奥巴马总统告别演讲
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Chicago! It’s good to be home! Thank you! Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody sit down. We’re on live TV here. I’ve got to move. come on! You can tell that I’m a lame duck because nobody is following instructions. (Laughter.) Everybody have a seat.
你好，芝加哥！回家的感觉真好！非常感谢。谢谢大家。好的大家都坐下吧，我们正在电视直播呢。可以了！看来我的确是个跛脚鸭总统呢，都没人听我的指示。好了大家都坐下吧。
My fellow Americans — — Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well wishes that we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight, it’s my turn to say thanks. Whether we have seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people, in living rooms and in schools, at farms, on factory floors, at diners and on distant military outposts — those conversations are what have kept me honest, and kept me inspired, and kept me going. And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man.
我的美国同胞们，最近几周，米歇尔和我收到了无数令人感动的祝福，今晚轮到我来表达谢意了。不管我们曾经意见相合还是相左，各位美国同胞，我同你们的每一次对话，不管是在会客厅还是在学校，在农场还是工厂车间，在餐桌上还是在遥远的边哨，这些交流都让我保持真诚，充满斗志，勇往直前。每一天，我都从你们身上学到东西。是你们让我成为一个更好的总统，一个更好的人。
So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early 20s. And I was still trying to figure out who I was, still searching for a purpose in my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss.
我第一次来到芝加哥的时候，还是一个20岁出头的小伙子，试图寻找自我定位，寻找生活的目标。我最初就是在这附近的街区，在一个被关闭的钢厂旁，和教会团体一起工作。我就是在这里的街道上见证了信仰的力量，见证了这些靠双手吃饭的人面对生活的挣扎和失利时展现出的泰然自若。
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
观众：连任！连任！连任！
THE PRESIDENT: I can’t do that.
我不能这样。
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
观众：连任！连任！连任！
THE PRESIDENT: This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.
就是在这里我明白了只有普通人参与其中、热情投入，变革才会真正发生。他们会聚集起来，要求变革。
After eight years as your President, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government. It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.
八年总统生涯之后，我依然相信这一点。这不仅仅是我的信仰。人民自治的大胆试验，这本来就是我们美国梦想一直跳动的脉搏。这是我们的信念，我们相信人人生而平等，造物者赋予我们不可剥夺的权利，包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。我们坚持这些不言自明的权利不会自行生效；我们坚信，我们美国人民通过运用民主，可以组建完美的联盟。
What a radical idea. A great gift that our Founders gave to us: The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat and toil and imagination, and the imperative to strive together, as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.
多么先进的理念啊。我们的国父给予我们最伟大的馈赠：用汗水、辛劳和想象追逐个人梦想的自由，以及共同奋斗、实现更伟大共同利益的责任。
For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation.
240年以来，我们国家对公民使命的召唤使得每一代人都有每一代人的工作和目标。
It’s what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. It’s what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It’s what powered workers to organize. It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima, Iraq and Afghanistan. And why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs, as well.
正是这一召唤引领着爱国者推翻暴政、选择共和，引领着西进运动，引领着勇敢的奴隶们建造通向自由的地下铁路。它也吸引着大批移民和难民越过大洋、越过格兰德河来到这片土地，鼓动女性走向投票站，给工人们以团结的动力。这是为什么美国大兵在奥马哈海滩、硫磺岛战役、伊拉克和阿富汗中挥洒鲜血，为什么从塞尔玛到格林尼治石墙的男男女女也都准备好了，要献出他们的生命。
So that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional — not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change and make life better for those who follow. Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It’s always been contentious. Sometimes it’s been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all and not just some.
这就是为什么我们说美国是一个独特的国家——并不是说我们的国家从一开始就完美无瑕，而是我们有能力做出改变，让追随美国梦的人拥有更好的生活。是的，我们取得的进步并不对每个人来说都是公平的，民主的事业总是艰难的、充满争议的，有时甚至是血腥的。我们前进两步，给人的感觉却是我们退后了一步。但是，美国仍然一直在前进，我们的立国信条会拥抱越来越多的人，拥抱所有人，而不只是部分人。
If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history — — if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11 — — if I had told you that we would win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens — — if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that’s what we did. That’s what you did.
八年前，如果我告诉你们美国会走出衰退，重振汽车工业，实现历史上最长时间的工作增长，如果我告诉你们我们会开启同古巴的新篇章，兵不血刃地停止伊朗核试验、消灭911的幕后元凶，如果我告诉你们我们会实现婚姻平等、为另外2000万同胞提供医保权利——如果我告诉你们所有这些，你也许会说，我们的目标定得太高了。但是我们做到了。这是你们每个人的成就。
You were the change. You answered people’s hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.
你们就是变革本身，你们回应了人民的希望，因为你们，无论从哪个角度看，美国都是一个比原来更美好、更强大的国家。
In 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy.
10天后，世界将再一次见证我们的民主。
AUDIENCE: Nooo —
观众：不——
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, no — the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected President to the next. I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.
不，不，不，不，不——自由选举选出的总统之间，权力交接应当是和平的。我已经向即将就职总统的特朗普先生保证过，我的团队将会尽己所能保证平稳交接，就像当年布什总统将权力交给我时那样。因为我们每个人都有责任保证我们的政府可以继续应对我们仍然面临的诸多挑战。
We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth. Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.
我们拥有这些，我们拥有一切应对挑战的武器。毕竟，我们仍然是这个世界上最富有、最强大、最受尊敬的国家。我们的年轻人，我们的驱动力，我们的多样性和开放性，我们拥有无限的力量去应对风险、实现革新，这些都意味着，未来应该是我们的。但是要释放这些潜力，我们的民主必须运转良好。只有我们的政治变得更好，人民的高尚庄重才能得以体现。只有我们所有人都抛弃党派偏见和私利，才能重建我们目前急需寻找的共同目标。
That’s what I want to focus on tonight: The state of our democracy. Understand, democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued. They quarreled. Eventually they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity — the idea that for all our outward differences, we’re all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.
我今晚想要强调的正是这一点：我们的民主体制。我们的国父说过，民主并不强求一致。他们争论过，最终他们妥协了。他们希望我们亦能如此。但是他们知道民主需要基本的团结意识，需要我们认识到尽管我们外表有差异，我们却是一个整体，我们共兴亡。
There have been moments throughout our history that threatens that solidarity. And the beginning of this century has been one of those times.
历史上，我们国家的团结曾多次受到威胁。在本世纪初，我们的国家就面临了这样的挑战。
A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic change and the specter of terrorism — these forces haven’t just tested our security and our prosperity, but are testing our democracy, as well. And how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids, and create good jobs, and protect our homeland. In other words, it will determine our future.
不断收缩的世界，正在蔓延的不平等、人口的变化和恐怖主义的延伸，这些挑战不仅是对我们国家的安全与繁荣的检验，也是对我们的民主体制的检验。我们怎样应对这些挑战将决定我们是否有能力教育我们的孩子、创造新的就业机会和保卫我们的领土。换句话说，怎样应对挑战将决定我们的未来。
To begin with, our democracy won’t work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity. And the good news is that today the economy is growing again. Wages, incomes, home values, and retirement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again. The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as the stock market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. And I’ve said and I mean it — if anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we’ve made to our health care system and that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it.
首先，我们的民主政体发挥作用的前提是我们承认每个人都在经济发展中享有机会。值得高兴的是今天的美国经济正在增长。薪资水平、房产价值和退休金都在增长。贫困率正在降低。股价实现历史新高，而富裕阶层的交税比例也日趋合理。失业率实现了十年最低。参保比例达到了从未有过的高水平。医疗成本的增长速度实现了半个世纪以来的最低水平。如我之前所说，如果有哪个方案可以实现医疗体系的更大提升，实现以更低成本覆盖更多人群，那么我一定会公开支持这一方案，我当时所说是认真的。
Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points or take credit, but to make people’s lives better.
因为，毕竟，这是我们的工作目标。我们不是为了得到评分或者获取信任，而是要提高人民的生活水平。
But for all the real progress that we’ve made, we know it’s not enough. Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class. That’s the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic ideal. While the top one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families, in inner cities and in rural counties, have been left behind — the laid-off factory worker; the waitress or health care worker who’s just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills — convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful — that’s a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics.
尽管我们取得了很多实质性的进步，但我们知道这些仍不够。我们的经济体运作得不够有效、增长得不够迅速。因为少数人富裕的实现牺牲了不断壮大的中产阶级的利益，切断了底层人群进入中产阶级的路径。这虽是经济方面的争论，但是固化的不公平也正在侵蚀我们的民主理想。当最富裕的1%人群聚敛越来越多的财富，很多城市中心和乡村社区的家庭都被抛在了后面。下岗的工厂工人、服务生和医护人员的生活仅能勉强维持，他们的薪资仅能支持账单偿付。他们相信游戏规则永远于他们不利，他们的政府只为利益群体和权势服务。这些加深了愤世嫉俗的情绪和政治领域的极化。
But there are no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won’t come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle-class jobs obsolete.
但是针对这种长期形成的问题，没有快速解决方案。我同意我们应该在推行自由贸易的同时重视贸易公平。但是其他国家的影响不会是下一次经济危机爆发的原因，持续的自动化发展才会带来这样的后果。自动化将使许多优质岗位上的中产阶级工人被取代。
And so we’re going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need — — to give workers the power to unionize for better wages; to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now, and make more reforms to the tax code so corporations and individuals who reap the most from this new economy don’t avoid their obligations to the country that’s made their very success possible.
因此，我们必须达成一份新的社会契约以保证所有孩子能够接受他们所需的教育，以给予工人联合在一起的力量从而争取更高薪资，以完善社会保障从而使其更加适应我们现在的生活状况，以推进税收改革，从而使那些在我们经济体中攫取最多的公司和个人承担起对国家的义务，因为他们正是仰赖国家才得以取得成功。
We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can’t be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don’t create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.
我们可以就如何才能更好地实现这些目标展开讨论。但是我们不能因这些目标本身而感到自满。因为如果我们不能为所有人创造机会的话，不满和分裂会阻碍我们的进步，并且这种阻力会逐年增强。
There’s a second threat to our democracy — and this one is as old as our nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. Now, I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10, or 20, or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. You can see it not just in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.
我们的民主政体还面临第二道威胁，这一威胁几乎和我们的国家一样古老。我当选总统之后，出现了后种族时代的说法。这样的图景是美好的，但从未实现。种族问题依然是造成我们社会分裂的一股强力。现在，不管有些人持怎样的说法，我的阅历告诉我种族间的关系比10年、20年或30年前都要融洽。你可以从数据中看到这一点，不同政治背景的年轻美国人所持的态度也可以证实这一点。
But we’re not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do. If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce.
但是我们现在所实现的仍不够，我们还应付出更多努力。如果把每个经济问题都视为努力工作的白人中产阶级和不付出劳动的少数群体之间的斗争，那么各个阶层工人的努力都只是徒劳，富裕阶层却得以进一步坚守他们的既得利益。如果我们单凭移民群体的孩子和我们相貌不同便不愿意投资在他们身上，那么我们将同时损害我们自己孩子的前途。因为那些棕色皮肤的孩子将逐渐成为美国劳动力中越来越重要的一部分。
And we have shown that our economy doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women.
经济并不一定是一场零和博弈，这一点已经被证实了。去年，不同种族、年龄和性别群体的收入都实现了增长。
So if we’re going to be serious about race going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination — in hiring, and in housing, and in education, and in the criminal justice system. That is what our Constitution and our highest ideals require.
所以如果我们想要严肃地对待种族问题，我们就应该支持反歧视的相关法律。这些法律包括雇佣、住房、教育和司法体系方面的反歧视。这是我们宪法的要求，也是我们最高理想的要求。
But laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change. It won’t change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction — Atticus Finch — — who said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
但是仅仅依靠法律是不够的。我们必须转变观念，当然这种转变不会在一朝一夕间实现。社会观念的转变一般通过几代人的努力才能完成。但是我们的民主制度将继续在这个多元的国家中发挥作用。而我们每一个人都应该从一部美国小说中的主角身上吸取教训，这一角色是阿提克斯·芬奇，他曾说“除非你站在另一个人的角度考虑问题，除非你爬进他的身体并来回走动，否则你是不会真正了解这个人的。”
For blacks and other minority groups, it means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face — not only the refugee, or the immigrant, or the rural poor, or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who, from the outside, may seem like he’s got advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change. We have to pay attention, and listen.
对于黑人和其他少数群体来说，应该将我们为正义而进行的奋斗同其他群体正面临的挑战联系在一起。这些群体不仅包括难民、移民、城市里的贫穷家庭和跨性别美国人，还包括中年白人，因为他们也许看起来具有优势，但他们同时也正面临经济、文化和技术方面的变革。我们应该关注他们，倾听他们的想法。
For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ’60s — — that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness. When they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment but the equal treatment that our Founders promised.
对于美国白人，这意味着去承认奴隶制度的影响，还有美国黑人不会突然消失在六十年代，当少数群体发出不满的声音，他们不仅正热衷于逆向种族主义，还正在实践政治正确。当他们进行和平示威，他们不是在要求特别待遇，而是我们的建国之父承诺过的平等对待。
For native-born Americans, For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, and Italians, and Poles — who it was said we’re going to destroy the fundamental character of America. And as it turned out, America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this nation’s creed, and this nation was strengthened.
对于本土的美国人来说，对于本土的美国人来说，这代表不断提醒我们自己对于当今赋予移民的刻板印象，就像我们之前逐字地形容爱尔兰人、意大利人和波兰人。 那些宣称要摧毁美国最基本特性的人，最后的结果是美国并没有因为新来的人而削弱，这些新人们加强了拥抱这个国家的信念，这个国家也因此变强了。
So regardless of the station that we occupy, we all have to try harder. We all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.
因此无论我们持什么立场，我们都应该更加努力。我们都应该以这样的认知为出发点：每一个公民都同我们一样热爱着这个国家，同我们一样努力工作、一样重视家庭；他们的孩子也像我们的孩子一样，充满好奇、前途无量并且值得爱护。
And that’s not easy to do. For too many of us, it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. The rise of naked partisanship, and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste — all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable. And increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there.
要做到这一点并非易事。对于很多人来说，躲进我们自己的圈子是更安全的，这些圈子包括我们的邻里、大学校园、教堂或是社交网络，在安全地带我们周围尽是和我们相像、有相同政治立场和从不挑战我们观点的人。赤裸裸的党争、经济和地域方面不断攀升的自满情绪、迎合不同人群造成的媒体间的分裂，这些都使区别对待的做法看起来是自然的，甚至是不可避免的。于是我们在自己的安全地带越来越感到安心，于是我们开始只接受迎合我们的观点，无论这些观点是对是错，而不是接受那些基于现有证据的说法。
And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. But politics is a battle of ideas. That’s how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information, and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter — — then we’re going to keep talking past each other, and we’ll make common ground and compromise impossible.
这一趋势构成了对我们民主体制的第三道威胁。但是政治就是一场有关理念的战斗。我们的民主体制设计便是基于此。在针对医疗方面的争论中，我们为不同目标划分了优先次序并制定了实现它们的不同方案。但是如果没有对底线的坚守和接受新信息的意愿，如果我们不承认我们对手的观点也许是公正的，不承认科学和理性的重要性，那么我们便不能实现真正的沟通，不能相互妥协并建立共同立场。
And isn’t that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on preschool for kids, but not when we’re cutting taxes for corporations? How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It’s not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts; it’s self-defeating. Because, as my mother used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you.
不正是这些因素使人们对政治感到失望的吗？如果政客没有对削减企业税感到不满的话，那我们提议增加对学龄前儿童的支出时，他们凭什么感到愤怒呢？在抨击其他政党腐败的同时，我们怎么能宽宥党内腐败呢？这些行为不只是不诚实，更是对事实的区别对待，是自我毁灭的行径。因为，就像我母亲曾经告诉我的，现实总能让你自食其果。
Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we’ve halved our dependence on foreign oil; we’ve doubled our renewable energy; we’ve led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet. But without bolder action, our children won’t have time to debate the existence of climate change. They’ll be busy dealing with its effects: more environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary.
让我们接受气候变化带来的挑战吧。仅仅八年，我们对国外石油的需求量就削减了一半，可再生能源的产量也翻了一倍。我们领导世界各国达成协议，承诺拯救我们生活的星球。但是如果不坚决地采取行动，我们的孩子将没有时间再讨论气候变化问题是否存在，他们将忙于应对气候变化带来的各种影响——更多的环境问题，更多对经济的阻碍和一拨又一拨寻求美好生活环境的气候移民。
Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country — the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our Founders.
现在，我们可以并且应该讨论解决环境问题的最佳方案。单纯地否认问题的存在是对后人的不负责，是对我们开国元勋的创新与解决实际问题精神的背离，而这一精神是我们国家精神的实质。这一精神起源于启蒙时代。正是这一精神使我们国家成为世界经济的引擎。小鹰镇和卡纳维拉尔角起飞的航天飞机承载的也正是这一精神。在这一精神的指导下，我们治愈了疾病、将智能手机放进了每个人的口袋。
It is that spirit, born of the Enlightenment, that made us an economic powerhouse — the spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral; the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket. It’s that spirit — a faith in reason, and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might — that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression; that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power or national affiliations but built on principles — the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion, and speech, and assembly, and an independent press.
这一精神是一种信念，是对理性、进取心的信念，对权利应始终高于权力的信念，这一信念引导我们在经济萧条时期拒绝了法西斯和专制的诱惑，引导我们在二战后同其他民主政体一起建立了战后秩序。我们建立的战后秩序不仅基于军事力量和国家的团结，更是基于我们坚守的原则——法制、人权、宗教自由、言论自由、集会自由和媒体自由。
That order is now being challenged — first by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets and open democracies and and civil society itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. It represents the fear of change; the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free thought; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what’s true and what’s right.
这一秩序现在正经受挑战。首先，挑战来自号称伊斯兰代言人的狂热暴力分子；如今外国资本中的独裁者将自由市场、开放的民主政体和公民社会视为威胁他们权力的眼中钉，他们开始挑战民主秩序。这两方面远比汽车爆炸和导弹对民主政体带来的威胁要深远。他们带来的威胁源于对变化的恐惧，对不同外表、言行和信仰的恐惧；法治是保证当权者承担责任的手段，他们却蔑视法治，他们对异见和思想自由从来不尊重。他们认为刀枪、炸弹和宣传机器即是正义。
Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, because of our intelligence officers, and law enforcement, and diplomats who support our troops — — no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years. And although Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists — including bin Laden. The global coalition we’re leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders, and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed, and no one who threatens America will ever be safe.
由于军人们的勇气和情报人员、执法力量和外交官们给予他们的支持，在过去的八年，没有任何一个国外恐怖组织得以在我们的领土策划或实施恐怖袭击。尽管在波士顿、奥兰多、圣贝纳迪诺郡和胡德堡发生的悲剧使我们意识到极端主义有多危险，但我们的执法部门也自此变得更加高效、警惕。我们清除了成千上万的恐怖主义者，其中包括本拉登。我们领导的反伊斯兰国全球联盟除掉了他们的首领，他们侵占的土地我们夺取了大约一半。伊斯兰国终将被击毁，从没有哪个对美国造成威胁的人是安全的。
And to all who serve or have served, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your Commander-in-Chief. And we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude.
对于保卫或曾经保卫我们的国家的人，我想对你们说，担任你们的总司令是我一生的光荣。我们每个人都应该向你们表示最真挚的谢意。
But protecting our way of life, that’s not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear. So, just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are.
但是维护我们的生活方式仅靠军事力量是不够的。如果我们屈服于恐惧，民主就会变质。因此作为美国公民的我们应该保持对外来侵犯的警觉，应该捍卫那些决定我们是谁的价值观。
And that’s why, for the past eight years, I’ve worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, reformed our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans, who are just as patriotic as we are.
这就是为什么在过去的八年中，我致力于将坚决打击恐怖主义的行动合法化。这就是为什么我们终结酷刑、致力于关闭关塔那摩监狱并变革与监管相关的法律以保护公民隐私和自由。这就是为什么我坚决反对针对穆斯林美国人的歧视，他们同我们一样热爱这个国家。
That’s why we cannot withdraw from big global fights — to expand democracy, and human rights, and women’s rights, and LGBT rights. No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that’s part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened.
这就是为什么我们不能从全球化中撤身，我们应该发扬民主、人权以及对女性和LGBT群体权利的关注，即使我们现在所做的工作并不完善，即使当面临现实问题时，我们总无暇顾及这些价值观。对极端主义、排斥异己、宗派主义和沙文主义的反抗是反对专制、反对国家主义的一部分。如果在全球范围内对自由和法制的尊重减弱，那么国家间和一国内爆发战争的可能性便会增加，我们自己的自由也就会因此受到威胁。
So let’s be vigilant, but not afraid. ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight.
所以，我们应该保持警觉，而不是充满恐惧。企图滥杀无辜的伊斯兰国永远不能战胜我们，除非我们背离了我们的宪法和基本原则；
Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world — unless we give up what we stand for — — and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors.
俄罗斯和中国这样的对手也不可能与我们匹敌，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. All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote. When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.
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。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。在民众投票率处于发达民主政体中最低水平时，我们应该将实施投票变得更简单而不是更复杂；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、坚持公务透明和基本的道德原则；当国会运作低效时，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. All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.
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。所有这些都取决于我们每个人的参与，取决于无论政治风向如何变动，我们都能够承担公民责任。
Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. We, the people, give it meaning. With our participation, and with the choices that we make, and the alliances that we forge. Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. That’s up to us. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.
宪法是我们无可比拟的、天赋的优势。但这只是我们优势的一部分，因为宪法本身是无力的。是我们、是民众给予了它力量。是我们赋予了它意义。是我们通过参与、我们所做的选择和我们结成的联盟做到这一点的。我们是否坚守自由、是否尊重并贯彻法治决定了宪法的力量。这些都取决于我们。美国并不是一个脆弱的国家，但是我们通向自由的旅程并不是安稳无忧的。
In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken…to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.” And so we have to preserve this truth with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one.
乔治华盛顿在他的告别演讲中提到自治是我们安全、繁荣和自由的支柱。但是由于各种各样的原因，取得自治的道路将是艰难的，会有很多阻碍威胁我们对真理的信念。因此我们应该以嫉妒般的敏感保卫我们的信念，任何分离我们国家、割裂将我们维系的神圣纽带的企图都应该被扼杀在襁褓之中。
America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren’t even willing to enter into public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen not just as misguided but as malevolent.
如果我们允许政治对话变得激烈，以致具备高贵品质的人放弃参与服务民众的工作；如果我们允许政治对话变得粗暴而充满敌意，以致我们的对手被误导而变得不怀好意，
We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others; when we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt, and when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them.
那么我们之间的连结就会被削弱。如果我们认为一部分人比其他人更具备自称美国人的资格，如果我们默认整个系统的腐败是不可避免的，如果我们不详加考量便决定自己的选票，那么我们之间的纽带也会被削弱。
It falls to each of us to be those those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we’ve been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all our outward differences, we, in fact, all share the same proud title, the most important office in a democracy: Citizen. Citizen.
我们每个人都有责任去敏感警惕地捍卫民主；每个人都应该热情洋溢地投身于发展我们伟大的国家这一使命。因为我们的外表也许不同，但我们都被授予了同一头衔：公民。
So, you see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there’s an election, not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life. If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. Show up. Dive in. Stay at it.
民主需要的就是正是这一点。它需要你的参与。你的参与不应仅限于选举，不应仅限于影响你切身利益的事情，你的参与应该贯穿你的一生。如果已经厌烦了同互联网上的陌生人争论，那便和现实中的人交流吧；如果遇到了麻烦，那便系好鞋带去行动吧；如果对自己选出的政客失望，那便抓起纸板、写上你的名字然后亲自参加竞选吧。参与进来、投入进去然后坚持到底。
Sometimes you’ll win. Sometimes you’ll lose. Presuming a reservoir of goodness in other people, that can be a risk, and there will be times when the process will disappoint you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of this work, and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America — and in Americans — will be confirmed.
有时你会成功，有时你将面临失败。假定他人总心怀善意是有风险的，有时你会感到失望。但是对于那些幸运的、得以参与其中一部分工作并见证这些工作得以完成的人来说，他们从中吸取了力量，备受鼓舞。更重要的是，他们对美国、对美国人的信念从中得到了肯定。
Mine sure has been. Over the course of these eight years, I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in a Charleston church. I’ve seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch. I’ve seen wounded warriors who at points were given up for dead walk again. I’ve seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I’ve seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees, or work for peace, and, above all, to look out for each other.
我自己对美国及美国人的信念的确也加强了。这八年，我看到那么多年轻毕业生和新晋军官洋溢着希望的脸庞。我和心碎的、失落的家庭一同悲伤，我也曾在查尔斯顿教堂中蒙恩。我看到我们的科学家帮助一个瘫痪男人重获触感，让受伤的战士恢复行走能力。我看到地震后我们的医生和志愿者们开展重建工作、遏止流行疾病的蔓延。我看到很小的孩子用行动和宽容给予我们警醒——我们身负帮助难民的责任，我们应该为实现和平而努力，最重要的是，我们得爱护彼此。
So that faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change — that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined.
过去的几年，我一直相信普通美国人可以带来改变，这种信念从各个方面使我受益，这在此前是难以预料的。
And I hope your faith has, too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home, you were there with us in 2004, in 2008, 2012 — — maybe you still can’t believe we pulled this whole thing off. Let me tell you, you’re not the only ones. (Laughter.)
我希望你的信念也能使你受益匪浅。今天现场和电视机前的一部分人，在2004、2008、2012年的时候也和我在一起，也许你们到现在也无法相信我们真的做到了。我想告诉你们，不敢相信的不只有你们。
Michelle — — Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the South Side — — for the past 25 years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. You took on a role you didn’t ask for and you made it your own, with grace and with grit and with style and good humor. You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. And the new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. So you have made me proud. And you have made the country proud.
米歇尔！米歇尔·拉范恩·罗宾森，这个来自南部的女孩。在过去的25年里，你不仅是我的妻子，我孩子们的母亲，同时也是我最好的朋友。你担任的角色自己从未设想过，却把它演绎得优雅、勇敢而幽默，颇具自己的风格。你将白宫变成一个欢迎所有人来的地方。新一代人把自己的目标定得更高，因为他们有你作为模范。你让我感到骄傲。你让整个国家为你骄傲。
Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of circumstances, you have become two amazing young women. You are smart and you are beautiful, but more importantly, you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of passion. You wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I’ve done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad.
玛利亚和萨莎，在一种和普通青少年成长环境不同的氛围中，你们成长为两位让人惊艳的少女，智慧而美丽。但更重要的是，你们善良、体贴、充满热情。你们对这些年来外界的关注应付自如。我这一生中最骄傲的事情，就是能做你们的父亲。
To Joe Biden — — the scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware’s favorite son — you were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best. Not just because you have been a great Vice President, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother. And we love you and Jill like family, and your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives.
乔·拜登，从斯克兰顿的一个爱打架的孩子成长为特拉华州最爱的儿子。你是我最早提名的内阁成员，也是最好的。并不仅仅因为你是成功的副总统，更因为在我们共事的过程中，你成了我的兄弟。我们爱你和吉尔有如家人，你的友谊是我们生命中最为珍视的快乐之一。
To my remarkable staff: For eight years — and for some of you, a whole lot more — I have drawn from your energy, and every day I tried to reflect back what you displayed — heart, and character, and idealism. I’ve watched you grow up, get married, have kids, start incredible new journeys of your own. Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. You guarded against cynicism. And the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we’ve done is the thought of all the amazing things that you’re going to achieve from here.
我极为出色的白宫职员们：这八年，你们其中一些人和我共事成长，我从你们身上获得了很多能量，也尝试把每天从你们身上获得的辐射给其他人：爱心、个性和理想主义。我见证你们成长、结婚、生子，并开启属于你们自己的事业。哪怕时事变得艰难，使人受挫，你们也从未被华盛顿的这些破事击倒过。我们一起在这里促成了很多好事，但让我感到更为骄傲的是，从这里起步的你们将会取得更大成就。
And to all of you out there — every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change — you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will be forever grateful. Because you did change the world. You did.
所有支持我的人：每一个搬到自己不熟悉的小镇的组织者，还有那些热情招呼他们进门的家庭，每一个上门游说的志愿者，每一个第一次投票的年轻人，每一位在充满变数的时事中艰难生活的美国人……你们是最好的支持者和组织者，我永远感激你们。是的，你们的确改变了世界，你们做到了。
And that’s why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans, it has inspired so many Americans — especially so many young people out there — to believe that you can make a difference — — to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves.
这是为什么今天我比刚任职时，更为乐观地看待我们国家的未来。因为我知道我们所做的工作不仅帮助了很多人，更激励了很多人，尤其是年轻人。要相信你们可以促成改变，要为比自身更重要的事情而努力奋斗。
Let me tell you, this generation coming up — unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic — I’ve seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, and just, and inclusive America. You know that constant change has been America’s hallmark; that it’s not something to fear but something to embrace. You are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber all of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands.
我想说，这一代年轻人不自私、有创意、爱国。我在美国处处可以见到你们。你们相信美国可以更公平、更公正、更包容；你们了解不断的变化正是美国的特质，我们应该面对而不应该惧怕；你们也愿意去承受推进民主的重任。你们将最终超越我们所有人，我相信国家的未来在你们手中将会更加光明。
My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won’t stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I’m asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.
我的同胞们，能够为你们服务是我的荣幸。我会一直为你们服务。事实上，在我以后的人生中，我会以一位普通公民的身份一直和你们在一起。而现在，无论你年轻与否，作为你们的总统我还有一个请求，八年前你们刚把我选上来时我提出过同样的请求。我请求你们继续保持信念。不是相信我可以带来改变，而是相信你们自己的力量。
I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes, we can.
我请求你们依然坚信在建国时我们写下的信念，那个奴隶和废奴主义者低语过的信念，那个被移民和追求正义的人们吟诵过的信念；我们胜利的星条旗，从国外的战场一路飘扬到月球表面，更加强化了这一信念；它也将会是每一个还未开始书写自己故事的美国人的精神内核。
Yes, we did. Yes, we can.
是的，我们做到了。是的，我们可以做到。
Thank you. God bless you. May God continue to bless the United States of America. Thank you.
谢谢你们。上帝保佑你们，上帝保佑美利坚。谢谢你们。