影响世界的伟大演讲55奥巴马：上帝保佑我们的矿工
Let me begin by saying that we have been mourning with you throughout these difficult days. Our hearts have been aching with you. We keep our thoughts with the survivors who are recovering and resting at the hospital and at the homes. We’re thankful for the rescue teams. But our hearts ache alongside you.
首先我想要说的是，在这段艰难的日子里，我们一直在为我们失去的矿工哀 悼，我们的心情和你们一样沉痛，我们无时无刻不牵挂着在医院接受治疗或在家休 养的幸存者。我们同样感激那些救援人员。我们的心和你们一起疼痛。
We’re here to memorialize 29 Americans: Carl Acord. Jason Atkins. Christopher Bell. Gregory Steven Brock. Kenneth Allan Chapman. Robert Clark. Charles Timothy Davis. Cory Davis. Michael Lee Elswick. William I. Griffith. Steven Harrah. Edward Dean Jones. Richard K. Lane. William Roosevelt Lynch. Nicholas Darrell McCroskey. Joe Marcum. Ronald Lee Maynor. James E. Mooney. Adam Keith Morgan. Rex L. Mullins. Joshua S. Napper. Howard D. Payne. Dillard Earl Persinger. Joel R. Price. Deward Scott. Gary Quarles. Grover Dale Skeens. Benny Willingham. And Ricky Workman.
在这里，我们缅怀29位美国人：卡尔•阿克德、杰森•阿金斯、克里斯多佛• 贝尔、格利高里•史蒂夫•布洛克、肯尼斯•艾伦•查普曼、罗伯特_克拉克、查 尔斯•蒂莫西_戴维斯、克里•戴维斯、迈克尔•李•埃尔斯维克、威廉• I •格 里菲斯、史蒂芬•哈拉、爱德华•迪恩•琼斯、理查德•K •雷恩、威廉姆•罗斯 威尔特•林奇、尼古拉斯•达利尔•麦考斯基、乔•马克姆、罗纳德_李•梅尔、 詹姆斯• E.姆尼、亚当.基斯.摩根、雷克斯• L •姆林斯、乔什.S •纳皮尔、霍 华德• D •佩恩、迪拉德•厄尔•波辛格、乔尔.R •普莱斯、迪华德•斯科特、加 里•考拉斯、格罗佛•戴尔•斯金斯、本尼•威灵汉姆以及里奇•沃克曼。
Nothing I，or the Vice President, or the Governor, none of the speakers here today, nothing we say can fill the hole they leave in your hearts, or the absence that they leave in your lives. If any comfort can be found, it can, perhaps，be found by seeking the face of God—(applause)—who quiets our troubled minds, a God who mends our broken hearts, a God who eases our mourning souls.
无论是我、副总统、州长，还是今天致悼词的任何一个人，任何话语都不能抚 平你们心中痛失亲人的创伤。如果有人有方式可以得到安慰，也许只能来自上帝那 里——（掌声）——上帝安抚我们痛苦的思绪，修复我们破碎的心灵，抚慰我们哀 痛的灵魂。
Even as we mourn 29 lives lost, we also remember 29 lives lived. Up at 4:30 a.m.， 5:00 in the morning at the latest, they began their day, as they worked, in darkness. In coveralls and hard-toe boots, a hardhat over their heads, they would sit quietly for their hour-long journey, five miles into a mountain, the only light the lamp on their caps, or the glow from the mantrip they rode in.
尽管我们在哀悼这29个逝去的生命，但我们同样也要记住这29个曾活在世间的 生命^凌晨4点半起床，最晚不过5点，他们就开始一天的生活，他们在黑暗中工作。 穿着工作服和硬头靴，头戴安全帽，静坐着开始一小时的工作征程，进山5英里的路 途，唯一的灯光就是从他们头戴的安全帽上发射出的，或是进入时矿山沿途的光线。
Day after day, they would burrow into the coal, the fruits of their labor, what so often we take for granted: the electricity that lights up a convention center; that lights up our church or our home，our school, our office; the energy that powers our country； the energy that powers the world.
夜以继日，他们探查煤炭，这也是他们劳动的果实。照亮一个会议中心的电 能；点亮我们教堂或家园、学校、办公室的灯光；让我们国家运转的能源；让世界 运转的能源。我们对此却不以为然。
And most days they’d emerge from the dark mine, squinting at the light. Most days，they’d emerge, sweaty and dirty and dusted £rom coal. Most days, they’d come home. But not that day.
大多时候，他们从黑暗的矿里探出头，斜眼盯着光亮P大多时候，他们从矿里 探出身，满是汗水和尘垢。大多时候，他们可以回家。但却不是那天。
These men—these husbands, fathers, grandfathers, brothers sons, uncles, nephews~they did not take on their job unaware of the perils. Some of them had already been injured; some of them had seen a friend get hurt. So they understood there were risks. And their families did, too. They knew their kids would say a prayer at night before they left. They knew their wives would wait for a call when their shift ended saying everything was okay. They knew their parents felt a pang of fear every time a breaking news alert came on, or the radio cut in.
这些人，这些丈夫、父亲、祖父、弟兄、儿子、叔父或侄子，他们从事这份工作时，早就意识到了其中的风险。他们中的一些人负伤了，一些人亲眼看到朋友 受伤。所以，他们知道有风险。他们的家人也知道。但他们很清楚，自己去矿上之 前，孩子会在夜晚为他们祈祷。他们知道妻子在焦急等待自己的电话，通报今天的 任务完成情况，报一声平安。他们知道，每当有紧急新闻播出，或是广播被突然切 断时，他们的父母会感到极度的的恐惧。
But they left for the mines anyway一some, having waited all their lives to be miners; having longed to follow in the footsteps of their fathers and their grandfathers. And yet, none of them did it for themselves alone.
但不管怎么样他们还得离开家园，来到矿里。一些人一生期盼成为矿工；他们 渴望追随父辈的脚步。然而，他们并不是为自己作出的选择。
All that hard work, all that hardship, all the time spent underground, it was all for the families. It was all for you. For a car in the driveway, a roof overhead. For a chance to give their kids opportunities that they would never know, and enjoy retirement with their spouses. It was all in the hopes of something better. And so these miners lived_as they died—in pursuit of the American Dream.
这艰险的工作，所有的艰难困苦，在地下度过的所有艰难时光，都是为了家 人。都是为了你们；也为了在路上行使的汽车，为了头顶上天花板的灯光；为了能 给孩子未知的未来一个机会，为了与伴侣享受退休生活。这都是期盼能有更美好的 生活。因此，这些矿工就这样生活着，甚至丧了命，他们一直追寻着美国梦。
There, in the mines，for their families, they became a family themselves~sharing birthdays, relaxing together, watching Mountaineers football or basketball together, spending days off together，hunting or fishing. They may not have always loved what they did, said a sister, but they loved doing it together. They loved doing it as a family.
在矿里，为了他们的家人，他们自己组成了家庭：庆祝彼此的生日，一同放 松，一同看橄榄球或篮球，一同消磨时间，打猎或是钓鱼。他们可能不总是喜欢这 些事情，但他们喜欢一起去完成。他们喜欢像一个家庭那样去做这些事。他们喜欢
They loved doing it as a community.
像一个社区一样去做这些事。
That’s a spirit that’s reflected in a song that almost every American knows. But it’s a song most people, I think, would be surprised was actually written by a coal miner’s son about this town, Beckley, about the people of West Virginia. It’s the song, Lean on Me—an anthem of friendship, but also an anthem of community, of coming together.
这也是美国人所熟知的一首歌里表达的精神。我想，大多数人都会惊讶这首歌 实际是一名矿工的儿子写的，关于小镇贝克利的，关于西弗吉尼亚人民的。这首歌 曲——《靠着我》（Lean on Me )——是一首关于友谊的赞歌，也是一首关于社区和 相聚的赞歌。
That community was revealed for all to see in the minutes，and hours, and days after the tragedy. Rescuers, risking their own safety, scouring narrow tunnels saturated with methane and carbon monoxide, hoping against hope they might find a survivor. Friends keeping porch lights on in a nightly vigil； hanging up homemade signs that read, “Pray for our miners, and their families.” Neighbors consoling each other, and supporting each other and leaning on one another.
灾难发生后几分钟，几小时，几天内，这个社区终被外界关注。营救者，冒着 危险在充满沼气和一氧化碳的狭窄地道里搜寻，抱着一线希望去寻找幸存者。朋友 们打开门廊的灯守夜；悬挂着自制的标语，“为我们的矿工和他们的家人祈祷。” 邻居们彼此安慰，相互扶持。
Fve seen it, the strength of that community. In the days that followed the disaster, emails and letters poured into the White House. Postmarked from different places across the country, they often began the same way: “I am proud to be from a family of miners•” “I am the son of a coal miner.M “I am proud to be a coal miner’s daughter.w (Applause.) They were always proud, and they asked me to keep our miners in my thoughts, in my prayers. Never forget，they say，miners keep America’s lights on. (Applause.) And then in these letters, they make a simple plea: Don’t let this happen again. (Applause.) Don’t let this happen again.
我明白了，这就是社区的力量。在灾难发生后的几天，电子邮件和信件纷纷 涌入白宫。邮戳显示来自全国各地，人们通常都是同一开头：“我很骄傲来自一个 矿工的家庭。” “我是一名矿工的儿子。” “我很自豪能成为一名矿工的女人。” ……他们都感到自豪，他们让我关照我们的矿工，为他们祈祷。他们说，不要忘了，矿工维持着美国的光亮。在这些信件里，他们提出一个很小的要求：不要让这 样的悲剧再发生。不要让这样的悲剧再发生。
How can we fail them? How can a nation that relies on its miners not do everything in its power to protect them? How can we let anyone in this country put their lives at risk by simply showing up to work; by simply pursuing the American Dream?
我们怎么能忍心让他们失望呢？ 一个依赖矿工的国家怎么会不尽全力保护他们 呢？我们的国家怎能容忍人们仅因工作就将自己置于丢失性命的危险之中呢？难道 仅仅是因为他们追求的美国梦吗？
We cannot bring back the 29 men we lost. They are with the Lord now. Our task, here on Earth, is to save lives from being lost in another such tragedy; to do what must do, individually and collectively, to assure safe conditions underground—(applause)— to treat our miners like they treat each other~like a family. (Applause.) Because we are all family and we are all Americans. (Applause.) And we have to lean on one another, and look out for one another, and love one another, and pray for one another.
我们不能唤回这逝去的29条生命。此时，他们和上帝在一起。我们在这里的 任务，防止再次发生这样的悲剧。无论个人还是集体，去做我们必须做的，以确保 矿下的安全，向他们对待彼此那样对待我们的矿工，就像一家人。因为我们是一家 人，我们都是美国人。我们必须要彼此依靠，照料彼此，爱护彼此，为彼此祈福。
There’s a psalm that comes to mind today~a psalm that comes to mind, a psalm we often turn to in times of heartache. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
今天，我想起一首圣歌，每当我我们心痛时，会想起这首歌。“我虽行过死荫 的幽谷，但心无所惧，因你与我同在。你的杖，你的竿，都在安慰我。”
God bless our miners. (Applause.) God bless their families. God bless West Virginia. (Applause.) And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
上帝保佑我们的矿工！上帝保佑他们的家人！上帝保佑西弗吉尼亚！上帝保佑 美国！