导读：贝拉克·奥巴马（1961— ）出生于美国夏威夷州火奴鲁鲁，祖籍肯尼亚（The Republic of Kenya）。父亲是一位来自肯尼亚的黑人穆斯林，母亲是堪萨斯州的白人。奥巴马是首位拥有黑人血统，并且童年在非洲成长的美国总统，在不同地方与不同文化背景的人共同生活过。
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
- 拓展学习：小词详解 | adversary
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn — out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
- 拓展学习：小词详解 | dogma
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk — takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor — who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.
- 拓展学习：小词详解 | fame
- 拓展学习：一词多义 | obscure
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified . Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience ’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
- 拓展学习：小词详解 | peril
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve ; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent , know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
- 拓展学习：小词详解 | creed
So let us mark this day with remembrance , of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
- 拓展学习：小词详解 | huddle
“Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it.”
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
同胞们：
我今天站在这里，深感面前使命的重大，深谢你们赋予的信任，并铭记我们前辈所付的代价。我感谢布什总统对国家的贡献以及他在整个过渡阶段给予的大度合作。
至此，有四十四位美国人发表过总统誓言。这些字词曾在蒸蒸日上的繁荣时期和宁静安详的和平年代诵读。但是间或，它们也响彻在阴云密布、风暴降临的时刻。美国能够历经这些时刻而勇往直前，不仅因为当政者具有才干或远见，而且也因为“我们人民”始终坚信我们先辈的理想，对我们的建国理念忠贞不渝。
这是过来之路。这是这一代美国的必由之路。
我们处于危机之中，这一点已得到充分认识。我国在进行战争，打击分布广泛的暴力和仇恨势力。我们的经济严重衰弱，部分归咎于一些人的贪婪不轨，同时也因为我们作为一个整体，未能痛下决心，让国家做好面对新时代的准备。如今，住房不再，就业减少，商业破产。医疗保健费用过度昂贵；学校质量没有保障；而每一天都在不断显示，我们使用能源的方式在助长敌人的威风，威胁我们的星球。
这些是危机的迹象，数据统计将予以证明。不易于衡量然而同样严重的是全国各地受动摇的信心——一种挥之不去的恐惧感，认为美国将不可避免地走下坡路，下一代人不得不放低眼光。
今天，我告诉大家，我们面临的挑战真实存在，并且严重而多重。它们不可能在一个短时间内被轻易征服。但是，美国，请记住这句话——它们将被征服。
我们今天聚集在这里是因为我们选择希望而不是恐惧，选择齐心协力而不是冲突对立。
我们今天在这里宣告，让斤斤计较与虚假承诺就此结束，让窒息我国政治为时太久的相互指责和陈词滥调就此完结。
我们仍是一个年轻的国家，但用圣经的话说，现在是抛弃幼稚的时候了。现在应是我们让永恒的精神发扬光大的时候，应是选择创造更佳历史业绩的时候，应是将代代相传的宝贵财富、崇高理想向前发展的时候：上帝赋予所有人平等、所有人自由和所有人充分追求幸福的机会。
在重申我们国家伟大精神的同时，我们懂得，伟大从非天生，而是必须赢得。我们的历程从来不是走捷径或退而求其次的历程。它不是弱者的道路——它不属于好逸恶劳或只图名利享受的人；这条路属于冒险者，实干家，创造者——有些人享有盛名，但大多数是默默无闻耕耘劳作的男女志士，是他们带我们走向通往繁荣和自由的漫长崎岖之路。
为了我们，他们打点起贫寒的行装上路，远赴重洋，追求新生活。
为了我们，他们在血汗工厂劳作，在西部原野拓荒，忍着鞭笞之痛在坚硬的土地上耕耘。
为了我们，他们奔赴疆场，英勇捐躯，长眠于康科德、葛底斯堡、诺曼底和溪山。
为了我们能够过上更好的生活，他们前赴后继，历尽艰辛，全力奉献，不辞劳苦，直至双手结起层层老茧。他们看到的美国超越了我们每一个人的雄心壮志，也超越了所有种族、财富或派系的差异。
今天，作为后来者，我们踏上了这一未竟的旅程。我们依然是地球上最繁荣、最强大的国家。我们的劳动者的创造力并没有因为眼前的这场危机而减弱。我们的头脑依然像以往那样善于发明创新。我们的产品与服务仍旧像上星期、上个月或去年一样受人欢迎。我们的能力丝毫无损。但是，维持现状、保护狭隘的利益集团、推迟困难抉择的时代无疑已成为过去。从今天起，我们必须振作起来，扫除我们身上的尘土，重新开启再造美国的事业。
无论我们把目光投向何处，都有工作在等待着我们。经济形势要求我们果敢而迅速地行动，我们将不辱使命——不仅要创造新的就业机会，而且要打下新的增长基础。我们将建造道路和桥梁，架设电网，铺设承载我们的商务和把我们紧密相连的电子通信网络。我们将恢复尊重科学的传统，利用高新技术的超常潜力提高医疗保健质量并降低成本。我们将利用太阳能、风力和地热为车辆和工厂提供能源。我们将改造我们的中小学和高等院校，以应对新时代的挑战。这一切我们都能做到。这一切我们必将做到。
现在，有人怀疑我们的雄心壮志——他们说我们的体制不能承受太多的宏伟规划。他们的记忆是短暂的，因为他们忘记了这个国家已经取得的成就，忘记了一旦共同的目标插上理想的翅膀、现实的要求鼓起勇气的风帆，自由的人民就会爆发出无穷的创造力。
那些冷眼旁观的人没有认识到他们脚下的大地已经移动——那些长期以来空耗我们精力的陈腐政治观点已经过时。我们今天提出的问题不是我们的政府太大还是太小，而是它是否行之有效——它是否能够帮助人们找到报酬合理的就业机会，是否能够为他们提供费用适度的医疗保健服务，是否能够确保他们在退休后不失尊严。如果回答是肯定的，我们就要向前推进。如果回答是否定的，计划和项目必须终止。作为公共资金的管理者，我们必须承担责任——明智地使用资金，抛弃坏习惯，在阳光下履行职责——因为只有这样我们才能恢复人民对政府的至关重要的信任。
我们提出的问题也不在于市场力量是替天行道还是为虎作伥。市场在生成财富和传播自由方面具有无与伦比的力量，但这场危机提醒我们：没有严格的监督，市场就会失控——如果一个国家仅仅施惠于富裕者，其富裕便不能持久。我们的经济成功从来不是仅仅依赖国内总产值的规模，而是还依赖繁荣的普及，即为每一位愿意致富的人提供机会的能力——不是通过施舍——因为这才是最可靠的共同富裕之路。
至于我们的共同防御，我们决不接受安全与理念不可两全的荒谬论点。建国先贤面对我们难以想见的险恶局面，起草了一部保障法治和人权的宪章，一部子孙后代以自己的鲜血使之更加完美的宪章。今天，这些理念仍然照耀着世界，我们不会为一时之利而弃之。因此，对于今天正在观看此情此景的其他各国人民和政府──从最繁华的首都到我父亲出生的小村庄──我们希望他们了解：凡追求和平与尊严的国家以及每一位男人、妇女和儿童，美国是你们的朋友。我们已经做好准备，再一次走在前面。
回顾过去，几代人在战胜法西斯主义时依靠的不仅仅是导弹和坦克，更是牢固的联盟和不渝的信念。他们懂得单凭实力无法保护我们的安全，实力也并不赋予我们随心所欲的权利。相反，他们知道审慎使用实力会使我们更强大；我们的安全源于事业的正义性、典范的感召力，以及谦卑和克制的平衡作用。
我们是这一传统的继承者。我们只要重新以这些原则为指导，就能应对那些新威胁，为此必须付出更大的努力──推动国家间更多的合作与理解。我们将开始以负责任的方式把伊拉克移交给伊拉克人民，并在阿富汗巩固来之不易的和平。我们将与多年的朋友和昔日的对手一道不懈努力，减轻核威胁，扭转全球变暖的厄运。我们不会在价值观念上退缩，也不会动摇捍卫它的决心，对于那些妄图以煽动恐怖和屠杀无辜的手段达到其目的的人，我们现在就告诉你们，我们的意志更加顽强、坚不可摧；你们无法拖垮我们，我们必将战胜你们。
因为我们知道，我们百纳而成的传统是一种优势，而不是劣势。我们是一个由基督教徒和穆斯林、犹太教徒和印度教徒，以及无宗教信仰者组成的国家。我们受惠于地球上四面八方每一种语言和文化的影响。由于我们饮过南北战争和种族隔离的苦水，走出了那个黑暗时代并变得更加坚强和团结，我们不能不相信昔日的仇恨终有一天会成为过去；部族之间的界线很快会消失；随着世界变得越来越小，我们共同的人性将得到彰显；美国必须为迎来一个和平的新纪元发挥自己的作用。
面对穆斯林世界，我们寻求一条新的前进道路，以共同利益和相互尊重为基础。对于世界上那些妄图制造矛盾、将自己社会的弊端归罪于西方的领导人，我们奉劝你们：你们的人民将以你们的建设成就而不是你们的毁灭能力来评判你们。对于那些依靠腐败、欺骗、压制不同意见等手段固守权势的人，我们提醒你们：你们站在了历史错误的一边；但只要你们放弃压迫，我们将伸手相助。
对于贫困国家的人民，我们保证同你们并肩努力，为你们的农田带来丰收，让清洁的用水取之不竭；使饥饿的身体得以饱食，使饥渴的心灵受到滋润。对于那些像我们一样比较富裕的国家，我们要说我们再不能对他人的苦难无动于衷，也再不能肆意消耗世界的资源。世界已经改变，我们必须与时俱进。
在思索我们面前的道路时，我们怀着崇敬的心情感谢此刻正在偏远的沙漠和山区巡逻的英勇无畏的美国人。他们有话要说，正如在阿灵顿公墓长眠的阵亡英雄在漫漫岁月中低浅的吟诵。我们崇敬他们，不仅因为他们捍卫着我们的自由，而且因为他们代表着献身精神，体现了超越个人，寻求远大理想的意愿。然而，在这个时刻，这个具有划时代意义的时刻，我们大家必须具备的正是这种精神。
虽然政府能有许多作为也必须有许多作为，但最终离不开美国人民的信仰和决心，这便是我国的立国之本。正是因为人们在大堤崩裂时接纳陌生人的关爱之情，正是因为工人们宁愿减少自己的工时而不愿看到朋友失去工作的无私精神，才使我们度过了最暗淡的时光。正是因为消防队员们有勇气冲进浓烟滚滚的楼道，也正是因为做父母的希望培养一个孩子，我们才能决定最后的命运。
我们面临的挑战可能前所未闻。我们迎接挑战的方式也可能前所未有。然而，我们赖以成功的价值观──诚实和勤奋、勇气和公平、宽容心和探索精神、忠诚和爱国──均由来已久。这些价值观都是千真万确的。这些价值观是我国整个历史过程中一股无声的进步力量。现在需要的便是重归这些真理。我们现在需要做的是开创负责任的新时代──每一位美国人都需要认识到我们对自己、对国家、对全世界都承担着义务。对于这些义务，我们并非勉强接受，而是心甘情愿主动承担，同时坚信我们为艰巨的使命付出一切，没有任何事可以如此满足我们的道义感，也没有任何事能如此体现我们的特性。
这就是公民的义务和承诺。
这就是我们自信的来源──认识到上帝呼唤我们在前途不明的情况下掌握自己的命运。
这就是我们的自由和我们坚守的信条具有的意义──说明了为什么各种族、各类信仰的男女老少能在这个雄伟的大草坪上欢聚一堂，也说明了为什么今天有人能站在这里进行最庄严的宣誓，但不到60年前他父亲在当地餐馆还不能受到接待。
为此，让我们记住这一天，记住我们是什么样的人，记住我们已经走过了多长的路。在美利坚诞生的年月，在那些最寒冷的日子里，为数不多的爱国者聚集在一条冰河的岸边，身旁的篝火即将熄灭。首都已经撤防。敌人正在进军。雪地沾满了斑斑血迹。在我们的革命何去何从，结局最难以估计的时刻，我国的开国元勋决定向人民宣读以下这段话：
“让我们昭告未来的世界……在这个酷寒的冬季，万物萧苏，只有希望和美德坚忍不拔……这个城市和这个国家，受到共同危难的召唤，挺身而出，奋起迎战。”
美利坚。在我们面临共同危难之际，在我们遇到艰难险阻的冬日，让我们牢记这些永恒的话语。心怀希望和美德，让我们再一次不惧严寒，勇为中流砥柱，不论什么风暴来袭，我们必将坚不可摧。今后，让我们的子孙后代如此评说：我们在遇到考验的时候没有半途而废，没有退缩不前，也没有丝毫动摇；让我们全神贯注，高瞻远瞩，感谢上帝对我们的恩典，继承自由这个宝贵的传统，平稳地世代相传。
