President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address

奥巴马总统就职演讲

英文原文：

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.

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 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 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 things 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.

Thank you. God bless you.

And God bless the United States of America.

中文翻译：

我的同胞们：

今天我站在这里，面对眼前的任务，深感谦卑；感谢你们给予我的信任，铭记先辈们所付出的牺牲，我感谢布什总统对国家的服务,以及他在整个过渡期间所展现的慷慨与合作。

迄今已有四十四位美国人宣读过总统誓词，这些誓词曾在繁荣高涨之时和和平静水之中被念诵，誓词也时常在阴云密布、风暴肆虐之际被念诵，在这些时刻，美国之所以能够继续前行，不仅仅是因为身居高位者的才能或远见，更是因为我们人民始终忠于先辈的理想,忠于我们的建国文献。

过去如此,这一代美国人亦必须如此。

我们正处于危机之中，这一点现在已众所周知，我们的国家正在与一个遍布全球的暴力和仇恨网络作战，我们的经济严重削弱，这是某些人贪婪和不负责任的结果，但也是我们集体未能做出艰难抉择、未能为国家迎接新时代做好准备的结果，家园丧失，工作流失，企业倒闭，我们的医疗费用过高，我们的学校让太多人失望，每一天都有更多的证据表明我们使用能源的方式增强了我们的对手,威胁着我们的星球。

这些是危机的指标，可以用数据和统计来衡量，但难以衡量却同样深刻的是，全国人民信心的消蚀——一种挥之不去的恐惧：美国的衰落不可避免,下一代必须降低期望。

今天我告诉你们，我们面临的挑战是真实的，它们是严峻的，是众多的，它们不会轻易解决，也不会在短时间内解决，但请相信，美国——它们终将被解决。

在这一天，我们聚集在一起，因为我们选择了希望而非恐惧,选择了目标的一致而非冲突与不和。

在这一天，我们来宣告结束那些琐碎的怨愤和虚假的承诺、相互指责和陈腐的教条——它们太长时间以来扼杀了我们的政治。

我们仍然是一个年轻的国家，但用《圣经》的话说，抛弃幼稚之物的时刻已经到来，重申我们永恒精神的时刻已经到来；选择我们更好的历史的时刻已经到来；传承那份珍贵的礼物、那个崇高的理念的时刻已经到来——那是代代相传的、上帝赋予的承诺：人人生而平等，人人自由,人人都应有机会追求充分的幸福。

在重申我们国家伟大的同时，我们明白伟大从来不是理所当然的，它必须被赢得，我们的旅程从来不是捷径或将就，它不是怯懦者的道路——不是那些偏好安逸而非劳作、只追求财富和名声之乐的人的道路，相反，它是冒险者、实干者、创造者的道路——有些闻名于世，但更多的是在劳作中默默无闻的男男女女,他们带领我们走上了通往繁荣与自由的漫长而崎岖的道路。

为了我们，他们收拾起微薄的家当,远渡重洋寻找新生活。

为了我们，他们在血汗工厂中辛劳，在西部拓荒；忍受鞭笞,耕耘坚硬的土地。

为了我们，他们在康科德和葛底斯堡、诺曼底和溪山等地战斗和牺牲。

这些男男女女一次又一次地奋斗、牺牲、劳作到双手皲裂，只为让我们过上更好的生活，他们视美国大于我们个人抱负的总和，大于出生、财富或派系的一切差异。

这就是我们今天继续的旅程，我们仍然是地球上最繁荣、最强大的国家，我们的工人生产力不比危机开始时低，我们的头脑不比上周、上个月或去年逊色，我们的商品和服务不比那时缺少需求，我们的能力依然未减，但我们墨守成规、保护狭隘利益、拖延不愉快决定的时代——那个时代确实已经过去了，从今天开始，我们必须振作起来，掸去身上的灰尘,重新开始重塑美国的工作。

因为放眼望去，处处都有工作要做，经济状况要求大胆而迅速的行动，我们将采取行动——不仅创造新的就业机会，更为增长奠定新的基础，我们将修建道路和桥梁、电网和数字线路，以促进商业、将我们联结在一起，我们将让科学回归其应有的位置，运用技术的奇迹提高医疗质量、降低医疗成本，我们将利用阳光、风能和土地来驱动我们的汽车、运转我们的工厂，我们将改造我们的学校、学院和大学，以满足新时代的需求，这一切我们都能做到,这一切我们都将做到。

有些人质疑我们抱负的规模——他们认为我们的体制无法容忍太多宏大的计划，他们的记忆太短暂了，因为他们忘记了这个国家已经取得的成就；忘记了当想象力与共同目标结合、当需要与勇气结合时,自由的人民能够取得怎样的成就。

怀疑论者未能理解的是，他们脚下的地基已经移位——那些长期消耗我们的陈旧政治争论已不再适用，我们今天要问的问题不是政府太大还是太小，而是它是否有效——是否帮助家庭找到薪酬体面的工作、负担得起的医疗、有尊严的退休生活，答案是肯定的，我们就向前推进，答案是否定的，项目就终止，我们这些管理公共资金的人将被问责——明智地花钱、改革不良习惯、在阳光下办公——因为只有这样,我们才能恢复人民与政府之间至关重要的信任。

我们面临的问题也不是市场是善的力量还是恶的力量，市场创造财富和扩展自由的力量是无与伦比的，但这场危机提醒我们，如果没有警惕的目光，市场可能失控——一个只偏袒富人的国家无法长久繁荣，我们经济的成功从来不仅取决于国内生产总值的规模，还取决于我们繁荣的广度；取决于我们将机会扩展到每一个有意愿的人的能力——不是出于慈善,而是因为这是通往共同利益的最可靠途径。

至于我们的共同防御，我们拒绝在安全与理想之间做虚假的选择，我们的建国先贤面对我们几乎无法想象的危难，起草了一份确保法治和人权的宪章，这份宪章由几代人的鲜血所扩展，那些理想仍然照亮着世界，我们不会为了权宜之计而放弃它们，对所有今天在关注的其他人民和政府——从最宏伟的首都到我父亲出生的小村庄：请知道，美国是每个国家、每个寻求和平与尊严未来的男人、女人和儿童的朋友,我们准备再次领导。

回顾先辈们面对法西斯主义和共产主义，不仅用导弹和坦克，还用坚固的联盟和持久的信念，他们明白，仅凭我们的力量无法保护我们，也无权让我们为所欲为，相反，他们知道我们的力量通过审慎使用而增长；我们的安全源于我们事业的正义性、我们榜样的力量、谦逊和克制的品质。

我们是这份遗产的守护者，再次以这些原则为指引，我们能够应对那些需要更大努力——需要各国之间更大合作与理解——的新威胁，我们将开始负责任地将伊拉克交还给伊拉克人民，在阿富汗缔造来之不易的和平，与老朋友和昔日对手一起，我们将不懈努力减少核威胁，遏制地球变暖的幽灵，我们不会为我们的生活方式道歉，也不会在捍卫它时动摇，对于那些试图通过制造恐怖和屠杀无辜来推进其目标的人，我们现在告诉你们：我们的精神更强大，不会被摧毁；你们无法比我们更持久,我们将击败你们。

因为我们知道，我们拼凑而成的传统是力量，而非弱点，我们是一个由基督徒和穆斯林、犹太教徒和印度教徒——以及非信徒——组成的国家，我们被每一种语言和文化所塑造，来自地球的每一个角落；因为我们尝过内战和种族隔离的苦酒，并从那个黑暗篇章中走出，变得更强大、更团结，我们不禁相信旧的仇恨终将过去；部落的界限终将消融；随着世界变小，我们共同的人性将显现；美国必须在开创和平新时代中发挥其作用。

对穆斯林世界，我们寻求一条基于相互利益和相互尊重的新前进道路，对全球那些试图播撒冲突、或将本国社会弊病归咎于西方的领导人——请知道，你们的人民将根据你们能建设什么、而非摧毁什么来评判你们，对那些通过腐败、欺骗和压制异见来紧握权力的人——请知道你们站在历史的错误一边；但如果你们愿意松开拳头,我们将伸出援手。

对贫穷国家的人民，我们承诺与你们并肩努力，让你们的农田丰产、清洁的水流淌；滋养饥饿的身体、哺育渴求知识的心灵，对那些像我们一样享有相对富足的国家，我们说，我们不能再对边界之外的苦难无动于衷；也不能不顾后果地消耗世界资源，因为世界已经改变,我们也必须随之改变。

当我们思量眼前展开的道路时，我们怀着谦卑的感恩铭记那些勇敢的美国人——此时此刻正在遥远的沙漠和群山巡逻，他们今天有话要对我们说，正如长眠于阿灵顿的阵亡英雄穿越时空的低语，我们尊敬他们，不仅因为他们是我们的自由的守护者，更因为他们体现了服务的精神——愿意在比自己更伟大的事物中寻找意义，在这个时刻——一个将定义一代人的时刻——正是这种精神必须充满我们所有人。

因为无论政府能做多少、必须做多少，这个国家最终依赖的是美国人民的信仰和决心，是堤坝决口时接纳陌生人的善良，是宁愿减少工时也不愿看到朋友失业的工人的无私，支撑我们度过最黑暗的时刻，是消防员冲入浓烟弥漫的楼梯间的勇气，也是父母养育孩子的意愿,最终决定了我们的命运。

我们的挑战可能是新的，我们应对挑战的工具可能是新的，但我们的成功所依赖的那些东西——勤劳和诚实、勇气和公平、宽容和好奇、忠诚和爱国——这些东西是古老的，这些东西是真实的，它们一直是我们历史中静默的进步力量，所需要的是回归这些真理，现在要求我们的是一个负责任的新时代——每一个美国人都认识到，我们对自己、对国家、对世界负有责任；这些责任不是我们勉强接受的，而是我们欣然承担的，因为我们深知，没有什么比全力以赴完成一项艰巨任务更能满足精神、更能定义我们的品格。

这就是公民身份的代价和承诺。

这就是我们信心的来源——知道上帝召唤我们去塑造一个不确定的命运。

这就是我们自由和信条的意义——为什么每一种族、每一信仰的男人、女人和儿童都能在这个宏伟的广场上欢聚庆祝，为什么一个父亲在不到六十年前可能无法在当地餐馆得到服务的人,现在能站在你们面前宣读最神圣的誓词。

让我们以记忆来标记这一天——记住我们是谁，我们走了多远，在美国诞生的那一年，在最寒冷的月份，一小群爱国者在冰河岸边垂死的篝火旁蜷缩，首都已被放弃，敌人正在推进，白雪被鲜血染红，在我们革命成败最为未卜的时刻,我们国家的国父下令向人民宣读这些话：

“让未来世界知道……在隆冬深处，当只有希望和美德能够存活时……这座城市和国家，在一个共同危险的警醒下，挺身而出迎接它。”

美国，面对我们共同的危险，在这个困难的冬天，让我们铭记这些永恒的话语，带着希望和美德，让我们再次勇敢面对冰冷的激流，承受可能到来的风暴，让我们的子孙后代说，当我们受到考验时，我们拒绝让这段旅程结束，我们没有回头，也没有动摇；我们目光锁定地平线，蒙受上帝的恩典，传承了自由这份伟大的礼物,并安全地交付给未来的世代。

谢谢你们,上帝保佑你们。

上帝保佑美利坚合众国。