奥巴马第二任就职演说稿.docVIP

Obama’s Second Inauguration Address 美国总统奥巴马当地时间2013年1月21日在国会山发表其第二任期就职演讲。奥巴马在演讲中追溯美国民主传统和宪法精神，通过阐述就业、医保、移民、财政、同性恋及气候变化威胁等多项议题与现实有力契合。奥巴马强调，伟大国家的塑造必须依赖每个美国人的力量，而非少数人的成功，并强调国家团结的重要性。奥巴马提及这代美国人从建国之父那里继承的精神还没有完成实践，现在的美国人需要继续努力，实现生存、自由与追求幸福的权利。以下为奥巴马就职演说全文： Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: 　　Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional —— what makes us American —— is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago: 　　“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” 　　Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed. 　　For more than two hundred years, we have. 　　Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together. 　　Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to