2013年奧巴馬就職演講稿(2)

　　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.

　　一次又一次，我們的先輩們戰(zhàn)斗著、犧牲著、操勞著，只為了我們可以生活得更好。在他們看來，美國的強盛與偉大超越了個人雄心，也超越了個人的出身、貧富和派別差異。

　　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.

　　今天我們繼續(xù)先輩們的旅途。美國依然是地球上最富裕、最強大的國家。同危機初露端倪之時相比，美國人民的生產(chǎn)力依然旺盛;與上周、上個月或者去年相比，我們的頭腦依然富于創(chuàng)造力，我們的商品和服務依然很有市場，我們的實力不曾削弱。但是，可以肯定的是，輕歌曼舞的時代、保護狹隘利益的時代以及對艱難決定猶豫不決的時代已經(jīng)過去了。從今天開始，我們必須跌倒后爬起來，拍拍身上的泥土，重新開始工作，重塑美國。

　　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 healthcare'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.

　　我目之所及，都有工作有待完成。國家的經(jīng)濟情況要求我們采取大膽且快速的行動，我們的確是要行動，不僅是要創(chuàng)造就業(yè)，更要為(下一輪經(jīng)濟)增長打下新的基礎。我們將造橋鋪路，為企業(yè)鋪設電網(wǎng)和數(shù)字線路，將我們聯(lián)系在一起。我們將回歸科學，運用科技的奇跡提高醫(yī)療質量，降低醫(yī)療費用。我們將利用風能、太陽能和土壤驅動車輛，為工廠提供能源。我們將改革中小學以及大專院校，以適應新時代的要求。這一切，我們都能做到，而且我們都將會做到。

　　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.

　　現(xiàn)在，有一些人開始質疑我們的野心是不是太大了，他們認為我們的體制承載不了太多的宏偉計劃。他們是健忘了。他們已經(jīng)忘了這個國家已經(jīng)取得的成就;他們已經(jīng)忘了當創(chuàng)造力與共同目標以及必要的勇氣結合起來時，自由的美國人民所能發(fā)揮的能量。

　　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 retirementthat 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.

　　這些懷疑論者的錯誤在于，他們沒有意識到政治現(xiàn)實已經(jīng)發(fā)生了變化，長期以來耗掉我們太多精力的陳腐政治論爭已經(jīng)不再適用。今天，我們的問題不在于政府的大小，而在于政府能否起作用，政府能否幫助家庭找到薪水合適的工作、給他們可以負擔得起的醫(yī)療保障并讓他們體面地退休。哪個方案能給與肯定的答案，我們就推進哪個方案。哪個方案的答案是否定的，我們就選擇終止。而掌管納稅人稅金的人應當承擔起責任，合理支出，摒棄陋習，磊落做事，這樣才能在政府和人民之間重建至關重要的相互信任。

　　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 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 f; 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.

　　我們面臨的問題也不是市場好壞的問題。市場創(chuàng)造財富、拓展自由的能力無可匹敵，但是這場危機提醒我們，如果沒有監(jiān)管，市場很可能就會失去控制，而且偏袒富人國家的繁榮無法持久。國家經(jīng)濟的成敗不僅僅取決于國內生產(chǎn)總值的大小，而且取決于繁榮的覆蓋面，取決于我們是否有能力讓所有有意愿的人都有機會走向富裕。我們這樣做不是慈善，而是因為這是確保實現(xiàn)共同利益的途徑。

　　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.

　　就共同防御而言，我們認為國家安全與國家理想的只能選其一的排他選擇是錯的。面對我們幾乎無法想像的危險，我們的先輩們起草了確保法治和個人權利的憲章。一代代人民的鮮血夯實了這一憲章。憲章中的理想依然照亮著世界，我們不能以經(jīng)驗之談放棄這些理想。因此我想對正在觀看這一儀式的其他國家的人民和政府說，不論他們現(xiàn)在各國偉大的首府還是在如同我父親出生地一般的小村落，我想讓他們知道：對于每個追求和平和自尊的國家和個人而言，美國都是朋友，我們愿意再次領導大家踏上追尋之旅。