总统就职演说:美国40任总统罗纳德·里根第一次就职演讲(3)
So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government not the other way around.
在我们向复兴美国开始迈步之际，先让我们看看我们的实际情况。
And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth.
我们是一个拥有政府的国家 而不是一个拥有国家的政府。
Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people.
这一点使我们在世界合国中独树一帜，
It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.
我们的政府除了人民授予的权力，没有任何别的权力。现在是制止并扭转政府机构和权力膨胀的时候了，因为种种迹象表明，这种膨胀已超过人民的意愿。
It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people.
我想要做的是限制联邦政府的规模和权力，并要求大家承认联邦政府被授予的权力同各州或人民保留的权利这两者之间的区别。
All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.
必须提醒我们大家注意：不是联邦政府创立了各州，而是各州创立了联邦政府。
Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government.
因此，请不要误解，我不是要取消政府，
It is, rather, to make it work-work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back.
而是要它发挥作用–同我们一起合作，而不是凌驾于我们之上；同我们并肩而立，而不是骑在我们的身上。
Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.
政府能够而且必须提供而不是扼杀机会，能够而且必须促进而不是抑制生产力。
If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth,
多年来我们能取得巨大成就，获得世界上任何一个民族未曾获得的繁荣昌盛
it was because here, in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before.
原因是在这片土地上我们比以往任何时候都最大程度地发挥人的潜能和个人的天才；
Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.
这里比任何其他任何地方更容易得到、更可以保证个人的自由和尊严。
The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.
得到这种自由所付出的代价有时相当昂贵，但我们从没不愿意付出这种代价。
It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government.
我们目前困难的制造者是政府不必要和过度膨胀对我们生活的干预和侵扰，这不是偶然的巧合。
It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.
我们应该真正认识到我们是一个伟大的国家，不能自囿于小小的梦想，
We are not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline.
我们不像有些人要我们相信的那样注定要不可避免地衰落，
I do not believe in a fate that will all on us no matter what we do.
我不相信我们命该如此，无论我们做什么都不能改变那些人描绘的宿命，
I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.
但我相信，如果我们什么也不做，我们将的确命该如此。
So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal.
为此，让我们以我们拥有的一切创造力来开创一个国家复兴的时代吧。
罗纳德·威尔逊·里根(Ronald Wilson Reagan)于1911年2月6日生于美国伊利诺伊州坦皮科城。美国杰出的右翼政治家，曾担任第33任加利福尼亚州州长，第40任（第49-50届）美国总统（1981-1989年）。
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