柯林頓的第二次就職演說

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柯林頓的第二次就職演說(中英文對照)

January 20, 1993, Inaugural Address of William J. Clinton (柯林頓1993年就職演講)

My fellow citizens :(同胞們)

Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal.

今天,我們慶祝振興美國這件令人感到異常驚奇的事。

This ceremony is held in the depth of winter. But, by the words we speak and the faces we show the world, we force the spring. A spring reborn in the

world's oldest democracy, that brings forth the vision and courage to reinvent America.

儘管這個儀式在隆冬舉行,但是,我們所說的話,我們向全世界所顯示的面貌,將促使春天的早日來臨。春天重新降臨到這個世界上最古老的民主國家,它給我們帶來了重新塑造美國的構想和勇氣。

When our founders boldly declared America's independence to the world and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, would have to change. Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals; life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Though we march to the music of our time, our mission is timeless. Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American.

當我們的締造者們大膽地向全世界宣布美國的獨立,向上帝宣布我們的目的時,他們知道,美國要長久地存在下去,就必須改革。我們不是為改革而改革,而是為了保持美國的理想——生活、自由和追求幸福。雖然我們伴隨著時代的樂曲前進,我們的使命卻是永恆的。每一代美國人都必須明確作為一個美國人意味著什麼。

On behalf of our nation, I salute my predecessor, President Bush, for his

half-century of service to America. And I thank the millions of men and women whose steadfastness and sacrifice triumphed over Depression, fascism and Communism.

我的前任布希總統為美國服務了半個世紀,在此,我代表我們的國家向他致以崇高的敬意。

Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the Cold War assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues.

我還要向千百萬人民表示感謝,他們以堅定的信念和犧牲戰勝了經濟蕭條、法西斯主義。今天,在冷戰的陰影下成長起來的一代人在世界上已肩負起新的責任。這個世界雖然沐浴在自由的陽光下,但仍然面臨著舊的仇恨和新的災禍的威脅。

Raised in unrivaled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant wages, increasing inequality, and deep divisions among our people.

我們在無與倫比的繁榮中成長,繼承了一個仍然是世界上最強大經濟,但是,商業失敗、工資停滯、不平等加劇,以及我們自己的人民四分五裂,削弱了這個經濟。

When George Washington first took the oath I have just sworn to uphold, news traveled slowly across the land by horseback and across the ocean by boat. Now, the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast instantaneously to billions around the world.

當喬治華盛頓第一次發出我剛才宣誓信守的誓言時,訊息緩慢地通過騎馬傳遍大陸和乘船漂洋過海。而今,這個儀式的情景和聲音可以立即向全世界數十億人廣播。

Communications and commerce are global; investment is mobile; technology is almost magical; and ambition for a better life is now universal. We earn our livelihood in peaceful competition with people all across the earth.

通訊和商業是全球性的,投資是流動性的,技術幾乎是神秘的,而要求改善生活的強烈願望是全世界人民共同的。今天,我們美國人是和全世界人民在和平競爭中謀求我們的生計。

Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and the urgent question of our time is whether we can make change our friend and not our enemy.

各種根深蒂固和強大的勢力正在動搖和重新塑造我們的世界。我們時代迫切需要解決的問題是,我們能否使改革成為我們的朋友,而不是我們的敵人。

This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans who are able to compete and win in it. But when most people are working harder for less; when others cannot work at all; when the cost of health care devastates families and threatens to bankrupt many of our enterprises, great and small; when fear of crime robs law-abiding citizens of their freedom; and when

millions of poor children cannot even imagine the lives we are calling them to lead, we have not made change our friend.

儘管這個新的世界已經使千百萬能夠在其中競爭並取勝的美國人富裕起來了,但是,在大多數人更加拚命地工作而收入卻在減少的時候,在還有人根本找不到工作的時候,在衛生保健費用使許多人傾家蕩產、使大大小小的企業行將倒閉的時候,在恐懼犯罪而使奉公守法的公民喪失自由的時候,在千百萬貧困兒童甚至難以想像我們正召喚他們去過的那種生活的時候,我們卻還沒有使改革成為我們的朋友。

We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps. But we have not done so. Instead, we have drifted, and that drifting has eroded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence.

我們知道,我們必須正視嚴酷的現實並且採取有力的措施,但是,我們沒有這樣做。相反,我們所奉行的是放任自流的政策,這種政策已經削弱了我們的力量,破壞了我們的經濟,動搖了我們的信心。