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本帖最后由 王兵 于 2016-7-18 10:13 编辑
奥巴马谈民主，他说：
I think we can all agree that our democracies are far from perfect. They can be messy, and they can be slow, and they can leave all sides of a debate unsatisfied. Justin is just getting started. (Laughter.) So in case you hadn't figured that out, that's where this gray hair comes from. (Laughter.) But more than any other system of government, democracy allows our most precious rights to find their fullest expression, enabling us, through the hard, painstaking work of citizenship, to continually make our countries better. To solve new challenges. To right past wrongs.
我想我们都会同意我们的民主非常地不完美，可能产生混乱，可能速度很慢，可能使辩论的各方都不满意。贾斯汀还刚刚开始，所以你如果还弄不明白的话，这就是我这一头灰发是怎么来的原因。但是比其它任何政府制度更好的是，民主使我们最宝贵的权利得到最充分的表达，使我们通过困难的、痛苦的公民权利的努力，使我们的国家持续地改善，解决新的挑战，改正过去的错误。
奥巴马谈自由和权利，他说：
I fear sometimes that we are timid in defense of these values. That's why I will continue to stand up for those inalienable rights……. For the rights of citizens in civil society to speak their mind and work for change. For the right of journalists to report the truth. For the right of people of all faiths to practice their religion freely. Those things are hard, but they're right. They're not always convenient, but they're true.
（我恐怕我们在卫护这些价值观的时候过于胆怯。因此我将继续支持为那些不可剥夺的权利而奋斗……，为人民说出自己心声的权利，为努力奋斗而改变现状的权利，为记者报道事实的权利，为人们宗教信仰的权利。这是困难的，但是正确的。这是不容易的，但是符合真理的。）
奥巴马谈移民，他说：
In the end, it is this respect for the dignity of all people, especially the most vulnerable among us, that perhaps more than anything else binds our two countries together. Being Canadian, being American is not about what we look like or where our families came from. It is about our commitment to a common creed. And that's why, together, we must not waver in embracing our values, our best selves. And that includes our history as a nation of immigrants, and we must continue to welcome people from around the world. (Applause.)
最终，对所有人的尊严的尊重，特别是对我们当中那些最容易受伤害的人的尊重，正是这种尊重，比任何其它方面更加使我们两国联结在一起。作为加拿大人，作为美国人，最关键的并不是看我们的相貌，也不看我们的家庭来自哪里，而是致力于我们共同的信念。而这就是为什么，我们要共同毫不犹豫地拥抱我们的价值观，我们最良好的本质，包括我们作为移民国家的历史，并且我们必须要继续欢迎来自全世界的人们。
下面一段是奥巴马整个演讲中最为感人的段落，听到这里，不论是在加拿大还是在美国，很多新老移民都会感同身受热泪盈眶：
We can insist that the process is orderly. We can insist that our security is preserved. Borders mean something. But in moments like this, we are called upon to see ourselves in others, because we were all once strangers. If you weren't a stranger, your grandparents were strangers. Your great-grandparents were strangers. They didn't all have their papers ready. They fumbled with language faced discrimination, had cultural norms that didn't fit. At some point, somewhere, your family was an outsider. So the mothers, the fathers, the children we see today — they're us. We can't forsake them.
（我们可以坚持移民过程有序进行，我们可以坚持我们的安全得到保护，国家边境毕竟是国家边境。但是在此刻，我们在他人身上回忆到了自己，因为我们曾经都一度是新来的陌生者。如果你不是新来的，你的祖父母曾经是新来的，你的曾祖父母曾经是新来的。他们可能手续不全文件不齐，他们笨拙地说着英语，面对着歧视，他们的文化模式与这里不合。曾经，在某个时候，某个地方，你的家庭就是外来者。所以我们今天看到的妈妈们、爸爸们、孩子们——他们就是我们。我们不能放弃他们。）
这使我回想起当年奥巴马竞选总统时的一段演讲，时间久远我找不到原文，只记得他这样说：
Your parents could not go to college, but they work and struggle, so today you can go to college; your grandparents could not vote, but they protested and marched, so today you can vote.
历史结合现实，语言简洁有力，情景生动感人，这是奥巴马的演讲风格，也是他的号召力所在。
美国有位饶舌歌手Skillz有张专辑叫做“The world needs more Skillz（世界需要更多的Skillz）”，这句话被奥巴马妙语引用赞扬加拿大：
If I can borrow a phrase, the world needs more Canada.
（如果我可以借用一句短语，世界需要更多的加拿大。）
在演讲中，奥巴马两次引用加拿大老特鲁多总理的名言：
"A country, after all, is not something you build as the pharaohs build the pyramids, and then leave standing there to defy eternity. A country is something that is built every day out of certain basic shared values."
（国家，归根结底，并不是像法老建个金字塔，然后就立在那里希求江山万代。国家是以确立的基本的共同价值观每天都不断进行建设的。）
How true that is. 他感叹道。
How blessed we are to have had people before us, day by day, brick by brick, build these extraordinary countries of ours. How fortunate, how privileged we are to have the opportunity to now, ourselves, build this world anew. What a blessing. And as we go forward together, on that freedom road, let's stay true to the values that make us who we are — Canadians and Americans, allies and friends, now and forever.
我们是多么的有福，前人们日复一日添砖加瓦建设了我们两个杰出的国家。我们又是多么的幸运多么的特别，有机会在现在以我们自己的贡献来建设一个新的世界。这是何等的祝福。那么只要我们一同前进，在自由的道路上，让我们保持造就我们的价值观的真诚吧。我们，加拿大人和美国人，同盟和朋友，现在和永远。
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发表于 2016-7-2 05:58:24
发表于 2016-7-2 11:29:47