里根于1981年第一次總統(tǒng)就職演講

1981年第一次總統(tǒng)就職演講

Tuesday, January 20, 1981

Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O’Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens:

To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.

Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system, which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you, and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity, which is the bulwark of our Republic.

The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed- income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.

Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human misery and personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.

But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children’s future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?

We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding—we are going to begin to act, beginning today.

The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.

From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. However, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?

All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.

We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers. They are, in short,“We the people,”this breed called Americans.

Well, this administration’s objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work. Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. All must share in the productive work of this“new beginning”and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play, which is the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.

So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. Moreover, this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.

Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work-work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.

If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.

It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government. It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We are not, as some would have us believe, loomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will all on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.

So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew; our faith and our hope.

We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes just don’t know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter—and they are on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in them and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet but deep. Their values sustain our national life.

I have used the words“they”and“their”in speaking of these heroes. I could say“you”and“your”because I am addressing the heroes of whom I speak—you, the citizens of this blessed land. Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help me God.

We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup. How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?

Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic“yes”. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world’s strongest economy.

In the days ahead, I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government. Progress may be slow—measured in inches and feet, not miles—but we will progress. Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden? In addition, these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.

On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans,“Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of... On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.”

Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for our children, our children’s children and ourselves.

In addition, as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for or own sovereignty is not for sale.

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it—now or ever.

Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. Our adversaries in today’s world do not have a weapon. We as Americans do have a weapon. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.

I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.

This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have been told, on this West Front of the Capitol. Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city’s special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.

Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence. Then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln?

Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.

Each one of those markers is a monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.

Less than one such marker lays a young man—Martin Treptow—who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.

We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading,“My Pledge,”he had written these words: “America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, and I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.”

The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems, which now confront us.

In addition, after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans.

God bless you, and thank you.

1981年1月20日，星期二

議員海特菲爾德先生、法官先生、總統(tǒng)先生、副總統(tǒng)布什、蒙代爾先生、議員貝克先生、發(fā)言人奧尼爾先生、尊敬的摩麥先生，以及廣大支持我的美國同胞們：

今天對于我們大家來說，是一個非常莊嚴隆重的時刻，對這個國家的歷史來說，卻是一件普通的事情。按照憲法要求，政府權利正在有序地移交，我們已經如此“例行公事”了兩個世紀，很少有人覺得這有什么不妥。但在世界上更多人看來，這個我們已經習以為常的四年一次的儀式，卻實在是一個奇跡。

總統(tǒng)先生，我希望我們的國民能夠記住你為了這個傳承而付出的努力。通過移交程序中的通力合作，你向觀察者展示了這樣一個事實：我們是發(fā)誓要團結起來維護這樣一個政治體制的團體，這樣的體制保證了我們能夠得到比其他政體更為廣泛的個人自由。同時我也要感謝你和你的伙伴們的幫助，因為你們堅持了這樣的傳承，而這恰恰是我們共和國的根基。

我們國家的各項事業(yè)都在不斷的發(fā)展過程中。美國正面臨巨大的經濟困難。我們遭遇到我國歷史上歷時最長，最嚴重的通貨膨脹之一，它擾亂著我們的經濟決策，打擊著節(jié)儉的風氣，壓迫著正在掙扎謀生的青年人和收入固定的中年人，威脅著要摧毀我國千百萬人民的生計。

工業(yè)發(fā)展變緩使工人失業(yè)、蒙受痛苦并失去了個人尊嚴。即使那些有工作的人，也因稅收制度的緣故而得不到公正的勞動報酬，因為這種稅收制度使我們無法在事業(yè)上取得成就，使我們無法保持充分的生產力。

盡管現(xiàn)在我們的納稅負擔十分沉重，但還是跟不上公共開支的增長。數(shù)十年來，我們的赤字屢屢上升，為圖眼前暫時的方便，我們把自己的前途和子孫的前途抵押了出去。這一趨勢如果長此以往，必然引起社會、文化、政治和經濟等方面的大動蕩。

作為獨立的個人，你們和我可以靠借貸過一段入不敷出的生活，然而只能維持一段有限的時期，我們怎么可以認為，作為一個國家就不應受到同樣的約束呢?

為了保住明天，今天我們就必須行動起來。大家都要明白無誤地懂得——從今天起我們就要采取行動。

幾十年來，經濟弊病一直襲擊著我們，我們深受其害。這些弊病不會在幾天、幾星期或幾個月內消失，但它們終將消失。它們之所以終將消失，是因為作為現(xiàn)在的美國人，我們一如既往地有能力去完成需要完成的事情，以保存這個最后而又最偉大的自由堡壘。

在當前這場危機之中，政府的管理不能解決我們面臨的問題。政府的管理就是問題所在。

我們時常會錯誤的以為，社會已經越來越復雜，已經不可能憑借自治方式加以管理，而一個由杰出人物組成的政府要比民享、民治、民有的政府高明。可是假如我們之中誰也管理不了自己，那么我們之中誰還能去管理他人呢?

不論是政府官員，還是平民百姓，我們必須共同肩負起這個責任，我們謀求的解決辦法必須是公平的，不要使任何一個群體付出較高的代價。

我們聽到許多關于特殊利益集團的談論，然而，我們必須關心一個被忽視了太久的特殊利益集團。這個集團沒有區(qū)域之分，沒有種族之分，沒有民族之分，沒有政黨之分，這個集團由許許多多的男人與女人組成，他們生產糧食，巡邏街頭，管理廠礦，教育兒童，照料家務和治療疾病。他們是專業(yè)人員、實業(yè)家、店主、職員、出租汽車司機和貨車駕駛員，總而言之，他們就是“我們的人民”，這個稱之為美國人的民族。

本屆政府的目標是必須建立一種健全的、生機勃勃的和不斷發(fā)展的經濟，為全體美國人民提供一種不因偏執(zhí)或歧視而造成障礙的均等機會，讓美國重新工作起來，意味著讓全體美國人重新工作起來。制止通貨膨脹，意味著讓全體美國人從失控的生活費用所造成的恐懼中解脫出來。人人都應分擔“新開端”的富有成效的工作，人人都應分享經濟復蘇的碩果。我國制度和力量的核心是理想主義和公正態(tài)度，有了這些我們就能建立起強大、繁榮、國內穩(wěn)定并同全世界和平相處的美國。

因此，在我們開始改革之際，我們有必要看清現(xiàn)狀。我們是一個擁有政府的國家，而不是一個擁有國家的政府。這一點使我們在世界各國中獨樹一幟，我們的政府除了人民授予的權力，沒有任何別的權力。目前，政府權力的膨脹已顯示出超過被統(tǒng)治者同意的跡象，制止并扭轉這種狀況的時候到了。

我打算壓縮聯(lián)邦機構的規(guī)模和權力，并要求大家承認聯(lián)邦政府被授予的權力同各州或人民保留的權利這兩者之間的區(qū)別。我們大家都需要記?。翰皇锹?lián)邦政府創(chuàng)立了各州，而是各州創(chuàng)立了聯(lián)邦政府。

因此請不要誤解，我的意思不是要取消政府，而是要讓它發(fā)揮作用，同我們一起合作，而不是凌駕于我們之上;同我們并肩而立，而不是騎在我們的背上。政府能夠而且必須提供機會，而不是扼殺機會，它能夠而且必須促進生產力，而不是抑制生產力。

這么多年來為什么我們能取得這么大的成就，并獲得世界上任何一個民族未曾獲得的繁榮昌盛，原因就是在這片土地上，我們使人類的能力和個人的才智得到了前所未有的發(fā)揮。在這里個人所享有并得以確保的自由和尊嚴超過了世界上任何其他地方。為這種自由所付出的代價有時相當高昂，但我們從來沒有不愿意付出這樣的代價。

我們目前的困難是與政府機構因為不必要的過度膨脹而干預、侵擾我們的生活同步增加，這絕不是偶然的巧合。我們是一個泱泱大國，不能自囿于小小的夢想，現(xiàn)在正是認識到這一點的時候。我們并非注定走向衰落，盡管有些人想讓我們相信這一點。我不相信，無論我們做些什么，我們都將命該如此;但我相信，如果我們什么也不做，我們將的確命該如此。

為此，讓我們以掌握的一切創(chuàng)造力來開創(chuàng)一個國家復興的時代吧。讓我們重新拿出決心、勇氣和力量，讓我們重新建立起我們的信念和希望吧。

我們完全有權去做英雄夢。那些評論我們現(xiàn)在是一個沒有英雄時代的人，他們只不過沒有用心觀察?？窗?每一天進出工廠大門的工人們，辛勤耕作為我們提供食物的農民們，站在柜臺后的服務生們，盡心盡力為社會創(chuàng)造財富、提供就業(yè)機會的企業(yè)家們，交納賦稅以維持國家運作的公民們，所有支持慈善事業(yè)、教會、文化及教育的人們，他們的舉動是無聲的，但愛國心卻是不言自明的。他們的價值造就了我們的國家。

我剛才用“他們”這個人稱來形容這些英雄，其實我也可以用“你們”。在這個上帝眷顧的國家，你們的夢想，你們的希望，你們的追求就是這個國家存在的理由。

我們的天性包含了同情。倘若我們熱愛這個國家，怎么會不熱愛自己的同胞。當他們挫折時，扶他們一把;當他們生病時，給予關照。對于弱者給予體面的幫助，使其自立。

我們現(xiàn)在能否戰(zhàn)勝擺在面前的問題?答案是明確和肯定的：“能!”借用溫斯頓·丘吉爾的話：“我剛才宣誓并不是想要在我的領導下，使這個世界上最強大的經濟瓦解。”

在今后的一段時間，我將提議消除使經濟發(fā)展緩慢和生產力下降的障礙，采取旨在恢復各級政府之間保持平衡的步驟。進展也許是緩慢的，只能用英寸和英尺來衡量，而不是英里，但我們將一直前進?，F(xiàn)在是喚醒工業(yè)巨人的時候了，我們首要的任務是減輕懲罰性的賦稅負擔，使政府能夠重新量入為出，在這些原則上絕不會妥協(xié)。

在國家立國前夕，我們的建國先賢之一，馬塞諸薩州州長約瑟夫·沃倫博士對他的同胞們說：“我們的國家正處在危險之中，但我們絲毫不絕望。美國的前途就在我們手中。這個關系到尚未出生的千百萬人的幸福和自由的重要問題由你們來決定，你們的行為將無愧于你們自己。”

同胞們，我相信當代的美國人已做好無愧于我們自己人生的準備，做好為確保我們自己、我們的孩子和子孫后代的幸福和自由必須進行行動的準備。

我們慶祝重振美國的此時，全世界的人們都在關注著，我們依舊是那些尚未獲得自由的人民心中的自由燈塔!

對于我們的鄰居，自由世界的同盟們，我們將進一步加強聯(lián)絡，保證我們承擔的義務。我們將以心換心，但我們決不會干涉你們的主權，希望你們也不會干涉我們。

對于自由世界的敵人，我們潛在的對手。我們要使其明白，和平是美國人最高的愿望。我們可以與你們談判、妥協(xié)，但我們決不會屈服，永遠不會。

請你們不要誤會我們的忍耐，我們努力避免沖突但絕不代表我們屈服。當我們的國家安全受到威脅時，我們會采取行動。我們將保持擁有壓倒性對手的武力，因為我們知道只有擁有足夠的武力，才能確保我們不會使用武力。

首先，我們必須認識到世界上沒有任何武器能比自由人民的道義和勇氣更強大。這恰恰是我們美國人民所具備，而我們的對手沒有的武器。這一點，所有支持恐怖主義和覬覦弱小國家者都要明白。

我聽說今天各地舉行了數(shù)以萬計的禱告會，我衷心地感到欣慰。我們是上帝護佑的國度，上帝給了我們自由。如果以后每一屆的就職日都能成為禱告日，那是很好的事情。

大家都知道，這是歷史上第一次在白宮西走廊舉行的就職典禮。在這里我們能看到整個首都的風貌，而這廣場另一端就是我們先賢們的圣壇。

我的正前方是喬治·華盛頓紀念碑，我們偉大的國父。是他領導了獨立革命戰(zhàn)爭的勝利，并創(chuàng)建了這個國家。在其旁邊則是另一位偉大的先賢托馬斯·杰弗遜，《獨立宣言》的作者。而在水池的盡頭是雄偉的林肯紀念堂。從林肯的一生你能體會出什么是美國的精神。

在這些古跡旁是緩緩流淌的波托馬可河，而岸邊斜斜的山坡正是阿靈頓公墓。這些小小的十字架，六芒星下的墓志銘，述說著我們贏取自由所付出的代價。

每一個墓志銘都是之前我所說的英雄事跡。這些英雄的生命倒在貝洛森林，阿爾貢丘陵，奧馬哈海灘，薩勒諾，半個地球外的瓜島，塔拉瓦島，長津湖，以及遍地是稻田叢林的叫越南的地方。

在這些墓碑中，有一個叫馬丁·特雷普托的年輕人，他在1917年辭掉了小鎮(zhèn)理發(fā)店的工作，跟隨著名的“彩虹師”去了法國，在西線他在為營長傳遞命令時，被重炮擊中而犧牲。

后來，在他的遺體上發(fā)現(xiàn)了一本日記。在扉頁處他寫道：“我發(fā)誓美國必須贏得這場戰(zhàn)爭，所以，我會奮斗，我會拯救，我會犧牲，我會忍受，我會奮勇戰(zhàn)斗，所有的苦難都將由我一個人來肩負。”

今天我們面臨的危機并不要求我們像馬丁·特雷普托那樣作出如此巨大的犧牲。但我們也要竭盡全力，有所作為。擁有上帝的協(xié)助，我們必能度過危機。

我們有什么理由不相信呢?記住!我們是美國人。

上帝保佑你們，謝謝。