縮不前,也下會(huì)坐失良機(jī)。我們將同盟友一起努力進(jìn)行變革,以免被變革所吞沒。
When our vital interests are challenged, or the will and conscience of the international community is defied, we will act; with peaceful diplomacy when ever possible, with force when necessary. The brave Americans serving our nation today in the Persian Gulf, in Somalia, and wherever else they stand are testament to our resolve.
當(dāng)我們的重要利益受到挑戰(zhàn),或者,當(dāng)國(guó)際社會(huì)的意志和良知受到蔑視,我們將采取行動(dòng)--可能時(shí)就采用和平外交手段,必要時(shí)就使用武力。
But our greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still new in many lands. Across the world, we see them embraced, and we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands, are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom. Their cause is America's cause.
但是,我們最偉大的力量是我們思想的威力。這些思想在許多國(guó)家仍然處于萌芽階段??吹竭@些思想在世界各地被接受,我們感到歡欣鼓舞。我們的希望,我們的心,與每一個(gè)大陸正在建立民主和自由的人們是連在一起的。他們的事業(yè)也是美國(guó)的事業(yè)。
The American people have summoned the change we celebrate today. You have raised your voices in an unmistakable chorus. You have cast your votes in historic numbers. And you have changed the face of Congress, the presidency and the political process itself. Yes, you, my fellow Americans have forced the spring. Now, we must do the work the season demands.
美國(guó)人民喚來了我們今天所慶祝的變革。你們毫不含糊地齊聲疾呼。你們以前所未有的人數(shù)參加了投票。你們使國(guó)會(huì)、總統(tǒng)職務(wù)和政治進(jìn)程本身全都面目一新。是的,是你們,我的美國(guó)同胞們,促使春回大地?,F(xiàn)在,我們必須做這個(gè)季節(jié)需要做的工作。
To that work I now turn, with all the authority of my office. I ask the Congress to join with me. But no president, no Congress, no government, can undertake this mission alone. My fellow Americans, you, too, must play your part in our renewal. I challenge a new generation of young Americans to a season of service; to act on your idealism by helping troubled children, keeping company with those in need, reconnecting our torn communities. There is so much to be done; enough indeed for millions of others who are still young in spirit to give of themselves in service, too.
現(xiàn)在,我就運(yùn)用我的全部職權(quán)轉(zhuǎn)向這項(xiàng)工作。我請(qǐng)求國(guó)會(huì)同我一道做這項(xiàng)工作。任何總統(tǒng)、任何國(guó)會(huì)、任何政府都不能單獨(dú)完成這一使命。同胞們,在我國(guó)復(fù)興的過程中,你們也必須發(fā)揮作用。我向新一代美國(guó)年輕人挑戰(zhàn),要求你們投入這一奉獻(xiàn)的季節(jié)--按照你們的理想主義行動(dòng)起來,使不幸的兒童得到幫助,使貧困的人們得到關(guān)懷,使四分五裂的社區(qū)恢復(fù)聯(lián)系。要做的事情很多--確實(shí)夠多的,以至幾百萬在精神上仍然年輕的人也可作出奉獻(xiàn)。
In serving, we recognize a simple but powerful truth, we need each other. And we must care for one another. Today, we do more than celebrate America; we rededicate ourselves to the very idea of America.
在奉獻(xiàn)過程中,我們認(rèn)識(shí)到相互需要這一簡(jiǎn)單而又強(qiáng)大的真理。我們必須相互關(guān)心.今天,我們不僅是在贊頌美國(guó),我們?cè)僖淮伟炎约悍瞰I(xiàn)給美國(guó)的理想
An idea born in revolution and renewed through two centuries of challenge. An idea tempered by the knowledge that, but for fate we, the fortunate and the unfortunate, might have been each other. An idea ennobled by the faith that our nation can summon from its myriad diversity the deepest measure of unity. An idea infused with the conviction that America's long heroic journey must go forever upward.
這個(gè)理想在革命中誕生,在兩個(gè)世紀(jì)的挑戰(zhàn)中更新;這個(gè)理想經(jīng)受了認(rèn)識(shí)的考驗(yàn),大家認(rèn)識(shí)到,若不是命運(yùn)的安排,幸運(yùn)者或不幸者有可能互換位置;這個(gè)理想由于一種信念而變得崇高,即我國(guó)能夠從紛繁的多佯性中實(shí)現(xiàn)最深刻的統(tǒng)一性,這個(gè)理想洋溢著一種信:美國(guó)漫長(zhǎng)而英勇的旅程必將永遠(yuǎn)繼續(xù)。
And so, my fellow Americans, at the edge of the 21st century, let us begin with energy and hope, with faith and discipline, and let us work until our work is done. The scripture says, "And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not."
同胞們,在我惻即將跨入21世紀(jì)之際,讓我們以旺盛的精力和滿腔的希望,以堅(jiān)定的信心和嚴(yán)明的紀(jì)律開始工作,直到把工作完成。《圣經(jīng)》說:“我們行善,不可喪志,若不灰心,到了時(shí)候,就要收成。”
From this joyful mountaintop of celebration, we hear a call to service in the valley. We have heard the trumpets. We have changed the guard. And now, each in our way, and with God's help, we must answer the call.
在這個(gè)歡樂的山巔,我們聽見山谷里傳來了要我們作出奉獻(xiàn)的召喚。我們聽到了號(hào)角聲。我們已經(jīng)換崗?,F(xiàn)在,我們必須以各自的方式,在上帝的幫助下響應(yīng)這一召喚。
Thank you, and God bless you all.
謝謝大家。上帝保佑大家。
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