英文原文：

Inaugural Address of Barack Obama

　　January 20,2009

　　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 forbearers, 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.

　　 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 short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - 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 towards 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 Sanh.

　 　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 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 non-believers. 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 sixty 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.


奧巴馬就職演講中文文本：

　　同胞們：

　　我今天站在這里，因為面前的任務而感到謙卑，因為你們的信任而心存感激，同時銘記先輩們做所出的巨大犧牲。感謝布什總統為這個國家做出的貢獻，同時也謝謝他在整個政權交接期間表現出的慷慨與合作。

　 　迄今已經有44名美國人宣誓就任總統。這些誓詞曾出現在繁榮的上升趨勢和如水般平靜的和平中，當然，也經常會出現在烏云密布和狂風暴雨之時。在這各種時 刻，美國一直在繼續前行，這不僅僅是因為執政的技巧或者有先見之明，而是因為我們的人民一直在堅守先輩們的理想，忠實履行我們的建國宣言。過去是這樣，這 一代的美國人仍將會堅持這樣做。

　　眾所周知，我們目前正處在危機之中。我們的國家正在對暴力和仇恨宣戰。我們的經濟也被嚴重削弱，這是 一些人貪婪和不負責任的后果，但在做出艱難選擇和準備迎接新時代方面，我們出現了集體性的失誤。房屋失去了；工作丟掉了；商業蕭條了；我們的衛生保健耗資 巨大；我們太多的學校不合格；每天都能找到更多的證據表明我們利用能源的方式使得對手更加強大，并且威脅到了我們整個星球。

　　這些數據 和統計都是危機的表現特征。雖然無法具備測量，但產生的深遠影響是我們的信心受到了侵蝕--擔心美國的衰退不可避免，擔心下一代會降低他們的期待。今天我 要向你們說的是，我們面臨的挑戰是真實存在的。這些挑戰很多，而且非常嚴重，它們不會輕易地或者在短時間內就能得以解決。但大家也必須認識到，美國，終將 會解決這些困難。

　　今天，我們聚集在這里，是因為我選擇用希望來戰勝恐懼，用團結來戰勝沖突與分歧。今天，我們來到這里將結束悲戚和錯 誤的承諾，拋棄指責和教條主義這些扼殺我們政治的東西。我們仍然是一個年輕的國家，但現在應該摒棄充滿孩子氣的行為，重申我們不朽的精神；選擇我們更好的 歷史；宏揚那些珍貴而且高尚的理念，并將這一代一代地傳遞下去。上帝認為天下眾生皆平等，眾生皆自由，而且都應該擁有追求幸福的機會。

　 　在重申我們國家的偉大時，我們必須明白，偉大絕對不會是一種饋贈，而是要靠我們去努力爭取。我們的征途從來沒有捷徑，也不屬于那些膽怯懦弱、消譴工作或 者只追求財富名利的人。為了我們，他們整理起自己不多的物品開始穿越大海尋找新的生活；為了我們，他們在血汗工廠辛苦勞作，忍受著皮鞭的抽打并且犁開堅硬 的土地；為了我們，他們在諸如康科得、蓋茨堡、諾曼底等等地方作戰并獻出生命。

　　這些男男女女們不停地奮斗和犧牲，一直工作直到雙手生 疼，目的只是為了過上更好一些的生活。在他們的眼中，美國比他們個人的報負更加重要，也比所有出身、財富或者宗派之間的差別更加重要。這就是我們今天仍在 繼續的征程。我們仍然是世界上最繁榮、最強大的國家。當這場危機開始后，我們工人的生產力并沒有下降；我們的思想也沒有失去創造力；我們現在需要的商品和 服務，并沒有比上周、上月或者去年減少；我們的生產力并沒有降低。從今天開始，我們必須振作起來，拂去身上的灰塵，重新開始振興美國。

　 　環視周圍，到處是要做的工作。目前的經濟狀況要求我們采取大膽和迅速的行動，我們將采取行動，不僅是創造新的工作崗位，而且是為經濟的增長奠定新的基 石。我們將建設道路和橋梁、電網和數字網絡，它們將為我們的商業活動服務，把我們聯系在一起。我們將使科學回歸其位，應用科學技術來提高醫療的質量并降低 其費用。我們將利用太陽能、風能、潮汐能來驅動我們的汽車，運營我們的工廠。我們將變革我們的學校、學院和大學以滿足新時代的需求。這些是我們能夠做的， 我們將做這一切。

　　現在，有些人質疑我們的雄心壯志。他們稱，我們的制度不能容忍太多宏偉的計劃，他們很健忘，因為他們已忘記了這個國家曾經作過的事情，忘記了自由的男女在想像力和共同目標、必要性和勇氣相結合的情況下所能取得的成就。

　 　憤世嫉俗者未能理解的是，他們腳下的土地已發生了變動，過去那種消耗我們太長時間的陳腐的政治爭論將不會重現。我們今天問的問題將不是我們的政府是過大 或者過小，而是它是否有效-它是否能幫助家庭找到可支付體面工資的工作，向他們提供可支付得起的醫療服務，提供有尊嚴的退休。當答案是肯定時，我們就會推 動這一項目。當答案是否定時，我們就會結束這一項目。我們所有管理公共資金的人將在這一標準下工作-明智地花錢、改革壞習慣、使我們的活動透明化，因為只 有這樣，我們才能恢復人民和他們政府之間的至關重要的信任。

　　對于我們來說，市場是好是壞并不是一個問題，市場產生財富和擴展自由的能 力是無以匹敵的。但這場危機提醒我們，沒有有效的監管，市場會失控。當一個國家只青睞富人時，它的繁榮將無法持久。我們經濟的成功不僅取決于我們國民生產 總值的總量，而且取決于我們共享繁榮的范圍，取決于我們將機會擴大至每個愿意抓住機會的人，這不僅是出于慈善之心，而是因為這是一條通往我們共同利益的最 確切的道路。

　　就我們共同的防務而言，我們拒絕那種在我們的安全和我們的理想之間作出取舍的錯誤選擇。我們的建國先輩曾面臨我們幾乎無 法想像的危險，他們起草了確保法制和人權的憲章，數代美國人的鮮血擴展了這一憲章。這些理想仍然照亮著世界，我們將不會為了權宜之計而放棄它們。對于所有 那些今天在觀看就職典禮的世界其它各地的人民和政府，從宏偉的首都至我父親所出生的那個小村莊，請明白，美國是所有國家、所有試圖尋求和平和尊嚴男人、女 人、兒童的朋友，我們已作好了再次擔任領導者的準備。

　　我們回憶起前幾輩的美國人，他們不僅僅是靠導彈和坦克擊敗法西斯主義，而且是靠 緊密的聯盟和持久的信念。他們明白，我們自身的力量不足以保護我們，也不會使我們為所欲為。相反，他們知道，我們的力量只有在謹慎使用的情況下才會增漲， 我們的安全來源于我們事業的正義、我們榜樣的力量、人性和克制的品格。

　　我們是這種遺產的繼承者。這些原則將再次指引我們，我們可以應 對那些需要更多努力的新威脅，這些新威脅需要國家之間進行更大程度的合作和理解。我們將負責任地把伊拉克交給它的人民，我們將在阿富汗推動負出重大代價才 贏得的和平。我們將和老朋友和前敵手一起毫不松懈地削弱核威脅，應對全球變暖。我們將不會為我們的生活方式道歉，我們也不會放松我們的防務。對通過謀殺無 辜者推動自己生活方式的人，我們對你們說，我們的精神更為強大，它無法被挫敗，你們不可能消滅我們，我們將擊敗你們。

　　我們都知道，我 們各類遺產的匯集是一種力量，而不是脆弱。美國是由信仰基督教、伊斯蘭教、猶太教和印度教的人們以及無信仰人士組成的國家，來自地球上每一個角落的語言和 文化在這里融匯。我們有過內戰和種族隔離的慘痛經歷，翻過黑暗的一頁，我們因此變得更加強大、更加團結，我們因此堅信古老的仇恨總有一天會化解，部族之間 的隔閡很快就會消除。我們堅信，隨著世界變得越來越小，我們共有的人道精神將放出光芒，美國必須克盡己職，開創一個和平的新紀元。

　　對 于穆斯林世界，我們將尋求新的共處之道，一種基于共同利益和相互尊重的方式。對于世界上那些播種沖突的種子或將自己社會的弊病歸咎于西方的領導人，你們應 該明白一點，你們的人民將根據你們所建設的而非破壞的來對你們作出評判。對于那些通過腐敗、欺騙和鎮壓異見者來攫取權力的領導人，你們應該明白自己在違逆 歷史的潮流，但如果你們愿意松開拳頭，我們將向你們提供幫助。

　　對于那些貧窮國家的人民，我們發誓將跟你們并肩戰斗，讓你們的農場繁 茂、讓潔凈的水源流淌，讓挨餓的身體獲得營養、讓饑渴的頭腦獲得食糧。對于那些像我們一樣相對富有的國家，我們要說，我們再也不能對自己國界之外的苦難漠 不關心，我們再也不能不顧后果地消耗世界的資源。這個世界已經改變，我們必須與之俱變。

　　當我們展望未來的路途，我們懷著謙卑的感激想 起此時此刻正守衛在邊遠的沙漠和山區的勇敢的美國人。今天他們有話要對我們說，就像躺在阿林頓國家公墓里那些倒下的英雄的低語一樣。我們之所以尊敬他們， 不僅僅因為他們為我們的自由保駕護航，更是因為他們踐行著服務的精神，以及在比自身更宏偉的事物上尋找意義的崇高意愿。然而就在此時，這個將影響一代人的 時刻，我們所有人需要的正是這種精神。

　　因為不論政府能做什么和必須做什么，最終這個國家都要依賴美國人民的信念和決心。它是當堤壩潰 決后收留一個陌生人的仁善，它是那些寧愿減少自己的工時也不愿看見一位朋友失業、幫助我們度過黑暗時光的工人的大公無私，它是消防員們沖進濃煙滾滾的樓梯 的勇氣，也是那些養育小孩并最終決定我們的命運的父母們的意愿。

　　我們可能面臨著全新的挑戰，我們應對這些挑戰的手段也可能是全新的， 但是我們的成功所仰賴的價值標準卻是古老的——勤勞、誠實、勇氣、公正、忍耐、好奇、忠誠和愛國。這些東西都是真實的，它們在整個美國歷史上一直是我們取 得進步的背后推動力�，F在所亟需的是回歸這些真理，現在我們需要進入一個新的責任時代——需要每個美國人都認識到，我們對自己、對這個國家、對整個世界都 負有責任，不是勉強接受的責任，而是當仁不讓，應該徹底明白一點，即除非將我們的一切獻給一項艱巨的任務，我們的精神無法獲得滿足、我們的人格也無法獲得 塑造。

　　這是作為一位公民的價值和承諾。

　　這是我們的信心之源，是上帝召喚我們去塑造一個不確定的命運。

　　這是我們的自由和信念的意義所在——為什么不同信仰、不同種族的男女老少能夠在這個宏偉的大廳里歡聚一堂，以及為什么不到六十年前一個人的父親還不能在當地餐館里就餐、現在他卻能夠站在大家面前進行最莊嚴的宣誓。

　 　讓我們為這一天打上標記吧，用對我們是誰以及走過的旅程的回憶。在美國誕生的那一年，在最寒冷的季節，一小隊愛國志士圍著河邊快要熄滅的篝火，此時河流 已經冰封。首府被遺棄了。敵人在挺進。雪地上血跡斑斑。在革命成敗茫然未知的時刻，我們的國父讓人民聽到了下面的話語：

　　“讓未來的世界知道……在冰天雪地的寒冬里，當唯有希望和美德幸存的時候……這個城市和這個國家，在危險的警報響起之后，挺身迎向它們�！�

　 　美國�，F在我們面臨共同的危險，在這個艱苦卓絕的寒冬，讓我們記起這些不朽的話語。懷著希望和美德，讓我們再次迎擊冰冷的湍流，忍受可能來臨的風暴。讓 我們的孫輩這樣講述我們：當我們面臨考驗之時，我們拒絕讓這段旅程中止，我們沒有轉過身去，也沒有搖擺不定，而是眼睛堅定地望著前方，承蒙上帝的恩典，我 們攜帶著自由的偉大禮物，安全地將它交付給我們的后代。