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改变,我们可以做到

2009-09-24

知识窗 2009年1期
关键词:亚特兰大安妮孩子

If there is anyone out there who still doubts whether America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time;who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

如果有人怀疑美国是个一切皆有可能的地方,怀疑美国奠基者的梦想在我们这个时代依然燃烧,怀疑我们民主的力量,那么今晚这些疑问都有了答案。

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington-it be-gan in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

我从来不是最有希望的候选人。起初,我们的资金不多,赞助人也不多。我们的竞选并非始于华盛顿的华丽大厅,而是起于德莫奈地区某家的后院、康科德地区的某家客厅、查尔斯顿地区的某家前廊。

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy ; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay andless sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized,and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by thepeopleandforthe people has not perished from thisearth. This is your victory.

劳动大众从自己的微薄积蓄中掏出5美元、10美元、20美元,拿来捐助我们的事业。年轻人证明了他们绝非所谓“冷漠的一代”。他们远离家乡和亲人,拿着微薄的报酬,起早摸黑地助选。上了年纪的人也顶着严寒酷暑,敲开陌生人的家门助选。无数美国人自愿组织起来,充当志愿者。正是这些人壮大了我们的声势。他们的行动证明了在两百多年以后,民有、民治、民享的政府并未从地球上消失。这是你们的胜利。

I know you didn't do this just to win an election, and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you under- stand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime-two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of lraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be creat-ed; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

你们这样做,并不只是为了赢得一场大选,更不是为了我个人。你们这样做,是因为你们清楚未来的任务有多么艰巨。今晚我们在欢庆,明天我们就将面对一生之中最为严峻的挑战——两场战争、一个充满危险的星球,还有百年一遇的金融危机。今晚我们在这里庆祝,但我们知道在伊拉克的沙漠里,在阿富汗的群山中,许许多多勇敢的美国人醒来后就将为了我们而面临生命危险。许许多多的父母会在孩子熟睡后仍难以入眠,他们正在为月供、医药费、孩子今后的大学费用而发愁。我们需要开发新能源,创造就业机会,建造新学校,迎接挑战和威胁,并修复与盟国的关系。

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is

about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

这次大选创造了多项“第一”,诞生了很多将流芳后世的故事,但今晚令我最为难忘的却是一位在亚特兰大投票的妇女:安妮·库波尔。她和无数排队等候投票的选民没有什么差别,唯一的不同是她高龄106岁。

She was born just a generationpast slavery ; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons-because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

在她出生的那个时代,黑奴制刚刚废除。那时路上没有汽车,天上没有飞机。当时像她这样的人由于两个原因不能投票——第一因为她是女性,第二个原因是她的肤色。

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America-the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, wecan.

今天晚上,我想到了安妮在美国过去一百年间的种种经历:心痛和希望,挣扎和进步,那些我们被告知我们办不到的年代,以及我们现在这个年代。现在,我们坚信美国式信念——是的,我们能!

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.

在那个年代,妇女的声音被压制,她们的希望被剥夺。但安妮活到了今天,看到妇女们站起来了,可以大声发表意见了,有选举权了。是的,我们能。

When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land,she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.

安妮经历了上世纪三十年代的大萧条。农田荒芜,绝望笼罩美国大地。她看到了美国以新政、新的就业机会以及崭新的共同追求战胜了恐慌。是的,我们能。

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes. we can.

二战时期,炸弹袭击我们的海港,全世界受到独裁专制威胁,安妮见证了一代美国人的英雄本色,他们捍卫了民主。是的,我们能。

She was there for the busses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes, we can.

安妮经历了蒙哥马利公交车事件、伯明翰黑人暴动事件、塞尔马血腥周末事件。来自亚特兰大的一位牧师告诉人们:我们终将胜利。是的,我们能。

A man touched down on the moon,a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination .And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America,through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes, we can.

人类登上了月球、柏林墙倒下了,科学和想象把世界连在了一块。今年,在这次选举中,安妮的手指轻触电子屏幕,投下自己的一票。她在美国生活了106年,其间有最美好的时光,也有最黑暗的时刻,她知道美国能够变革。是的,我们能。

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much.But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves: If our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see ? What progress will we have made ?

美利坚,我们已经一路走来,我们已经看到了那么多变化,但我们仍有很多事情要做。今夜,让我们问自己这样一个问题:假如我们的孩子能够活到下一个世纪,假如我的女儿们有幸与安妮一样长寿,她们将会看到怎样的改变?我们又取得了怎样的进步?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time-to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to re-claim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't,we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes. we can.

现在,我们获得了回答这个问题的机会。这是我们的时刻,我们的时代。让我们的人民重新就业,为我们的孩子打开机会的大门;恢复繁荣,促进和平;让美国梦重放光芒。再证这一本本性真理,那就是:团结一致,众志成城;一息尚存,希望就在;倘若有人嘲讽和怀疑,说我们不能,我们就以这一永恒信条回应,因为它凝聚了整个民族的精神——是的,我们能!

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