【大紀元1月21日訊】(美國之音報導)我的同胞們：
我今天站在這裡，以謙卑的心情面對著在我面前的使命，對於你們賦予我的信任心存感激，也不敢遺忘開國先賢們所作的犧牲。我感謝布什總統為我們國家所作的服務、以及在政權交接過程中他所展示的大度及合作。
到現在已經有44位美國人進行了總統就職宣誓。這些言辭在繁榮興旺時以及和平時期作出。但是，也有一些時期，這些誓言是在陰雲密佈和暴風雨來襲時作出。在這些時期裡，美國繼續向前行，不單單是身為總統者的睿智和遠見，也是因為我們身為人民者仍然忠於開國先賢們的理想、以及忠實執行開國時的文件宣言。
所以，世代一直是如此的。所以我們這一代的美國人也必須如此。
我們現在非常瞭解我們正處於危機之中。我們的國家正在作戰狀態，對抗一個暴力和仇恨的廣大網絡。我們的經濟大大受到削弱，這不僅是一些人貪婪和不負責任的後果，也是我們在做出艱難抉擇，為國家進入新時代進行準備方面的共同失誤所使然。房屋失去了；工作機會流失了；商業陷入凋敝的困境。我們的醫療費用過於昂貴；我們有太多的學校令人失望；每天都有更多的證據顯示，我們使用能源的方式只能令我們的對手變強，同時威脅到我們的星球。
這些就是危機的信號，數據和統計結果都顯示出來。數字不容易顯示出來的、但是卻不容忽視的是，我們全國各地有些信心正在消蝕，擔心的是美國的衰落不可避免，擔心我們的下一代不得不降低對未來的期許。
今天我要對你們說的是，我們面臨的挑戰是真實的。這些挑戰不僅嚴峻，而且複雜。應對這些挑戰絕非易事，更非一朝一夕之功。但是，美國，請明白這一點：這些挑戰將會面對。
我們今天聚集在一起，因為我們選擇了希望而不是恐懼，選擇了眾志成城而不是紛爭不和。
我們今天共同來宣佈，讓心胸狹窄的怨言和虛妄的諾言成為過去，結束相互指責和攻擊以及令人厭倦的教條，這些已經窒息壓制我們的政治太過長久。
我們仍然還是一個年青的國家，不過用聖經的話來說，拋棄幼稚東西的時間已經到了。現在，我們要彰顯美國的持久精神，創造新的歷史，繼承和發揚代代傳承的珍貴才智和崇高的理想：那就是上帝賦予我們的，人人平等，人人自由，人人都有機會尋求最大幸福。
重申我們國家偉大的同時，我們深深懂得，偉大從來不是與生具來的。它必須努力贏得；我們的道路從來沒有捷徑，也沒有妥協。我們的道路從來不是懦夫們所走的，也不是給那些喜歡輕鬆，或者喜歡追逐財富和名譽的人走的。而是給那些不畏風險的人、腳踏實地的實踐者、那些發明創造者。帶領我們走向繁榮和自由的漫長崎嶇之路的前進者之中，有些有名聲的人，但是更多的是工作中默默無聞的男女大眾。
為了我們，他們背起簡單的行囊，飄洋過海，尋求新的生活。
為了我們，他們在血汗車間和作坊中辛勤勞作，並且在美國的西部紮下根，他們忍受皮鞭的抽打，在堅硬的土地上辛勤耕作。
為了我們， 他們在康科德和蓋底斯堡，在諾曼底和溪山出生入死地戰鬥。
為了我們能夠過上好日子，我們的這些男女大眾，前仆後繼，英勇奮鬥，不懈犧牲，直到他們的雙手粗糙地磨出老繭；他們看到的美國是一個理想高於個人雄心壯志的國家，他們把美國的理想看得高於個人的生死，高於財富和派別。
這就是我們今天要繼續進行的旅程。我們依然是世界上最繁榮、最強大的國家；我們勞工的創造力並沒有比這場危機開始的時候低；我們的思想也沒有缺乏創造性；對我們產品和服務的需求，也沒有比上個星期或者上個月或者上一年減少；我們的能力依然沒有減弱；但是，我們那種一成不變，保護狹隘利益，推出不受歡迎決策的時代注定已經成為過去。從今天開始， 我們將重新鼓舞，揩乾淨身上的灰塵，重新開始重新創造美國的任務。
放眼四周，到處是需要從事的工作，目前的經濟狀況需要我們迅速採取果敢的行動，我們將行動起來，不僅要創造就業機會，而且還要為今後的發展奠定基礎。我們將修路架橋，架設電力網線，修建通往商務和連接民眾的數據通道。我們將恢復科學應有的正確位置。利用科技奇蹟提高醫療保健的質量，同時降低成本。為了能為我們的車輛和工廠提供能源，我們要進一步利用陽光，風力和土壤。我們要改造學校和大學，滿足新時代的要求；我們有能力完成上述任務，我們一定能夠完成上述任務。
現在，有些人對我們的雄心壯志表示懷疑，他們說，我們的體制不可能讓我們實現這麼多的宏偉計劃。這些人的記憶實在太糟了。
因為他們忘記了這個國家過去已經取得的成就，忘記了當自由的男男女女的想像力為了共同目標而激勵、而聚集在一起的時候，能夠達成些甚麼。
這些冷嘲熱諷的人不可能理解的是，他們腳下的這片土地已經發生了變化，長期以來耗盡我們精力的無聊的政治辯論已經不復存在。我們今天要問的，不是我們的政府是否太大或者太小，而是我們的政府是否起到作用，是否幫助美國家庭找到一份像樣收入的工作，能夠支付起醫療保險，一個有尊嚴的退休生活。如果回答是肯定的，我們就應該繼續執行。如果回答是否定的，那麼計劃將會停止，那些負責管理公共資金的人應該負起責任。我們的支出必須睿智，必須改變壞習氣，運作必須光明正大。只有這樣，才能恢復美國人民和政府之間至關重要的信任。
市場到底是好的還是壞的力量，這也不是我們面臨的問題。市場給人們帶來的財富和擴大自由的力量是無可比擬的。但是目前的金融危機提醒我們，如果缺乏監督，市場可能會失去控制。如果一個國家只追求繁榮，繁榮是不可能長久的。美國經濟之所以成功並不總是因為我們國內生產總值的規模，而是因為經濟繁榮已經滲透到各個領域和層次，是因為我們有能力向一切願意接受幫助的人提供機會。我們幫助其他國家不是出於慈善，而是因為這是達到我們共同利益最可靠的途徑。
至於我們的共同防禦，我們認為在我們的安全和理想之間做出選擇是錯誤的。我們的建國先賢們在面對難以想像的危險的時候，他們起草了一份確保法制和人權的憲章，一份後來用幾代人的鮮血發展的憲章。他們的理念如今依然照亮著全世界，我們不應該為了權宜之計而放棄。今天，觀看這場就職典禮的世界各地的所有人民和政府，無論是在大都市，還是我父親出生的小村莊，都知道，美國是所有追求和平與尊嚴的國家和人民的朋友，美國已做好準備，將再次成為世界領導人。
回想前輩們通過牢固的盟友和堅定的信念，而不是導彈和坦克，來面對法西斯主義和共產主義。他們明白，僅靠我們單獨的力量是不能保衛我們自己的，而且我們也無權隨心所慾要做我們想做的事情。他們知道只有通過明智的使用力量，力量才會增強，只有通過我們正義的信念、自身的榜樣，以及具有人道主義和自我克制的溫和素質，才會有國家的安全。
我們是這些美國傳統的保持人，在這些原則再一次的指引下，通過各國之間更好的合作、理解和更多的努力，我們能夠面對那些新的威脅。我們將開始負責任地撤離伊拉克，把伊拉克交給她的人民，並且鞏固得來不易的阿富汗和平。我們將跟老朋友和從前的對手在一起，不辭辛勞地來減少核威脅，減少全球溫室效應。我們不會為我們的生活方式而道歉，也不會放棄保衛這種生活方式。那些通過恐怖主義和屠殺無辜的方式來達到目的的人，我們現在要對你們說，我們的信念比以前更加強壯，是堅不可摧的，你們不會比我們更長久，我們一定會打敗你們。
因為我們知道，多元化的傳統是我們強點，而不是弱點。我們是一個由基督教和穆斯林、猶太教和印度教以及無信仰者組成的國家，我們是由來自地球每個角落的各種語言和文化組成的；因為我們承受過內戰和種族隔離的痛苦洗禮，走出黑暗的歷程，我們更加堅強，更加團結。我們不得不相信，以前的仇恨總有一天會過去，派別分歧遲早會消失。隨著世界在變小，我們共有的人道主義精神一定會展示出來，美國一定要率先走進新的和平紀元。
針對穆斯林世界，我們要在相互有利和相互尊重的基礎上，尋找新的推動方式；針對那些企圖製造衝突，或者把自己的社會問題推卸給西方的各國領導人，要知道，你們的人民會用你的建設成就，而不是摧毀能力來評判你；針對那些通過腐敗、欺騙和鎮壓異議人士來維持權力的人，要知道你們是在錯誤的歷史一邊；不過只要你們願意放開拳頭，我們願意向你們伸出手。
針對那些貧窮國家，我們保證和你們一起工作，讓你們的土地肥沃，讓清水長流；我們會滋養飢餓的身軀，灌輸飢渴的頭腦。針對那些和我們一樣相對富足的國家，我們要說，對我們境外的痛苦，我們再不能無動於衷了，在消耗世界資源的同時，我們不能不考慮後果。因為世界已經改變了，我們也一定要隨之改變。
當我們思考未來的道路，我們要帶著謙卑的感恩之心，牢牢記住那些勇敢的美國人，他們現在正在遙遠的沙漠和山脈執行巡邏任務。他們今天有話要告訴我們，就像安葬在阿靈頓那些逝去的英雄一直對我們低語一樣。我們向他們致敬，不只是因為他們捍衛我們的自由，他們更落實了服務的精神，他們願意尋找比自己意義更重大的事情。在這個時刻，這個將定義整個時代的時刻，正是這樣的精神，必須長存在我們心中。
不論政府能夠或者需要做甚麼，這個國家最終仰賴的還是美國人民的信仰和決心。在堤壩決堤的時候，接納一個陌生人所展現的仁慈；因為不願意看到朋友失業，而寧願減少自己的工時所展現的無私，這些美德幫助我們度過最黑暗的時間。消防隊員衝進滿是濃煙的樓梯間所展現的勇氣；父母教養孩子展現的自發性，這些最終決定了我們的命運。
我們的挑戰或許是全新的。我們解決的方式也可能是全新的。但是我們的成功所仰賴的價值觀卻是恆古不變的，這些價值觀是辛勤工作、誠實、勇氣、公平、寬容和好奇。這些是真實的。在歷史上，這些是推動我們前進的寧靜力量。現在需要的是回歸這些真理。我們現在需要的一個新的責任世紀。每一個美國人都要認清，我們對我們自己、我們的國家、世界都有義務。我們不是勉強的接受這些義務，而是歡欣的接納。我們堅定的知道，沒有甚麼比為艱難的任務全力付出更能滿足我們的精神，更能定義我們的特質。
這是公民權的代價和承諾。
這是我們自信的泉源。我們知道神召喚我們為了要塑造這個充滿變動的未來。
這是我們的自由和信仰的意義，這說明了為甚麼不同種族和信仰的男女和幼童相聚在這個宏偉的廣場上；這說明了為甚麼一個當他的父親在不到60年前或許還不能在餐廳裡接受服務的人，今天能夠在你們面前，許下這個最神聖的誓言。
讓我們以這樣的態度紀念這一天：我們記得自己是誰，我們前進了多遠。在美國誕生的年代，在最寒冷的月份，一小群愛國者在冰凍的河岸上，蜷縮在將熄的營火旁。那時，首都被遺棄了。敵人正在向前推進。白雪上沾染了鮮血。當時，我們革命的結果遭受最大的懷疑，但我們的建國之父命令要對人民宣讀這些文字：
“讓未來的世界知道，在寒冷的冬天，這個只有希望和美德能夠生存的時候，受到一個共同危機挑戰的城市和國家，曾經勇敢的面對他。”
美國。面對我們共同的危機，在這個艱苦的嚴冬，讓我們記得這些永恆的字句。帶著希望和美德，我們再次勇敢的面對冰冷的激流，承受未來可能降臨的風暴。讓我們的下一代傳頌，當我們受到考驗的時候，我們拒絕結束這場旅程。我們沒有回頭，也沒有步履蹣跚。我們的眼光定在地平線上，神的恩典顧及我們，我們帶著一份偉大的禮物，也就是自由，向前進，然後將這份禮物安全的交給未來的世世代代。
謝謝大家!
上帝保佑你們!
上帝保佑美國!
REMARKS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
Inaugural Address
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. 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 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 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 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.
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 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 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 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 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.
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 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.
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 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. (http://www.dajiyuan.com)
