2012年奥巴马胜选演讲(五）

This country has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

21.美国的财富多于世界上任何其他国家，但真正让我们富有的并非金钱；我们拥有有史以来最强大的军力，但真正让我们充满力量的并非军队；我们的大学和文化为全世界所艳羡，但美国真正吸引各国人踏上这片土地的魅力也不在于此。

What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights. And among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That’s what makes America great.

22.真正让美国与众不同的，是将这个地球上最多元化的国家的人民团结到一起的那些纽带。是我们共命运的信念，是只有当我们肩负某些对彼此以及对后代的责任美国才能走下去的信念，是无数的美国人前赴后继为之奋斗的自由──它既赋予了我们权利，也给我们带来了责任；是爱、慈善、义务和爱国。正是这些让美国变得伟大。

I am hopeful tonight because I’ve seen the spirit at work in America. I’ve seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors, and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I’ve seen it in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb and in those SEALs who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back.

23.今晚，我满怀希望，因为我已经看到美国精神正在得以发扬。我看到有些家族企业，所有者宁可减少自己的薪酬也不愿让邻居丢掉工作；我看到有些工人宁愿缩减自己的工时也不愿看到朋友没有活干；我看到有些士兵在失去一条腿或胳膊之后又选择再次入伍；我看到海豹突击队员不避危险冲上楼梯、冲入黑暗，因为他们知道有一个兄弟在做他的后盾。

I’ve seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm. And I saw just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his 8-year-old daughter, whose long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care.

24.在新泽西和纽约的海岸，我也看到了美国精神。每一个政党和各级政府的领导者都捐弃分歧，为在骇人风暴过后的废墟上重建社区各尽己力。就在不久前的一天，在俄亥俄的门托，我看到一位父亲在讲述他8岁女儿的故事。这个女孩与白血病进行了长期的斗争，如果不是因为几个月前通过的医改法案，保险公司就会停止支付医疗费用，他们的家庭就将失去一切。

25.I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father, but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd listening to that father’s story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes, because we knew that little girl could be our own. And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That’s who we are. That’s the country I’m so proud to lead as your president.

25.我曾有机会与这位父亲攀谈，不仅如此，我还见到了他的女儿，这个非常了不起的小姑娘。当这位父亲向倾听他的故事的人讲述时，每一位在场的父母的眼里都含着泪水，因为我们知道，我们自己的孩子也有可能遇到这种状况。而且我知道，每一位美国人都希望这位小女孩的未来能像所有人的未来一样光明。这就是美国人，这就是美国，我为自己能够成为这个国家的总统、带领这个国家前行感到无比光荣。