美国总统奥巴马告别演讲(16)
Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world,
俄罗斯和中国这样的对手也不可能与我们匹敌，
unless we give up what we stand for, and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors.
除非我们抛弃了立场、变成另一个欺凌周边小国的大国。
Which brings me to my final point: Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted.
这也就引出了我想声明的最后一点——如果我们把民主视作理所当然之时，便是它受到威胁之时。
All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions.
我们所有人，无论属于哪个党派，都应该投身于对民主体制的重建之中。
When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies,
在民众投票率处于发达民主政体中最低水平时，
we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote.
我们应该将实施投票变得更简单而不是更复杂；
When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics,
在民众对体制缺乏信任的时候，我们应该减少金钱对政治的影响、
and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service.
坚持公务透明和基本的道德原则；
When Congress is dysfunctional,
当国会运作低效时，
we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.
我们应该鼓励各选区的政客回归常识而非转向极端。
But remember, none of this happens on its own.
但是我们要牢记，所有这些目标的实现都不会是自然而然的。
All of this depends on our participation;
所有这些都取决于我们每个人的参与，
on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.
取决于无论政治风向如何变动，我们都能够承担公民责任。