奥巴马告别演讲 | 我们应用辛劳去追逐个人梦想和自由，团结一致且实现更高目标（中英双语、附视频）

导语：1月10日，美国总统奥巴马在芝加哥市发表告别演说。棕榈小编分享这篇长演讲，不仅想让同学们作为练习英语听力的材料，更想让大家了解真实的美国。来一个陌生的国度读书，首先要了解这个国家的文化与精神。在这篇演讲里，奥巴马从医疗保险、种族和移民、少数族裔、环境保护和恐怖袭击等方面回顾了他8年白宫生涯。由于篇幅较长，我们节选了部分演讲内容。

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=t0365yykssj&width=500&height=375&auto=0

* 视频时间较长，建议在wifi环境下观看。

* 建议打开视频后，听英文（尽量不要看视频中的中文翻译，向下拉看英文原文，如有听不懂的地方可以回到视频看中英文翻译。）

I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties, still trying to figure out who I was; still searching for a purpose to my life. It was in neighborhoods 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. This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it.

我二十多岁的时候来到芝加哥，那个时候我还在探求我是谁，人生的意义是什么。就在离此处不远的社区，我开始和教会一道工作，当时正处于钢厂面临关闭的阴影之中。就在这些街区，我见证了工人阶级面临困苦和失落时表现出来的信仰的力量和平静的尊严。在这里我学到，只有普通人参与进来，团结一心，才能带来改变。

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.

做总统八年后，我仍然相信这一点。这不仅是我的信仰，这是全美国人的心声，是我们在民主制度中的大胆尝试。

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.

这是一种信念，我们生来平等，造物主赋予我们不可剥夺的权利，有生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。

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.

这是一种坚持，这些不证自明的权利从来都不能不劳而获，我们的人民，通过民主这一工具，能够构建更完美的合众国。

This is the great gift our Founders gave us. The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, toil, and imagination – and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a greater good.

这是赐予我们的礼物，我们拥有用汗水、辛劳和想象力去追逐我们的个人梦想和自由，同时也承担有团结一致，实现更高目标的义务。我们的国家并不是一开始就是完美的，但是我们已经展示出了改变的能力，并为每一位追随者提供更好的生活。

For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. 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, pushed women to reach for the ballot, 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.

240年来，国家对公民的呼唤给予每一代人工作和目标。这促使爱国者们选择了共和而非暴政，让先驱们开拓西部，让奴隶们勇敢地争取自由。这吸引了五湖四海以及格兰德河对面的移民和难民，让女性有了投票权，让工人们组织起来。这也是美国大兵何以在奥马哈海滩，在硫磺岛，在伊拉克，在阿富汗抛头颅洒热血，从赛尔玛到石墙的男男女女为何也准备牺牲自己的生命。

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.

这就是我们为什么说美国与众不同。并非我们的国家从一开始就完美无缺，而是我们表现出推动变革、让追随我们的人生活更美好的能力。

Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard, contentious and sometimes 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.

是的，我们的进步并不均衡，民主工作也一直很艰难，同时存在一定的争议，并且有时是血腥的。每向前迈两步，给人的感觉往往是还要往后退一步。但是美国在漫长的发展过程中，我们一直锐意进取，不断拓宽我们的信条，去拥抱所有，而不仅仅是其中一部分。

In ten days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy:  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.

十天后，世界将会见证我们民主的一个标志：通过自由选举，将总统的权利和平地移交给下一位总统。我向当选总统特朗普承诺，我会为他提供最平稳的过渡，就像布什总统之前为我做的一样。因为我们所有人都需要确保政府可以帮助我们应对目前面临的诸多挑战。

We have what we need to do so.  After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth.  Our youth and drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention mean that the future should be ours.

我们需要去应对这些挑战，因为我们仍然是地球上最富有、最强大也最受尊重的国家，我们的青年和发展动力，我们的多样性和开放程度，我们应对风险和进行革新的能力，都在向我们表明未来应该是属于我们的。

But that potential will be realized only if our democracy works.  Only if our politics reflects the decency of the our people.  Only if all of us, regardless of our party affiliation or particular interest, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now. 

但是，只有我们保持民主这些潜力才会发挥出来。只有当我们的政治反映出人民的正直，只有我们所有人，不论党派关系或特殊利益，都有助于推动我们实现共同目的的渴望时，这些潜力才会发挥出来。

That’s what I want to focus on tonight – the state of our democracy.

这就是我今晚要说的——我们的民主。

Understand, democracy does not require uniformity.  Our founders quarreled and compromised, and 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 are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.

民主不需要同一性，我们的领袖会争吵，会妥协，但他们知道民主需要一种基本的团结意识，虽然我们存在各种差异，但我们仍要团结一致，共同进退。

There have been moments throughout our history that threatened to rupture that solidarity.  The beginning of this century has been one of those times.  A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic change and the specter of terrorism – these forces haven’t just tested our security and prosperity, but 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. 

历史上总会有一些时刻会威胁到这种团结，本世纪便是这样的时刻：世界不断变小，不平等持续扩大，人口变化以及恐怖主义蔓延，这些因素不只是对我们国家安全和经济繁荣的考验，也是对我们民主的考验。我们如何来应对这些挑战，将决定我们是否有能力教育好我们的孩子，创造优质的工作，并保护我们的家园。

In other words, it will determine our future.

换言之，这决定着我们的未来。

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.

我们可以对如何更好实现这些目标达成一致。但我们不能因为这些目标就感到自满。如果我们不为所有人创造机会，阻碍进步的背叛和分裂只会更甚。

There’s a second threat to our democracy – one as old as our nation itself.  After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America.  Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. 

我们的民主还有另一种威胁，这种威胁和我们的国家一样悠久。我当选后，有人说美国进入后种族时代，尽管愿望是好的，但是却不太可能真正实现。

For race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.  I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were ten, or twenty, or thirty years ago – you can see it not just in statistics, but in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.

目前，种族问题仍然是一个可能造成社会分裂的重大问题。以我长期经历来看，如今美国社会的种族问题比二三十年前有了较大改善，这种社会进步不仅仅体现在统计数字中，也可以从不同政治观念的年轻一代美国人的态度中看出来。

But we’re not where we need to be.  All of us have more work to do.  After all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves.  

但是，我们的工作还远远没有结束。我们每个人都还有很多工作去做。如果每个经济问题都通过勤劳的美国中产阶级与少数族群之间的冲突来解读，那么各个种族的工人阶级将为一点点蝇头小利争得头破血流，而那些富人会进一步缩进他们自己的小圈子。

If we decline to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we diminish the prospects of our own children – because those brown kids will represent a larger share of America’s workforce.  

如果我们仅仅因为移民后裔长得不像我们，就拒绝给这些孩子投资，那我们也是在牺牲美国人后代的希望，因为这些移民后裔未来会在美国工薪阶层占很大比例。

And 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.Going forward, we must uphold laws against discrimination – in hiring, in housing, in education and the criminal justice system.  That’s what our Constitution and highest ideals require.  But laws alone won’t be enough.  Hearts must change.  

我们的经济不见得非要成为零和游戏。去年，所有种族、年龄段和性别的收入都得到增长。未来，我们必须高举反歧视的法律旗帜，在雇佣、住房、教育和司法体制方面推行平等。这是我们的宪法和最高理想的要求。但只有法律还不够，心底必须发生变化。

If our democracy is to work in this increasingly diverse nation, each one of us must try to heed the advice of one of the great characters 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.”

如果民主要在这个日益多元化的国度运转，我们每一个人必须听从美国小说中一个伟大人物阿提克斯·芬奇的话，他说，“你不从别人的角度思考，永远也不会理解别人，你必须钻到他的皮囊里，贯通其中。”

For blacks and other minorities, it means tying our own struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face – the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender American, and also the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change. 

对于黑人和其他少数族群而言，这意味着共同奋斗来解决许多美国人面临的问题，这不仅仅包括难民、移民、农村的穷人和变性人，也包括那些看上去享受各种社会优待的中年男性白人，他们也面临经济、文化和科技变革的颠覆性挑战。

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; that when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our Founders promised. 

对于美国白人而言，这意味着承认奴隶制的影响，承认黑鬼不是在六十年代就突然消失了。要明白，当少数群体表达不满时，他们不只是反对种族主义或要求政治正确，他们进行和平抗议时，他们不是要求获得优待，而是获得国父们承诺他们的平等待遇。

For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, Italians, and Poles.  America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; they embraced this nation’s creed, and it was strengthened. 

对于土著美国人而言，这意味着提醒我们自己，今天我们所说的移民以前就是爱尔兰人、意大利人和波兰人。美国不会被后来者削弱，他们认同这个国家的信条，这个国家就会繁盛。

We have to try harder; 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 like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.

我们必须更加努力，前提是所有公民都和我们一样爱这个国家，他们也珍视勤劳和家庭，他们的孩子也充满好奇，满怀希望，值得被爱。

None of this is easy.  For too many of us, it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods or college campuses or places of worship or our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. 

所有这一切都并不容易。对我们太多人而言，躲进自己的泡泡中似乎更安全——我们的邻居、大学校园、祈祷的地方还是社交媒体推送，周遭都是看起来像我们的人，都有同样的政治观点，从来也不要有人挑战我们。

Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we’ve halved our dependence on foreign oil, doubled our renewable energy, and led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet.

说说气候变化。不足八年间，我们对外国石油的依赖减半，可再生能源翻倍，我们领导世界达成协议，承诺拯救这个行星。

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: environmental disasters, economic disruptions, and waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary.

但若非采取更勇敢的行动，我们的孩子就没时间讨论气候变化存在与否了；他们只能奔波于应对后果：环境灾难、经济破坏、气候难民潮。

Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to the problem.  But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations; it betrays the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our Founders.

现在，我们可以也应该争取这一问题的最好解决办法。但干脆否认问题的存在是对子孙的背叛。这背叛了创新的基本精神，背叛了指引我们国父解决问题的实用态度。

It’s 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 that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket.

正是这种源于启蒙运动的精神，让我们成为经济强国，这种精神在小鹰号航母和卡纳维拉尔角空军基地起飞，这种精神治愈了疾病，让计算机装进每个人的口袋。

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, and build a post-World War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power or national affiliations but on principles – the rule of law, human rights, freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, and an independent press.

正是这种精神——对理智和奋进的信仰，相信权利大于实力——让我们在大衰退中抵御了法西斯主义和暴政的诱惑，和其他民主国家一道构建二战后秩序，这一秩序不仅基于军事实力或民族归属，还基于原则，这些原则是法治、人权、宗教自由、言论自由、集会自由和新闻自由。

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, open democracies, and civil society itself as a threat to their power.

这种秩序正在遭遇挑战，首先是自称代表伊斯兰的暴力极端者 ，最近还有把自由市场、开放民主和公民社会本身视作他们权力威胁的外国独裁者。

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 propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what’s true and what’s right.

对我们民主的危险彼一个汽车炸弹或一枚导弹的影响更深远。那代表着对变革的恐惧；代表着对那些看起来不同、观点不同、信仰不同的人的恐惧；代表着对让领导者担责的法治的蔑视，代表着对不同政见和自由思想不能容忍；代表着认为剑、枪、炸弹或宣传机器就是真理和正义的最终仲裁者。

Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, and the intelligence officers, law enforcement, and diplomats who support them, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years; and although Boston and Orlando remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever.

正是因为穿军装的男男女女、情报人员、执法人员和外交人员的非凡勇气，过去八年中，没有任何一个境外恐怖主义组织成功地在美国本土上计划并执行一次恐怖袭击。尽管波士顿马拉松炸弹袭击以及圣博娜迪诺袭击事件提醒我们，极端主义多么危险，我们的执法机关比以往任何时候都更加高效和警惕。

We’ve taken out tens of thousands of terrorists – including Osama 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.  To all who serve, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your Commander-in-Chief.

我们铲除了数万名恐怖分子，其中包括拉登。我们领导打击伊斯兰国的全球联盟，铲除了他们的领导人，收复半数国土。伊斯兰国必将灭亡，对美国造成威胁的任何人都永远不得安宁。对所有巨人而言，成为你们的总司令是我一生的荣耀。

But protecting our way of life requires more than 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.

但保护我们的生活方式不仅靠军队。我们向恐惧低头，民主就会屈服。只有我们每个公民必须准备起来应对外来侵略，必须防范让我们所是的价值被弱化。

That’s why, for the past eight years, I’ve worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firm legal footing.  That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, and reform our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties.

这就是为何过去八年中，我选择依靠法制来打击恐怖主义；这也是为何我取缔酷刑，致力于关闭关塔那摩，改革监听法律保护隐私和公民自由。

That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans.  That’s why we cannot withdraw from global fights – to expand democracy, and human rights, women’s rights, and LGBT rights – no matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem.

这就是我为何拒绝其实美国穆斯林；为何我们不能从全球事业中撤退，这些事业包括推动民主、人权、妇女权利和同性恋权利，不论我们的努力有多少缺点，不论无视这些价值有多么貌似有利。

For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism 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.

反对极端主义、偏狭、宗派主义就等于反对独裁和民族入侵。如果自由的广度和对法治的尊崇在全世界收缩，国家内部和国家间战争的可能性增加，我们的自由也最终会受到威胁。

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.  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.

我们准备起来，但不要担忧。伊斯兰国要屠戮无辜的人民。他们却无法打败美国，除非在斗争中我们背弃了宪法和我们的准则。俄罗斯或中国这样的对手不会有我们这样的世界影响力，除非我们放弃我们所代表的，把我们混同于以大欺小的强权。

Which brings me to my final point – our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted.  All of us, regardless of party, should throw ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions.  

这就是我最后要说的——无论何时，我们以为民主理所当然，民主就受到了威胁。我们所有人，无论什么党派，都要致力于重建民主建构。

When voting rates are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should make 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 districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.

既然先进民主国家中，我们的投票率是最低的，我们应该让投票更加容易，而不是更加困难。既然对体制的信任不高，我们应该降低金钱对政治的腐蚀性影响，坚持公务员系统内的透明和伦理准则。既然国会运转不周，我们应该让选取鼓励政客回归常识，不要诉诸极端。

And all of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power swings.

这些都有赖于我们的参与，我们每个人都承担起作为公民的责任，无论权力的钟摆荡向何方。

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 – with our participation, and the choices we make.

我们的宪法是了不起的美丽礼物。但那只是一页羊皮纸，本身没有权力。我们人民赋予它权利，通过我们的参与和我们的选择。

In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “much pains will be taken…to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth;” that we should preserve it 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.

乔治华盛顿在他自己的告别演讲中写道，自治是安全、繁荣和自由的基础，但“只能承担痛苦……弱化我们心灵中的这一信念”，我们应该以“唯恐失去的焦虑”保有这种信念，拒绝“任何分化我们国家或让圣洁的团结不再牢固的企图”，正是这种团结让我们成为一体。

We weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character are turned off from public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are not just misguided, but somehow malevolent.  

如果允许我们的政治对话腐蚀优秀的心灵，让人们弃政府而去，让人们心生怨恨，认为和我们持有不同意见的美国人不仅被误导，甚至还有点恶毒——团结就疏离了。

It falls to each of us to be 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 all share the same proud title:  Citizen.

正是我们每个人应该成为民主热切的卫士，承担不断改善这个伟大国家的任务。因为尽管我们看起来各个不同，我们有一个共同的令人骄傲名称：公民。

Ultimately, 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.

归根到底，这才是我们民主的要求。民主需要你。不仅选举之时，不仅你那一点点利益被触及之时，一生一世都是如此。

If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try to talk with one in real life.  If something needs fixing, 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.  Persevere.  Sometimes you’ll win.  Sometimes you’ll lose.

如果你厌烦了和陌生人在互联网上争吵，试试和现实中的人聊聊。如果有什么需要改变，系紧鞋带，做点什么。如果你对当选官员感到失望，拿起纸板，找人签名，自己去竞选公职。站出来。干起来。坚持住。有时你会赢。有时你会输。

翻译来源 | 环球网

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