奧巴馬卸任演講（一）
Hello Chicago. It's good to be home. Thank you. Thank you everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's good to be home. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. All right. Everybody sit down.
你好芝加哥。回家真好！謝謝。謝謝大家謝謝。謝謝。非常感謝。謝謝，謝謝，謝謝。回家真好！謝謝，謝謝，謝謝，謝謝，謝謝。大家請坐。
We are on live TV here. I gotta move. Come on. I... You can tell... that I am...you you you can tell that I'm lame duck because nobody is following instructions. Everybody have a seat.
我們在電視直播。我得繼續。好了。我......正如你們所見......我是......正如你,你,你們所見,我現在是個“跛腳鴨”總統，因為沒有人在聽從我的指示，大家都坐好。
My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight, tonight it’s my turn to say thanks. Whether we’ve seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people – in living rooms and schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant military outposts, those conversations are what have kept me honest, kept me inspired, and kept me going. Every day, I learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man.
美利堅的同胞們，米歇爾和我在過去幾周裡，一直被諸多美好祝福所感動。但今晚,今晚是時候輪到我向你們致謝了。不論我們曾經心有靈犀，抑或各持己見，我與美國人民在包括起居室和學校，農場和工廠，晚宴和邊遠哨所的對話。那些對話讓我保持誠實、飽受鼓舞著我，促我前行。每天，我都在向你們學習。你們讓我成為一個更好的總統，也成為一個更好的人。
So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties, and I was still trying to figure out who I was; still searching for a purpose to my life. It was in the neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss. (I can’t do that) Now this is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it.
因此我在二十多歲的時候第一次來到芝加哥，那時的我還在揣摩對自我的認知和生存的意義。就在離這兒不遠的鄰地，在鋼鐵廠被關閉的陰影中，我開始和教會團體共事。正是在這些街道上，我見證了信仰的力量，以及面對困難與失去的勞動人民的沉默的尊嚴。（觀眾喊：再幹四年時。說“我不能這樣做”）。就在這裡，我學到了只有當普通民眾加入、參與，並團結起來要求改變時，改變才會悄然來臨。
After eight years as your President, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea – our bold experiment in self-government.
任職8年的總統之後，它依然為我所信仰。而且這不僅是信仰，還是美國人跳動的心靈，我們在自治政府上的大膽實驗。
It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
我們堅信生來平等，造物者賦予他們若干不可剝奪的權利，其中包括生存的權利、自由的權利和追求幸福的權利。
It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union. What a radical idea！
我們堅信，這些權利雖然不言而喻，但從來不會被自主生效;我們，人民，在我們的民主體制之下，才能形成一個更完美的合眾國。這是一個多麼激進的想法啊！
The great gift our Founders gave us. The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, toil, and imagination – and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve common good, a greater good.
這是建國先賢們留給我們最偉大的禮物。我們有最求個人夢想的自由。通過汗水、辛勤工作、想象力，以及一如既往的團結與協作，以此達到一個共同的，更好的目的。
For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It’s what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande, it’s what pushed women to reach for the ballot, it’s what powered workers to organize. It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan – and it’s why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well.
240 年來，我們國家對公民的呼喚給了每一代年輕人工作和目標。它引領愛國者選擇共和而非暴政，引領先驅者探索西部，引領奴隸勇敢地走向自由。正是它引領移民和難民穿越大洋和格蘭德河來到這裡；正是它促使婦女參政，工人聯合；它也是士兵們在奧馬哈海灘、硫磺島、伊拉克和阿富汗獻出生命的原因；這也是為何無數人在塞爾馬和石牆事件中隨時準備獻出生命的原因。
So, so that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change, and make life better for those who follow.
所以，所以這才是我們說美國優秀出眾的原因。我們的國家並非一開始就完美，而是我們證明了它有能力作出改變，能讓擁護它的人生活得更好。
Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It’s always been contentious and sometimes it’s been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.
是的，前行之路並不平坦。民主政治從來都是艱難、充滿爭議甚至有時要付出血的代價的。經常是走兩步，退一步。但是，美國的漫長進程已經被進步所定義，它不斷擴大我們的創始信條，以擁抱所有人，而不僅僅是特定群體。
If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history…if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, and take out the mastermind of 9/11…if I had told you that we would win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens. If I had told you, you might have said our sights were set a little too high.
如果 8 年前我告訴你，美國將扭轉一場大衰退，重振我們的汽車產業，以及發起史上最長的創造就業運動……如果我告訴你，我們會同古巴人民開啟新的篇章，不開一槍就叫停伊朗核武工程，以及消滅 9·11 事件的幕後大BOSS……如果我告訴你，我們能贏得同性婚姻的合法化，並確保另外 2000 萬美國同胞加入健康保險。如果當時我這麼說，你可能會說我們的目標定得有點高了。
But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. You answered people’s hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.
但我們做到了！你們做到了！你們就是改變！你們回應了人民的希望，而且正是因為你們，無論如何，美國都比我們開始時更美好，更強大。
In ten days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy:（No, no, no.） the peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected president to the next. I committed to President-Elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.
在十天後，世界將見證我國民主政治的又一次重要標誌：（不，不，不。）權力從一個被自由選舉出的總統和平移交給下一任。 我向當選總統特朗普承諾，我的政權交接將以最平穩的方式過渡，就像布什總統交接給我時那樣。 因為這取決於我們所有人，確保我們的政府能幫助我們應對即將面臨的挑戰。
We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth. Our youth and drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention mean that the future should be ours.
我們有理由要這樣做。我們具備解決這些挑戰的所有條件。畢竟，我們仍然是世界上最富庶，最強大以及最受尊敬的國家。我們的年輕和進取心，我們的多元性和開放性，我們對冒險和改革的無限包容，都意味著未來依然非我們莫屬。
But that potential will only be realized only if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. Only if all of us, regardless of our party affiliation or particular interest, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.
但是我們也有可能將意識到只有我們的民主還在工作，只有當我們的政治更好地反映人民的風貌，只有當我們所有人，無論隸屬於任何政黨或有不同的利益，都能為維護公眾利益盡一份力時，這些潛力才能得以發揮。
That’s what I want to focus on tonight – the state of our democracy.
這是我今晚想要強調的——我們的民主政治的現狀。
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