影響世界的偉大演講52奧巴馬:偉大的事業在于我們前進的方向(MP3+lrc下載)
Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. To Caroline and the Kennedy family, to all the members of Congress and distinguished guests here tonight,it is an extraordinary pleasure to join you to mark the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. (Applause.) And I can’t think of a better place to do it than here, in a living memorial that reflects not only his love of the arts,but also his recognition of how the arts can help sustain our national strength. (Applause.)
非常感謝,謝謝大家,謝謝。卡羅琳和肯尼迪家族的各位成員、今晚在場的 各位國會議員和尊貴的客人們,非常高興能和大家一起紀念約翰•肯尼迪就任總統 50周年。(掌聲)我想不出一個更好的地方來舉行這次紀念活動,這個紀念場所不 僅反映了他對藝術的熱愛,而且還反映了他對藝術如何推動維持本國國力的認知。(掌聲)
Now, we mark this anniversary with a measure of sadness, as we remember the extraordinary life of Sargent Shriver—(applause)—a man who embodied the spirit of the New Frontier as well as anybody. When a person passes away, there’s often an urge to define their legacy, and find a way in which it will endure. In the case of Sarge,that is not hard to do. His legacy is written in the villages around the world that have clean water or a new school through the Peace Corps. It’s written into the lives of all the children in our own country whose fortunes have been lifted through Head Start. And it will endure in the work of his children who are living out his legacy of service, and our thoughts and prayers are with them tonight.
現在,我們在緬懷薩金特•施萊弗不平凡的一生的同時紀念這個周年,令人不 免感到悲傷——(掌聲)——他同任何一個人一樣,身體力行新邊疆精神。在一個 人逝去的時候,人們總希望對他遺留的東西作出定位,并試圖將其繼承傳揚。對施 萊弗的一生來說,這并不困難。他的遺產就書寫在世界各地的村莊和新的學校里, 那里的人們從美國和平部隊那里獲得了清潔用水;他的遺產寫進了我國孩子們的生活中,那些孩子因為“起跑計劃”而改變了命運。他的子女們繼承了這份為人服務 的遺產,并將通過自己的努力使之永恒。今晚,我們的心和他們連在一起,我們為
One of the remarkable aspects in commemorating the JFK inauguration, in remembering those who were part of his team, like Sargent Shriver, who would help bring Kennedy’s soaring vision to life, is that none of it feels dated. Even now, one half century later, there is something about that day~January 20, 1961—that feels immediate, feels new and urgent and exciting, despite the graininess of the 16-millimeter news reels that recorded it for posterity.
在紀念約翰•肯尼迪就任總統50周年之時,在懷念薩金特•施萊弗等為實現肯 尼迪的宏大生活愿景而努力的隊友之時,人們可以看到這一切都沒有過時。即使是 半個世紀后的現在,那一天——1961年1月20日~仍然讓人感到那么得貼近,那么 得新鮮,那么得緊迫和激動,盡管為后人記錄這一天使用的16毫米新聞膠卷已經老
There he is,the handsome Bostonian, summoning a generation to service and a nation to greatness, in a speech that would become part of the American canon. And there,s the crowd, bundled up for the cold,making their way through streets white with snow, full of expectation. A nation, feeling young again, its mood brightened by the promise of a new decade.
就在那里,一位英俊的波士頓人通過一篇演講,號召一代人為國服務,號召著 整個國家奮發圖強。這則演講后來成為美國準則的一部分。當時那一群人穿著厚厚 的冬衣,充滿期待地在白雪覆蓋的街道上行進。一個國家,青春煥發,它的精神照 亮了希望滿滿的新的十年。
A quick wit with a light touch, he was dealt, in many ways, a fortunate hand at birth. Attending one event, early in his career, where every speaker before him pompously claimed humble roots~things haven’t changed that much—(laughter)— John Kennedy confessed, when he took the podium, that he was—and I quote一“the only fellow here who didn’t come up the hard way.” (Laughter.)
他機智敏捷,從他出生,在很多方面他都很幸運。在從政早期,他曾參加過 一次活動,當時,他前面的所有發言人都大談自己卑微的身世——現在的情況和那他們祈禱時也差不多——(笑聲)——約翰•肯尼迪走上講臺時坦白道,他是——我引用原 話^ “這里唯一一個不是窮苦出身的人” 6 (笑聲)
And yet, it cannot be said that John F. Kennedy lived an easy life. He lost an older brother in the war; a sister shortly thereafter. He nearly lost his own life, too, when a Japanese gunship cut his PT boat in half, casting him into the water, from which he swam a crewmate to safety. Another sister struggled with a severe mental handicap. His own health was so poor that priests pronounced his last rites on several different occasions. And he endured the personal prejudice and political poison of anti-Catholic fervor.
然而,我們并不能說約翰•肯尼迪一生都是一帆風順的。他在戰爭中失去了哥 哥;之后又失去了一個妹妹。他自己也險些喪命,當時一架日本戰機把他的魚雷艇 截成了兩半,他被拋人水中,但他卻從水里救起一名船員。他的另一個妹妹患有嚴 重的心理障礙。他自己的健康令人憂心,牧師曾經幾次為他作過臨終禱告。他還忍 受了因反天主教狂熱而引發的個人偏見和政治毒害。
And there is surely a possibility, under such circumstances, that a person will retreat from the world; that a person, particularly one born to wealth, will seek a life of luxury and ease; that a person, confronted by the coldness of chance, will become bitter or cynical or small. It has happened to others.
在這種情況下,一個人遁世隱居的可能性很大,特別是一個天生富貴的人, 可能會追求奢華安逸的生活;一個機會渺茫的人,可能會變得尖刻、憤世嫉俗或狹 隘。這種情況非常普遍。
But that is not the life that John F. Kennedy chose. As he famously said at a press conference, “life is unfair.” We can’t choose the lots we are given in life, but we can choose how to live that life, John ¥• Kennedy chose a life in the arena, full of confidence that our country could surmount any obstacle, as he’d seen it do himself. He chose a life of leadership, fired not by naive optimism, but committed realism; “idealism,” as his wife Jackie put it, “without illusions.” That is the idealism~soaring but sober~that inspired the country and the world one half century ago.
但是,這種人生并不是約翰•肯尼迪選擇的。在一次新聞發布會上,他說得 極好:“生活是不公平的。”我們不能選擇生活給予我們的一切,但我們可以選擇 如何度過一生。約翰•肯尼迪選擇生活在公眾舞臺上,堅信我們的國家能夠掃除任何障礙,就像他親眼看到的那樣。他選擇了做領導的生活,并不是由天真的樂觀主 義所激發的,而是受到堅定的現實主義、即他的夫人杰基所提到的“不抱任何幻想 的理想主義”的鼓舞。正是這種理想主義——熱血沸騰卻又認真冷靜——半個世紀 前,這種精神鼓舞了整個國家乃至整個世界。
I can only imagine how he must have felt, entering the Oval Office in turbulent times. (Laughter and applause.) The Soviet Premier, Khrushchev, had threatened to “bury” America just a few years before. Wars of Liberation, as they were called, were being waged around the globe—from Laos and Vietnam to Congo and Cuba, just 90 miles from our shore. At home, a young preacher’s cause was gaining traction across a segregated land.
我只能想象在那個動蕩的年代,當走入橢圓形辦公室時,他會有什么樣的感 覺。(笑聲和掌聲)蘇聯總理赫魯曉夫,幾年前曾威脅說要“埋葬”美國。他們所 說的“解放戰爭”在世界各地蔓延開來——從老撾和越南,再到剛果以及距我國海 岸僅有90英里的古巴。而在國內,一位年輕牧師致力于擺脫種族隔離制度的事業臝 得了人心。
In this volatile America, this tinderbox of a world, President Kennedy led with a steadying hand, defusing the most perilous crisis of the Cold War without firing a single shot. Enforcing the rights of young black men and women to attend the university of their choice. Launching a corps of volunteers as ambassadors for peace in distant centers of the globe. Setting America’s sights on the moon, unwilling to lose the Space Race in the wake of Sputnik,
在這個動蕩的美國,在那個隨即爆發戰爭的地區,肯尼迪總統以堅定的領導, 不用一槍一炮化解了冷戰時期最棘手的危機。他強制使黑人男女青年獲得了選擇大 學的權利。他發動志愿者隊伍,前往遙遠的世界各地擔任和平大使。他讓美國放眼 月球,在“斯普特尼克”升空后,不愿意在太空競賽中落于人后。
The science just wasn’t there. President Kennedy understood that. But he also knew something else. He knew that we,as a people, can do big things. We can reach great heights. We can rise to any challenge, so long as we’re willing to ask what we can do for our country; so long as we,re willing to take America’s destiny into our own hands. What President Kennedy understood was the character of the people he led: our resilience, our fearlessness, our distinctly American ability, revealed time and again throughout history, to defy the odds, to fashion our future, to make the world anew.
但是當時的科學水平還沒有達到那個高度??夏岬峡偨y理解這一點,但是他 也清楚另外一些事。他知道,作為一個民族,我們能成大事。我們能夠攀登高峰。 我們能夠應對任何挑戰,只要我們愿意詢問自己:我們能為我們的國家做些什么, 只要我們愿意將美國的命運把握在自己手中。肯尼迪總統懂得他所領導的人民的品 質:我們的堅韌;我們的無畏;我們與眾不同的能力,這種能力久經歷史考驗,藐 視苦難,創造未來,使世界煥然一新。
The world is very different now than it was in 1961. We face new trials and new uncertainties, from our economy to our security. We have a politics that can often seem too small for the hardships at hand. So meeting these tests won’t be easy. But we cannot forget, we are the heirs of this President, who showed us what is possible. Because of his vision, more people prospered; more people served; our union was made more perfect. Because of that vision, I can stand here tonight as President of the United States. (Applause.)
當今世界與1961年相比已經大不相同。在從經濟到安全的諸多領域,我們面 臨新的考驗、新的不確定因素。面對目前的困難,我們的政治運作能力有些不足。 所以,解決這些困難并非易事。然而,我們不能忘記,我們是這位總統的繼承人, 他曾經教導我們,什么事情都是有可能的。由于他的遠見卓識,更多的人走向了繁 榮;更多的人作出奉獻;我們的國家變得更加完美。由于這一遠見,今晚我才能夠 以美國總統的身份來到這里。(掌聲)
So John F. Kennedy captured that American spirit that not only put a man on the moon, but saved a continent from tyranny and overcame a Great Depression; that forged, from 13 colonies, the last best hope on Earth. And if we can hold onto that spirit today, I know that our generation will answer its call as ably as earlier ones did before us.
約翰•肯尼迪激發了美國精神,這一精神不僅使人類登上了月球,還把一個大 陸從暴政中解救出來,戰勝了經濟大蕭條,在13塊殖民地締造了世界上最后、最大的希望。如果我們今天繼續堅持這一精神,那么我們這一代人將會像前幾代人那樣 以非凡的能力響應這一召喚。
In December 1962,President Kennedy was asked by the Saturday Evening Post to submit his favorite quotation. A student not only of history,but also of literature, he chose a passage written by the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr father of the Supreme Court justice. Mr. Holmes wrote:
1962年12月,《星期六晚報》邀請肯尼迪總統講述他的座右銘。因為在大學時 他兼修了歷史和文學,所以他挑選了詩人奧利弗•溫德爾•霍姆斯,即最高法院大 法官霍姆斯的父親的一段話?;裟匪瓜壬鷮懙溃?/p>
“I find the great things in this world—is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: to reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it~but we must sail,and not drift, nor lie at anchor."
“我發現,這個世界上的偉大事業——并不在于我們身處何地,而在于我們前 進的方向:為了到達天堂之門,我們有時順風順水,有時逆海行舟——但我們必須 航行,不是隨波逐流也不是停泊靠岸。”
That, I think, captures well the daring,graceful spirit of the unfinished life we celebrate today; a life that inspires us and lights our way, as we sail on to the new frontiers of our own time. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless this country that we love. Thank you. (Applause.)
我覺得,這段話確切地再現了我們今天所紀念的沒有走完的人生中那種無畏 而高尚的精神,當我們駛向我們這個時代的新前沿時,這一生命激勵著我們,照亮 我們的前進道路。多謝各位,愿主保佑你們,愿主保佑我們所摯愛的國家。謝謝。(掌聲)
本文地址:http://www.hengchuai.cn/writing/speech/15988.html