巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)于2009年1月20日宣誓就职美国第44任总统。以下是奥巴马总统就职演说的中译文，由美国国务院国际信息局(IIP)根据演说记录稿翻译。
巴拉克·奥巴马总统就职演说
2009年1月20日星期二
华盛顿哥伦比亚特区
(Washington,D.C.)
我的同胞们：
我今天站在这里，我们面临的任务使我谦逊，我感谢你们的信任，我会谨记我们的祖辈所承受的牺牲。我感谢布什总统为我们国家作出的服务，感谢他在过渡期间所展示的慷慨与合作。
如今已有44位美国人宣誓成为总统。这些誓言曾在繁荣的高潮以及平静时期说过。然而，这些誓言也常常会遭遇愁云惨雾和狂风暴雨。在这些时刻，美国继续前进，这不仅是因为那些身居高位者的技巧或者远见，而且因为我们的人民仍然终于祖辈们的理念，并忠于我们的立国文件。
一直如此。这一代的美国人也必须如此。
我们都明白我们现在处于危机当中。我们的国家处于战争状态，与一个影响深远的、暴力与仇恨的网络作战。我们的经济遭到严重削弱，这是部分人贪婪和不负责任的后果，但也因为我们作为一个集体没能作出艰难选择，为新时代作好准备。有人失去了家园；就业减少；企业倒闭。我们的医疗过于昂贵；我们的学校有太多缺陷；每一天都有更多证据证明我们使用能源的方法助长了我们的敌人，威胁了我们的地球。
这些是危机的指示灯，可以用数据和统计说明。不那么容易衡量的、但同样深刻的是我国信心的削弱——一种焦灼，担心美国的衰退是一种必然，而且下一代必须降低期望。
今天，我要告诉你们，我们面临的挑战是真实的。它们是严重的，而且数量众多。我们无法轻易解决它们，无法在短期内解决它们。但知道这一点，美国——它们将得到解决。
今天，我们聚集在一起，是因为我们选择希望而不是选择恐惧，选择团结目标而不是冲突和不协调。
今天，我们宣布结束琐碎的委屈、虚伪的承诺、互相揭丑、陈旧的教条，这些东西扼杀我们政治的时间太长久了。
我们仍然是一个年轻的国家，但摆脱幼稚的时机已经来临。重申我们持久的精神，选择更好的历史，弘扬祖祖辈辈薪火相传的崇高理念和珍贵礼物的时机已经到临：人人生而平等，生而自由，都应该获得机会追求充分的幸福。
在重申我们国家的伟大的时候，我们明白这种伟大并非既定。它是必须争取的。这不是怯懦者走的路，不是喜欢悠闲甚于工作的人所走的路，不是只寻求名利的人所走的路。带领我们走过漫长崎岖的繁荣与自由之路的，是冒险家、实干家、创造者——他们有些是名人，当更多的是默默劳动的男人和女人。
为了我们，他们带着为数不多的财产，远渡重洋寻求新生活。
为了我们，他们在血汗工厂辛苦工作，在西部定居；忍受鞭子的抽打，耕耘坚硬的土地。
为了我们，他们在康科德和盖茨堡、诺曼底和溪山（Khe Sanh）等地方战斗，死亡。
这些男人和女人一次又一次地奋斗、牺牲，工作到双手疼痛，以便让我们过上更美好的生活。他们认为美国大于我们个人野心的总和，大于出身、财富或派别的差异。
这是我们今天要继续的旅程。我们仍然是地球上最繁荣最强大的国家。我们的工人的生产能力并不弱于危机开始时。我们的心灵同样善于创新，我们的商品和服务和上周、上月、去年一样受欢迎。我们的能力不减。但我们固执、保护狭隘利益以及推搪不愉快的决定的时光肯定成为过去。从今天开始，我们必须从跌倒中起来，拍拍灰尘，再次开始重塑美国。
处处都有工作要做。经济状况需要果断迅速的行动，我们不仅仅要行动起来创造新就业，而且要为增长铺垫新基础。我们将修建道路与桥梁，电网、数字线，帮助我们的商业，让我们联系在一起。我们将给科学恢复应有的地位，并运用技术的奇迹提高医疗的质量，降低成本。我们将利用太阳能、风能和土壤的能力为我们的汽车和工厂提供燃料。我们将改造我们的学校、学院和大学，满足新时代的要求。所有这些我们都是可以做的。而且所有这些我们都将会做。
如今，有人质疑我们的雄心——他们认为我们的制度无法容忍太多的大计划。他们的记忆太短暂。他们忘了这个国家已经做过什么；当想象力与共同的目标、必要的勇气结合，自由的男人和女人可以实现什么。
愤世嫉俗者不明白他们脚下的大地已经改变——消耗我们这么长时间的陈旧政治论据不再适用。我们今天要说的问题不是关于政府太大或者太小，而是它是否有效——它能否帮助家庭寻找到薪水不错的工作，提供他们可以负担得起的医疗，以及有品质的退休生活。哪里能提供肯定的答案，我们就往哪走。哪里提出否定的答案，计划就将中止。而且我们这些管理公共财产的人将要负起责任，明智地花钱，改革坏习惯，在阳光下做事——因为只有这样，我们才能重塑民众与重负之间至关重要的信任。
我们眼前的问题也不是市场是一股善的力量还是恶的力量的问题。它创造财富与扩大自由的能力无与伦比，但这次危机提醒我们，如果不加以监督，市场可能失控，而且如果它只偏爱有钱人，国家就不能长久繁荣。我们经济的成功不是取决于我们GDP的规模，而是取决于繁荣的可及范围；取决于我们为每一位愿意做事的人拓展机会的能力——这不是处于慈善，而是因为这是达到共同利益的最稳健途径。
至于我们共同的防务，我们拒绝在安全与理想之间作出虚假的选择。我们的国父面对我们难以想象的危险，起草了一份确保法治和人权的宪章，一份以世代人的鲜血扩展的宪章。那些理想仍然照亮着世界，我们不会为了权宜而放弃它们。今天正在观看我们的所有人和政府，从最宏伟的首都到我们父辈出生的小村庄，要知道美国是每一个国家，每一个寻求和平与尊严的未来的男人、女人和儿童的朋友，要知道我们准备再次领导。
回想起降服法西斯和共产主义的先辈们，他们可不仅仅是用导弹和坦克实现目的的，而是通过坚固的同盟以及持久的信念而实现的。他们明白，仅凭我们的力量不足以保护我们，也不足以让我们随心所欲。相反，他们知道我们的力量透过谨慎的应用而增长；我们的安全来自我们事业的正义性，来自我们作为榜样的力量，谦卑与克制的品质。
我们是这些遗产的维护者。再一次遵循这些原则的指引，我们可以应对那些新威胁——要解决这些威胁需要付出更大努力，甚至需要国与国之间更大的合作和谅解。我们将开始负责任地把伊拉克留给它的人民，在阿富汗缔造来之不易的和平。和老朋友及前对手一起，我们将努力消除核威胁，抵挡全球变暖的幽灵。我们不会为我们的生活方式道歉，也不会在防务方面动摇，对那些寻求通过引诱恐怖主义和屠杀无辜者的人，我们要说，现在我们的精神更加强大、牢不可破了；你们不会活得比我们长久，我们将击败你们。
因为我们知道我们混杂的遗产是一种优势，而非弱点。我们是一个由基督徒、穆斯林、犹太教徒、印度教徒以及非信徒组成的国家。我们的各种语言和文化来自地球的每个角落；而且因为我们应尝过内战和种族隔离的苦，我们只能认为古老的仇恨终将过去；部族的界限应该很快消散；随着世界变得更小，我们共同的人性应该自然展现；美国必须扮演迎接新和平时代的角色。
对穆斯林世界，我们寻求新的、基于共同利益和相互尊重的前进方式。至于全世界那些寻求播下冲突种子、或者把社会弊病归咎于西方的领导人，你们要知道你们的人民将会根据你能建设的而不是根据你们所摧毁的来评价你们。至于那些透过腐败、谎言以及镇压异见坚持掌权的人们，你们要知道你们站在历史的错误一边；但如果你们愿意松开拳头，我们愿意向你们伸出手。
对穷国的人们，我们承诺会与你们一起，让你们的农场繁茂，碧水长流；滋养挨饿的躯体，喂饱饥渴的心灵。对那些和我们一样相对富裕的国家，我们要说，我们再也不会对国界之外的苦难无动于衷；我们也不能不顾后果地消耗世界的资源。世界在改变，我们必须随之改变。
我们在考虑前路的时候，我们要记得谦卑地感激那些在非常时刻于遥远的沙漠及山区巡逻的、勇敢的美国人。和那些已经躺在阿林顿国家公墓里的逝去英雄一样，他们今天要告诉我们一些东西。我们尊重他们不仅是因为他们是我们的自由的捍卫者，而且因为他们是服务精神的化身；他们愿意寻求大于自身的意义。而且，在这个时刻，在这个将定义一代人的时刻，这种精神正是我们所有人所必须具备的。
政府可以做而且必须做很多事情，但国家最终仰赖的是美国人民的信念与决心。帮助我们走过最黑暗时刻的，是在决堤时拉住陌生人的善意，是工人情愿减少自己的时间也不愿意看到朋友失去工作的那种无私。最终决定我们命运的，是消防员冲上充满烟雾的楼梯的勇气，是父母培养孩子的意愿。
我们的挑战可能是新的。我们迎接挑战的工具可能是新的。但我们的成功所仰赖的那些价值——辛勤工作和诚实、勇气和公平竞争、宽容和好奇、忠诚与爱国——这些是不变的。这些是真实的。纵观我们的历史，它们是一股安静的推动力。我们回归这些真理。我们现在所需要的是一个新的责任时代——每一位美国人的一种承认，承认我们对我们自己、我们国家、这世界的责任，承认且乐意接受任务，坚定地认识到，没有什么比交给我们全体一项艰巨任务更能满足这种精神，定义我们的性格。
这是公民的价值与承诺。
这是我们信心的来源——知道上帝召唤我们塑造不可预测的命运。
这是我们的自由与信条的意义——这是各种族各个信仰的男人、女人和儿童可以一起在这个宏伟的广场庆祝的原因，这是一个在不到六十年前、其父亲还不能在当地餐馆工作的人之所以能在你们面前宣读最神圣誓言的原因。
因此，让我们以怀念纪念这个日子，回想我们是谁，我们走过了多远。在美国诞生那年，在最寒冷的日子里，一小群爱国者在冰冷河岸将熄的火堆旁蜷成一团。首都放弃了。敌人在推进。雪上沾染着血迹。在我们的革命最成问题的时刻，我们的立国之父下令向人们传达这些话：
“让未来的世界知道……在隆冬时节，只有希望和美德可以存活下去……这个城市与这个国家，被共同的危险警醒，走出来应对（它）。”
在我们共同的危险面前，美国处于困难的冬季，让我们记住这些永恒的话。带着希望与美德，让我们再次挑战冰流，经受可能前来的风暴。让我们孩子的孩子可以说，当我们受到考验的时候，我们拒绝结束旅程，我们没有走回头路，也没有动摇；放眼地平线，凭着上帝的恩典，我们背负自由这种伟大礼物前行，并把它安全地交付给后代。
谢谢大家。上帝保佑你们。上帝保佑美利坚合众国。
Obama's inaugural speech
(CNN) -- Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech.
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 forebearers, 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. Watch the full inauguration speech »
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
"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.
