Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control, and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart, not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
一次又一次，我們的先輩們戰斗著、犧牲著、操勞著，只為了我們可以生活得更好。在他們看來，美國的強盛與偉大超越了個人雄心，也超越了個人的出身、貧富和派別差異。
今天我們繼續先輩們的旅途。美國依然是地球上最富裕、最強大的國家。同危機初露端倪之時相比，美國人民的生產力依然旺盛；與上周、上個月或者去年相比，我們的頭腦依然富于創造力，我們的商品和服務依然很有市場，我們的實力不曾削弱。但是，可以肯定的是，輕歌曼舞的時代、保護狹隘利益的時代以及對艱難決定猶豫不決的時代已經過去了。從今天開始，我們必須跌倒后爬起來，拍拍身上的泥土，重新開始工作，重塑美國。
我目之所及，都有工作有待完成。國家的經濟情況要求我們采取大膽且快速的行動，我們的確是要行動，不僅是要創造就業，更要為(下一輪經濟)增長打下新的基礎。我們將造橋鋪路，為企業鋪設電網和數字線路，將我們聯系在一起。我們將回歸科學，運用科技的奇跡提高醫療質量，降低醫療費用。我們將利用風能、太陽能和土壤驅動車輛，為工廠提供能源。我們將改革中小學以及大專院校，以適應新時代的要求。這一切，我們都能做到，而且我們都將會做到。
現在，有一些人開始質疑我們的野心是不是太大了，他們認為我們的體制承載不了太多的宏偉計劃。他們是健忘了。他們已經忘了這個國家已經取得的成就；他們已經忘了當創造力與共同目標以及必要的勇氣結合起來時，自由的美國人民所能發揮的能量。
這些懷疑論者的錯誤在于，他們沒有意識到政治現實已經發生了變化，長期以來耗掉我們太多精力的陳腐政治論爭已經不再適用。今天，我們的問題不在于政府的大小，而在于政府能否起作用，政府能否幫助家庭找到薪水合適的工作、給他們可以負擔得起的醫療保障并讓他們體面地退休。哪個方案能給與肯定的答案，我們就推進哪個方案。哪個方案的答案是否定的，我們就選擇終止。而掌管納稅人稅金的人應當承擔起責任，合理支出，摒棄陋習，磊落做事，這有這樣才能在政府和人民之間重建至關重要的相互信任。
我們面臨的問題也不是市場好壞的問題。市場創造財富、拓展自由的能力無可匹敵，但是這場危機提醒我們，如果沒有監管，市場很可能就會失去控制，而且偏袒富人國家的繁榮無法持久。國家經濟的成敗不僅僅取決于國內生產總值的大小，而且取決于繁榮的覆蓋面，取決于我們是否有能力讓所有有意愿的人都有機會走向富裕。我們這樣做不是慈善，而是因為這是確保實現共同利益的途徑。
就共同防御而言，我們認為國家安全與國家理想的只能選其一的排他選擇是錯的。面對我們幾乎無法想像的危險，我們的先輩們起草了確保法治和個人權利的憲章。一代代人民的鮮血夯實了這一憲章。憲章中的理想依然照亮著世界，我們不能以經驗之談放棄這些理想。因此我想對正在觀看這一儀式的其他國家的人民和政府說，不論他們現在各國偉大的首府還是在如同我父親出生地一般的小村落，我想讓他們知道：對于每個追求和平和自尊的國家和個人而言，美國都是朋友，我們愿意再次領導大家踏上追尋之旅。
回想先輩們在抵抗法西斯主義之時，他們不僅依靠手中的導彈或坦克，他們還依靠穩固的聯盟和堅定的信仰。他們深知單憑自己的力量我們無法保護自己，他們也深知我們強大并不足以使我們有權利為所欲為。他們明白，正是因為使用謹慎，我們的實力才不斷增強；正是因為我們的事業是公正的、我們為世界樹立了榜樣，因為我們的謙卑和節制，我們才安全。
我們繼承了這些遺產。在這些原則的再次領導下，我們有能力應對新的威脅，我們需要付出更多的努力、進行國家間更廣泛的合作以及增進國家間的理解。首先，我們將以負責任的態度，將伊拉克交還給伊拉克人民，同時鞏固阿富汗來之不易的和平。對于老朋友和老對手，我們將繼續努力，不遺余力，削弱核威脅，遏制全球變暖的幽靈。我們不會為我們的生活方式感到報歉，我們會不動搖地捍衛我們的生活方式。對于那些企圖通過恐怖主義或屠殺無辜平民達成目標的人，我們要對他們說：我們的信仰更加堅定，不可動搖，你們不可能拖垮我們，我們定將戰勝你們。
因為我們知道，我們的多元化遺產是一個優勢，而非劣勢。我們國家里有基督徒也有穆斯林，有猶太教徒也有印度教徒，同時也有非宗教信徒。我們民族的成長受到許多語言和文化的影響，我們吸取了這個星球上任何一個角落的有益成分。正是因為我們民族曾親嘗過內戰和種族隔離的苦酒，并且在經歷了這些黑色的篇章之后變得更加強大更加團結，因此我們不由自主，只能相信一切仇恨終有一天都會成為過去，種族的劃分不久就會消失，而且隨著世界變得越來越小，我們相信終有一天人類共有的人性品德將會自動顯現。在迎接新的和平時代到來的過程中，美國需要發揮自己的作用。
