美国第43届总统小乔治布什连任就职演说 (原文/音频/译文)

The 43th Inaugural Address of Bush
美国第43届总统小乔治布什连任就职演说
01-20-2005

Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow citizens:
　　On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
　　At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire.
　　We have seen our vulnerability - and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder - violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.
　　We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
　　America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time.
　　So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
　　This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
　　The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.
　　My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve, and have found it firm.
　　We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
　　We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty.
　　Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of our ideals. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent slavery. Liberty will come to those who love it.
　　Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
　　All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
　　Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
　　The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
　　The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
　　And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat.
　　Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
　　From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world.
　　A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy …… the idealistic work of helping raise up free governments …… the dangerous and necessary work of fighting our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and their sacrifice.
　　All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself - and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character.
　　America has need of idealism and courage, because we have essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty.
　　In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time. To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance - preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.
　　In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
　　In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.
　　From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication, the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring credit to that cause?
　　These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives are set free.
　　We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner "Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.
　　When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - tested, but not weary - we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
　　May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America.
切尼副总统、首席法官先生、卡特总统、布什总统、克林顿总统、牧师大人、尊敬的来宾、同胞们：
　　今天，我们依法以这个仪式来庆祝我们充满睿智的宪法历久不衰，回顾将我们的国家团结在一起的坚定信念。我很感激此时此刻获得的荣耀，想到今后我们即将度过的日子，我决心履行自己在你们的见证下宣读的誓言。
　　在这一次也是第二次聚会上，我们的职责不是由我所使用的文字而是由我们所共同目睹的历史所决定的。半个世纪以来，美国守护了遥远的边疆，捍卫了我们自己的自由。在共产主义崩溃后，我们度过了相对平静、安宁、悠闲的几年。接下来，一个灾难性的日子降临了。

我们看到了自己的脆弱，也看到了它的深刻根源。只要世界各地还在仇恨和暴政中煎熬———这些暴政倾向于滋生仇恨并为杀戮寻找借口的意识形态———暴力活动就会增加，其破坏力就会成倍加强，并穿越大多数边防线，构成一种致命的威胁。在历史上，只有一种力量能够打破仇恨和怨忿的束缚，撕下暴君的伪装，满足那些宽容大度的正派人士的愿望，那就是人类自由的力量。
　　我们从一些事件和常识中得出了一个结论：自由能否在我们的国家继续存在下去，越来越多地取决于自由能否在其他国家取得成功。在全世界传播自由是我们的世界实现和平的最大希望所在。
　　如今，美国的重要利益和我们的坚定信念是一致的。从我们建国的那一天起，我们就一直宣称，这个地球上的每个男人和女人都拥有权利、尊严和无可比拟的价值，因为他们都是造世主的产物。
　　历代以来，我们一直宣扬自治的必要性，因为没有人有资格成为主人，也没有人应该成为奴隶。追求这些理想的使命促成了我们国家的建立。这是我们祖先取得的光辉成就。现在，它是我们的国家安全提出的迫切要求，是我们这个时代的呼唤。
　　因此，寻求和支持民主运动和民主制度在各个国家和各种文化下的发展成为美国的政策，其最终目标是结束我们这个世界上的暴政。
　　这项任务并非主要由军队来承担，尽管我们会在必要的时候依靠军队来保护我们自己和我们的朋友。由于自由本身的特点，它必须由公民来选择和捍卫，并依靠法治和保护少数民族的措施来维系。当一个民族最终发出自己的心声时，它所建立的制度可能反映出与我们截然不同的习俗和传统。美国不会把我们自己的执政方式强加在不愿意接受它的国家身上。相反，我们的目标是帮助其他人找到他们自己的心声，获得他们自己的自由，并取得他们自己的成功。
　　结束暴政的伟大目标是需要几代人全力以赴的工作。这项任务的艰巨性不能成为逃避它的借口。美国的影响力并非毫无局限，但幸运的是，对于那些受压迫的人来说，美国的影响力是相当大的，而我们将充满自信地在自由事业中发挥这一影响力。
　　我最严正的职责就是努力保护美国及其人民免受新的恐怖袭击和威胁。有些人非常愚蠢地选择了考验美国的决心，最终发现美国决心坚定。
　　我们将坚持不懈地澄清摆在每个统治者以及每个国家面前的选择———压迫与自由之间的道义上的选择。美国不会佯称，被关押的异见分子更青睐束缚他们的枷锁，或者妇女喜欢遭受屈辱和奴役，以及有人愿意听人摆布。
　　我们明确表示，要想同我国建立良好关系，须体面地对待其自己的国民，并以此来鼓励其它国家政府进行改革。美国对人类尊严的信念影响着我们的政策，然而，权利不仅仅是独裁者做出的勉强让步，而必须要靠自由地发表意见和被统治者的参与来得到保障。毕竟，没有自由就没有正义，没有人类自由就没有人权可言。
　　我知道，有些人对全世界的自由呼声提出了质疑———尽管自由在过去40年中取得了前所未有的飞速进步。美国人民永远不应该为信念所产生的力量感到意外。最终，自由的呼声定能深入人心。我们不允许暴君的长久存在，因为我们不允许出现长久的奴役。只有热爱自由的人才会得到自由。
　　今天，美国再次对全世界各族人民说：
　　所有生活在暴政和绝望下的人都会知道：美国不会无视你们所受到的压迫，不会饶恕你们的压迫者。当你们支持自由时，美国将与你们站在一起。
　　面临镇压、囚禁或者流亡的民主改革人士知道：美国把你们看作是你们国家今后的领导人。
　　非法政府的统治者知道，我们仍然像亚伯拉罕•林肯一样认为：“那些不让别人享有自由的人自己不配拥有自由，而且也不会长久地享有自由。”
　　那些习惯于控制的政府领导人需要知道：要想服务于民就必须学会信任他们。从这一进步与正义之旅开始，美国将伴你左右。
　　美国的所有盟友都知道：我们尊重与你们的友谊，我们依靠你们的忠告，我们依赖于你们的帮助。自由国家之间的不和是自由之敌的首要目标。自由国家共同努力推动民主是我们的敌人走向失败的前奏。
　　今天，我再次对我的人民说：在保护美国安全的艰难时刻，我请求你们耐心。我们国家接受了难以完成且不应放弃的责任。由于在按我们国家解放被压迫者的传统行事，使得数亿人获得了自由。正如希望会点燃希望，还会有更多的人获得自由。经过不懈的努力，我们点燃了人们心中希望的火种。它温暖了那些感觉到了它的力量的人，它为那些奋勇前进的人照亮了方向，有朝一日，它将把自由的火种撒播到世界最黑暗的角落。
　　少数美国人已经承担起了这一最艰巨的职责———情报界和外交界默默无闻的工作……帮助扶植自由政府的理想主义工作……以及打击敌人这一危险而又必不可少的工作。有些人甚至将自己的生命奉献给了我们的祖国———我们将永远铭记他们的名字以及他们所做出的牺牲。
　　所有美国人都目睹了这种理想主义，有些人是第一次看到。我希望我们最年轻的公民相信你们的双眼。你们从美军士兵坚毅的表情中看到了责任和忠诚。你们看到生命是脆弱的，邪恶是真实存在的，勇气获得了胜利。加入这项比你的渴望、比你自身更伟大的事业吧！有生之年，你不仅为我们的国家增添了财富，你还会帮助它完善品格。
　　美国需要理想和勇气，因为我们在本土有重要的工作，那就是尚未完成的美国推动自由的工作。在一个走向自由的世界里，我们决心彰显自由的意义和承诺。
　　在美国的自由理想中，公民们发现了经济独立带来的尊严和保障，而不是徘徊在生存边缘的辛苦劳作。这是自由更广泛的定义，它推动了《宅地法案》、《社会保障法案》和《退伍军人权利法案》的制定。现在，我们通过改革总体制度，满足时代需求，来扩展这一定义。为了使每一个美国人都与我们国家的希望和未来息息相关，我们要以最高标准发展学校教育、建设所有权社会。我们将扩大人们对房屋和企业、退休储蓄和医疗保险的所有权，让我们的人民作好准备，应对自由社会中的生活挑战。通过使每一位公民成为自己命运的主宰者，我们将使美国同胞更加远离短缺和恐惧，使我们的社会更加繁荣、公正、平等。
　　在美国的自由理想中，公众利益取决于个人品格———正直、对他人的宽容以及我们自己生活中的道德准则。民主自治最终要依赖对自我的管理。品格的大厦建立在家庭之上，由规范的社区来支撑，凭借西奈真理、山上宝训、《古兰经》上的话语以及各种信仰的支持，树立在我们的国家生活之中。美国人通过弘扬过去创造的一切美好正确的东西———正义的思想和行为准则———一代代向前进。这些思想和准则昨天、今天、永远都是如此。
　　在美国的自由理想中，助人、仁慈和对弱者的关心使权利的行使变得更加崇高。全面的自由并不意味着人们互不相干。那些照顾邻里、关爱迷失者的男男女女是我们国家的支撑。美国人珍视在其他人身上看到的活力，美国人必须永远牢记，即便是被遗弃的东西也有价值。我们的国家必须抛弃所有种族主义的恶习，因为我们不能在传递自由信息的同时还携带着偏见的包袱。
　　从一天角度，包括从就职典礼这一天的角度来看，摆在我们国家面前的事务和问题繁多。从几个世纪角度来看，我们遇到的这些问题又可谓算不了什么。我们这一辈人是否推动了自由事业的发展？我们有没有给这项事业增光添彩？
　　那些对我们作出评判的问题也把我们团结在一起，因为不同党派和背景的美国人，无论是移民还是本土公民，都在自由事业中相互凝聚。我们意识到了分歧，必须消除它们才能坚定前进，我将矢志不渝地为之奋斗。这些分歧不是美国的特色。当自由遭受侵犯时，我们能感受到我们国家的团结和友情，我们的反应是齐心协力。每当美国主持正义，受灾者得到希望，不公正的现象被审判以及人质被释放时，我们便能感受到同样的团结和自豪。
　　在前进的道路上，我们坚信自由会取得最终的胜利。这不是历史的必然性所致，而是人民的选择；也不是因为我们把自己看作是受上帝垂爱的国家，而是上帝自己的意愿。我们信心十足，因为自由是人类永恒的希望，是黑暗中的明灯，是灵魂的期盼。当我们的奠基人宣布延续几个世纪的新秩序时，当一批批战士为了自由联邦而献身时，当人们在“自由”的口号下激愤地进行和平抗议时———他们都在实践着应当实现的古老愿望。历史曾有过正义的倒退，但历史也有一个明确的方向，那就是由自由和自由之神确立的方向。
　　当《独立宣言》首次公布于众时，自由钟在庆典上响起，一位与会者说：“它的敲响意味深长。”如今，它仍然蕴涵深意。在新的世纪，美国要向全世界及所有人宣告自由。我们的力量经过考验没有消沉，而是得到恢复，我们准备在争取自由的历史上取得最大的成就。
　　愿上帝保佑你们，保佑美利坚合众国。