克林頓1997年第二次就職演說

克林頓1997年第二次就職演說 英文版

January 20, 1997

My fellow citizens:

At this last presidential inauguration of the 20th century, let us lift our eyes toward the challenges that await us in the next century. It is our great good fortune that time and chance have put us not only at the edge of a new century, in a new millennium, but on the edge of a bright new prospect in human affairs, a moment that will define our course, and our character, for decades to come. We must keep our old democracy forever young. Guided by the ancient vision of a promised land, let us set our sights upon a land of new promise.

The promise of America was born in the 18th century out of the bold conviction that we are all created equal. It was extended and preserved in the 19th century, when our nation spread across the continent, saved the union, and abolished the awful scourge of slavery.Then, in turmoil and triumph, that promise exploded onto the world stage to make this the American Century.

And what a century it has been. America became the world's mightiest industrial power; saved the world from tyranny in two world wars and a long cold war; and time and again, reached out across the globe to millions who, like us, longed for the blessings of liberty.

Along the way, Americans produced a great middle class and security in old age; built unrivaled centers of learning and opened public schools to all; split the atom and explored the heavens; invented the computer and the microchip; and deepened the wellspring of justice by making a revolution in civil rights for African Americans and all minorities, and extending the circle of citizenship, opportunity and dignity to women.

Now, for the third time, a new century is upon us, and another time to choose. We began the 19th century with a choice, to spread our nation from coast to coast. We began the 20th century with a choice, to harness the Industrial Revolution to our values of free enterprise, conservation, and human decency. Those choices made all the difference.

At the dawn of the 21st century a free people must now choose to shape the forces of the Information Age and the global society, to unleash the limitless potential of all our people, and, yes, to form a more perfect union.

When last we gathered,our march to this new future seemed less certain than it does today.We vowed then to set a clear course to renew our nation.

In these four years, we have been touched by tragedy, exhilarated by challenge, strengthened by achievement. America stands alone as the world's indispensable nation. Once again, our economy is the strongest on Earth. Once again, we are building stronger families, thriving communities, better educational opportunities, a cleaner environment. Problems that once seemed destined to deepen now bend to our efforts: our streets are safer and record numbers of our fellow citizens have moved from welfare to work.

And once again, we have resolved for our time a great debate over the role of government. Today we can declare: Government is not the problem, and government is not the solution. We—the American people, we are the solution. Our founders understood that well and gave us a democracy strong enough to endure for centuries, flexible enough to face our common challenges and advance our common dreams in each new day.

As times change, so government must change. We need a new government for a new century—humble enough not to try to solve all our problems for us, but strong enough to give us the tools to solve our problems for ourselves; a government that is smaller, lives within its means, and does more with less. Yet where it can stand up for our values and interests in the world, and where it can give Americans the power to make a real difference in their everyday lives, government should do more, not less. The preeminent mission of our new government is to give all Americans an opportunity,—not a guarantee, but a real opportunity to build better lives.

Beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to us. Our founders taught us that the preservation of our liberty and our union depends upon responsible citizenship. And we need a new sense of responsibility for a new century. There is work to do, work that government alone cannot do: teaching children to read; hiring people off welfare rolls; coming out from behind locked doors and shuttered windows to help reclaim our streets from drugs and gangs and crime; taking time out of our own lives to serve others.

Each and every one of us, in our own way, must assume personal responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families, but for our neighbors and our nation. Our greatest responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century. For any one of us to succeed, we must succeed as one America.

The challenge of our past remains the challenge of our future, will we be one nation, one people, with one common destiny, or not? Will we all come together, or come apart?

The divide of race has been America's constant curse. And each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices. Prejudice and contempt, cloaked in the pretense of religious or political conviction are no different. These forces have nearly destroyed our nation in the past. They plague us still. They fuel the fanaticism of terror. And they torment the lives of millions in fractured nations all around the world.

We shall overcome them. And we shall replace them with the generous spirit of a people who feel at home with one another.

Our rich texture of racial, religious and political diversity will be a Godsend in the 21st century. Great rewards will come to those who can live together, learn together, work together, forge new ties that bind together.

As this new era approaches we can already see its broad outlines. Ten years ago, the Internet was the mystical province of physicists; today, it is a commonplace encyclopedia for millions of schoolchildren. Scientists now are decoding the blueprint of human life. Cures for our most feared illnesses seem close at hand.

The world is no longer divided into two hostile camps. Instead, now we are building bonds with nations that once were our adversaries. Growing connections of commerce and culture give us a chance to lift the fortunes and spirits of people the world over. And for the very first time in all of history, more people on this planet live under democracy than dictatorship.

My fellow Americans, as we look back at this remarkable century, we may ask, can we hope not just to follow, but even to surpass the achievements of the 20th century in America and to avoid the awful bloodshed that stained its legacy? To that question, every American here and every American in our land today must answer a resounding "Yes."

This is the heart of our task. With a new vision of government, a new sense of responsibility, a new spirit of community, we will sustain America's journey. The promise we sought in a new land we will find again in a land of new promise.

In this new land, education will be every citizen's most prized possession. Our schools will have the highest standards in the world, igniting the spark of possibility in the eyes of every girl and every boy. And the doors of higher education will be open to all. The knowledge and power of the Information Age will be within reach not just of the few, but of every classroom, every library, every child. Parents and children will have time not only to work, but to read and play together. And the plans they make at their kitchen table will be those of a better home, a better job, the certain chance to go to college.

Our streets will echo again with the laughter of our children, because no one will try to shoot them or sell them drugs anymore. Everyone who can work, will work, with today's permanent under class part of tomorrow's growing middle class. New miracles of medicine at last will reach not only those who can claim care now, but the children and hardworking families too long denied.

We will stand mighty for peace and freedom, and maintain a strong defense against terror and destruction. Our children will sleep free from the threat of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Ports and airports, farms and factories will thrive with trade and innovation and ideas. And the world's greatest democracy will lead a whole world of democracies.

Our land of new promise will be a nation that meets its obligations, a nation that balances its budget, but never loses the balance of its values. A nation where our grandparents have secure retirement and health care, and their grandchildren know we have made the reforms necessary to sustain those benefits for their time. A nation that fortifies the world's most productive economy even as it protects the great natural bounty of our water, air, and majestic land.

And in this land of new promise, we will have reformed our politics so that the voice of the people will always speak louder than the din of narrow interests, regaining the participation and deserving the trust of all Americans.

Fellow citizens, let us build that America, a nation ever moving forward toward realizing the full potential of all its citizens. Prosperity and power, yes, they are important, and we must maintain them. But let us never forget: The greatest progress we have made, and the greatest progress we have yet to make, is in the human heart. In the end, all the world's wealth and a thousand armies are no match for the strength and decency of the human spirit.

Thirty-four years ago, the man whose life we celebrate today spoke to us down there, at the other end of this Mall, in words that moved the conscience of a nation. Like a prophet of old, he told of his dream that one day America would rise up and treat all its citizens as equals before the law and in the heart. Martin Luther King's dream was the American Dream. His quest is our quest: the ceaseless striving to live out our true creed. Our history has been built on such dreams and labors. And by our dreams and labors we will redeem the promise of America in the 21st century.

Fellow citizens, we must not waste the precious gift of this time. For all of us are on that same journey of our lives, and our journey, too, will come to an end. But the journey of our America must go on.

And so, my fellow Americans, we must be strong, for there is much to dare. The demands of our time are great and they are different. Let us meet them with faith and courage, with patience and a grateful and happy heart. Let us shape the hope of this day into the noblest chapter in our history. Yes, let us build our bridge. A bridge wide enough and strong enough for every American to cross over to a blessed land of new promise.

May those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may never know, say of us here that we led our beloved land into a new century with the American Dream alive for all her children; with the American promise of a more perfect union a reality for all her people; with America's bright flame of freedom spreading throughout all the world.

From the height of this place and the summit of this century, let us go forth. May God strengthen our hands for the good work ahead, and always, always bless our America.

克林頓1997年第二次就職演說 中文版

同胞們：

藉此20世紀(jì)最后一屆總統(tǒng)就職演說之際，讓我們拭目以待下一世紀(jì)我們將面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。所幸的是時間和機(jī)遇不僅將我們置身于一個新世紀(jì)的邊緣，一個新的千年，而且將我們置身于人類事業(yè)一個嶄新的、光輝的邊緣，一個決定我們未來數(shù)十年方向和地位的時刻。我們必須使我們古老的民主永葆青春。在“希望之鄉(xiāng)”這一古老憧憬的指引下，讓我們著眼于新的“希望之鄉(xiāng)”。

美國的希望源于18世紀(jì)一種無畏的信念：人生來皆平等。在19世紀(jì)，我們的國家橫跨大陸，拯救了聯(lián)邦，廢除了恐怖的奴隸制的蹂躪。然后，一種在辛勞和勝利之中擴(kuò)展開來的信念奔上了世界的舞臺，使本世紀(jì)成為美國的世紀(jì)。

這是怎樣的一個世紀(jì)啊。美國成為了世界上最強(qiáng)大的工業(yè)大國，它把世界從兩次世界大戰(zhàn)和曠日持久的冷戰(zhàn)的暴虐中拯救出來，并且一再向全球上百萬像我們一樣渴望自由賜福的人們伸出了援助之手。

在這一進(jìn)程中，美國產(chǎn)生了龐大的中產(chǎn)階級和養(yǎng)老保障制度;建立了無與倫比的學(xué)習(xí)中心，并對全民開放公立學(xué)校;實現(xiàn)了核裂變，對太空進(jìn)行探測;發(fā)明了計算機(jī)和微芯片;通過發(fā)起一場非裔美國人和少數(shù)民族的民權(quán)運(yùn)動及擴(kuò)大婦女的公民權(quán)利、就業(yè)機(jī)會和人身尊嚴(yán)，而深掘了正義之泉。

現(xiàn)在是第三次，一個新世紀(jì)正朝我們走來，這又是一個選擇的時候。我們進(jìn)入19世紀(jì)時有一個選擇，使我們國家從一個海岸擴(kuò)展到另一個海岸。我們進(jìn)入20世紀(jì)時有一個選擇，使工業(yè)革命能保護(hù)我們自由企業(yè)的價值觀、保護(hù)自然環(huán)境和人類尊嚴(yán)，這些選擇使一切迥然不同。

在21世紀(jì)的曙光來臨之際，一個自由的民族必須做出選擇，去打造信息時代和全球一體化的力量。去釋放全民無盡的潛能，并且最終建立一個更完美的聯(lián)邦國家。

上次我們在此相聚時，我們向這個新未來的進(jìn)軍似乎沒有今天這么明確，我們那時曾宣誓，要確立新的道路，復(fù)興我們的國家。

在這四年中，我們感到悲劇帶來的觸動，挑戰(zhàn)帶來的興奮，因成就而凝聚在一起。美國作為世界不可缺少的國家巍然挺立，我們再一次擁有強(qiáng)大的經(jīng)濟(jì)力量，再一次建立起更加穩(wěn)定的家庭和繁榮的社區(qū)，提供更好的教育機(jī)會以及更清潔的環(huán)境。曾經(jīng)似乎注定要惡化的問題現(xiàn)在也屈服于我們的努力，我們的街道更加安全，越來越多的同胞從依賴福利救濟(jì)走向就業(yè)崗位。

我們再一次地解決了當(dāng)前關(guān)于政府角色問題的巨大爭論。今天我們可以宣稱：政府不是問題所在，也不是問題的解決所在，我們——美國人民——才是問題的解決者。我們的先驅(qū)們也深深地了解這一點(diǎn)，他們給予我們可以持續(xù)幾個世紀(jì)的強(qiáng)有力的民主精神以及靈活多變的能力。足以讓我們在每一個新的日子里迎接我們共同的挑戰(zhàn)并開拓我們共同的夢想。

時代在變，因此我們的政府也應(yīng)該做出改變。在新的世紀(jì)里我們需要一個新的政府——它要足夠的謙遜，不僅僅是為我們解決所有的問題，更要足夠強(qiáng)大去為我們提供解決問題的手段，這是個較小的政府，并以它自己的方式生存，投入少收獲多。在這個世界上，哪里能夠支持美國人的價值觀和利益，哪里就能夠給美國人民力量，使他們每天的生活日新月異。政府應(yīng)該做的更多而不是更少。我們新政府重大的任務(wù)不是給所有的美國人一個保證，而是一個機(jī)會，一個能實現(xiàn)更加美好生活的真正的機(jī)會。

除此之外，同胞們，未來就在我們的手中。我們的先驅(qū)告誡我們，保持自由與團(tuán)結(jié)需要有責(zé)任感的人。在新的世紀(jì)里，我們需要一個新的責(zé)任意識。我們有很多事要做，這些工作僅僅靠政府是不能完成的。比如，教孩子讀書，雇傭那些沒有福利的人們，走出封閉的家園，幫助人們遠(yuǎn)離毒品與犯罪，從我們的生活中抽出時間去幫助他人。

我們每個人都應(yīng)該以自己的方式去履行責(zé)任，不單單是為了我們自己和家人，而是為了我們的社會和國家。我們最重要的責(zé)任是在新世紀(jì)里，要持有一種新的團(tuán)體精神。為了每一個人的成功，作為一個整體的美國我們必須成功。

過去的挑戰(zhàn)仍是我們未來的挑戰(zhàn)，我們會不會成為一個擁有共同命運(yùn)的國家?我們是攜手并進(jìn)，還是分崩離析呢?

種族分裂一直是美國的禍根。而且每一次新的移民浪潮都會給舊有偏見新的沖擊。偏見與蔑視總是披著宗教或者政治的外衣，其實它們沒什么兩樣。過去這些勢力差點(diǎn)毀掉我們的國家，現(xiàn)在仍然折磨著我們。它們煽動恐怖行為，并且在世界各地分裂國家，使數(shù)百萬人民遭受苦難。

我們應(yīng)該戰(zhàn)勝分裂主義，我們應(yīng)該以一個民族寬宏大量的精神讓大家感受到我們彼此是一家人。

在21世紀(jì)，種族、宗教和政治的多樣性是上帝給予的恩賜。那些一起生活、學(xué)習(xí)、工作，并且彼此之間建立新的紐帶的人將會獲得回報。

隨著新時代的來臨，我們已經(jīng)注意到了這個時代的顯著特征。十年前，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)是物理學(xué)家專有的研究領(lǐng)域，現(xiàn)在卻已經(jīng)成為數(shù)百萬學(xué)齡兒童常用的百科全書?？茖W(xué)家正在破解人類生命的藍(lán)圖，找到治愈目前我們最為害怕疾病的方法。

這個世界不再分為兩大敵對的陣營。相反，我們正與過去的敵時國家建立關(guān)系。隨著商業(yè)與文化聯(lián)系的日益加強(qiáng)，使我們有機(jī)會提升全世界的物質(zhì)與精神水平。這也是歷史上首次人民生活在民主的世界里，而不是獨(dú)裁專政之中。

同胞們，在我們回首這個不同尋常的世紀(jì)時，也許我們會問，我們所希望的不僅是踏著先人的腳步，更應(yīng)該超越20世紀(jì)美國所有的成就，還有避免發(fā)生玷污先輩英明的流血事件嗎?對于這個問題，在座的每一個美國人和所有的美國人此時此刻都會異口同聲地回答：“是的。”

這就是我們的核心任務(wù)，伴隨著政府新的政見，新的責(zé)任感，新的團(tuán)體精神，我們將會使美國的征程走得一帆風(fēng)順。我們過去在新大陸追尋到的希望，將在這塊充滿新希望的土地上再次獲得。

在這個新的土地上，每個人都會受到教育。我們學(xué)校的教育水平是全世界最高的，在每個孩子的眼中都能點(diǎn)燃智慧的火花。高等學(xué)校的大門將會對所有人敞開，這個信息時代的知識和力量不僅僅普及到一部分人那里，更要普及到每一個教室，每一座圖書館，甚至每一個孩子身上。父母親不僅有時間工作，而且還有時間陪孩子一起讀書、玩耍。并且人們茶余飯后談?wù)摰氖虑榫褪悄苡袀€更好的住房，更好的工作和上大學(xué)的機(jī)會。

街道上會再次回蕩起孩子們的笑聲，因為不會再有人對他們開槍或者賣給他們毒品。每一個有能力工作的人都會去工作，一部分低收入的人群將成為中產(chǎn)階級。新研制的藥品不僅可以滿足那些有需要的人，也會適用于長期被忽視的孩子和辛苦工作的人們。

我們堅決支持自由與和平，抵制恐怖和破壞行為。我們的孩子將會遠(yuǎn)離核武器、化學(xué)武器和生物武器的威脅。海港、航空港、農(nóng)場以及工廠將會隨著商貿(mào)、創(chuàng)新方法和新思想而興旺起來。世界上最偉大的民主國家將引領(lǐng)整個世界的民主政治潮流。

我們充滿新希望的國土將會是一個敢于承擔(dān)責(zé)任、平衡預(yù)算、永遠(yuǎn)不會失去價值平衡的國家。在這個國家里，我們的祖父母領(lǐng)取退休養(yǎng)老金和醫(yī)療保障，并且他們的子孫們也知道我們的政府為維持他們年老時的利益而進(jìn)行的必要改革。在這個國家里，我們要加強(qiáng)發(fā)展世界上最具有生產(chǎn)力的經(jīng)濟(jì)，同時也要保護(hù)水、空氣和土地等偉大的自然資源。

在這個充滿希望的國土上，我們將對我們的政治進(jìn)行變革，使人們的呼聲高于狹隘利益的喧囂，重新贏取美國人民的信任。

同胞們，讓我們建設(shè)這樣的美國，一個永遠(yuǎn)前進(jìn)，以充分發(fā)揮全民潛力的國家。我們必須保持繁榮強(qiáng)大。但是我們不能忘記：我們已取得的偉大成就，以及我們將取得的偉大的成就是在人民的心中。最終，全世界的財富和萬馬千軍都無法與人類的精神力量和精神文明相匹敵。

34年前有一個人，他的一生為我們今天所歌頌，他就在那邊，在廣場的另一端對我們演講，他的話打動了國民的良知。像是一個古代的預(yù)言家，他訴說著他的夢想：有一天美國終會站起來，在法律面前和人們的心中所有公民都將得到平等對待。馬丁·路德·金的夢是美國之夢。他所追尋的正是我們所要追求的，不斷地去努力實現(xiàn)我們生活的信條。我們的歷史就建立在這樣的夢想和努力之上。有了我們的夢想和努力，我們一定會重塑21世紀(jì)美國的希望。

同胞們，我們不能浪費(fèi)當(dāng)前寶貴的時間了。因為我們大家都在生命的同一旅途上，我們的旅途會有終點(diǎn)。但我們的美國之路必須走下去。

而且，同胞們，我們要變得更強(qiáng)，因為有更多的挑戰(zhàn)在等著我們。我們這個時代的需要很奇妙而且富有多樣性。讓我們充滿信仰，鼓起勇氣，以感激幸福的心耐心地面對這些挑戰(zhàn)。讓我們重塑今天的希望，去譜寫歷史的新篇章。是的，讓我們架起橋梁，一座足以讓每個美國人走向充滿希望之地的橋梁。

我們還看不到我們的后代們的面孔，也永遠(yuǎn)不會知道他們的名字，但是當(dāng)他們談?wù)摰轿覀兊臅r候，希望他們會說我們把祖國領(lǐng)進(jìn)了新的世紀(jì)，把有活力的美國夢留給了所有的子孫。

讓我們從此地之峰，從世紀(jì)之巔前進(jìn)。愿上帝給我們強(qiáng)有力的雙手，做好未來的工作，并且永遠(yuǎn)永遠(yuǎn)保佑我們的美國。