【正文】 e will not pass to the other side.
america, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and
expected.
encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. and though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment. we find the fullness of life not only in options, but in mitments. and we find that children and munity are the mitments that set us free.
our public interest depends on private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness, on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom.
sometimes in life we are called to do great things. but as a saint of our times has said, every day we are called to do small things with gre
at love. the most important tasks of a democracy are done by everyone.
i will live and lead by these principles: to advance my convictions with civility, to pursue the public interest with courage, to speak for greater justice and passion, to call for responsibility and try to live it as well.
in all these ways, i will bring the values of our history to the care of our
times.
what you do is as important as anything government does. i ask you to seek a mon good beyond your fort。 to defend needed reforms against easy attacks。 to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor. i ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators。 citizens, not subjects。 responsible citizens, building munities of service and a nation of character.
americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves. when this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it. when this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.
after the declaration of independence was signed, virginia statesman john page wrote to thomas jefferson: “we know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?”
much time has passed since jefferson arrived for his inauguration. the yearsand changes accumulate. but the themes of this day he would know: our nation’s grand story of courage and its simple dream of dignity.
we are not this story’s author, who fills time and eternity with his purpose. yet his purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another.
never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today, to make our country more just and generous, to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.
this work continues. this story goes on. and an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.
god bless you all, and god bless america.
謝謝大家！
尊敬的芮恩奎斯特大法官，卡特總統(tǒng)，布什總統(tǒng)，克林頓總統(tǒng)，尊敬的來賓們，我的同胞們，
這次權利的和平過渡在歷史上是罕見的，但在美國是平常的。我們以樸素的宣誓莊嚴地維護了古老的傳統(tǒng)，同時開始了新的歷程。首先，我要感謝克林頓總統(tǒng)為這個國家作出的貢獻，也感謝副總統(tǒng)戈爾在競選過程中的熱情與風度。
站在這里，我很榮幸，也有點受寵若驚。在我之前，許多美國領導人從這里起步；在我之后，也會有許多領導人從這里繼續(xù)前進。
在美國悠久的歷史中，我們每個人都有自己的位置；我們還在繼續(xù)推動著歷史前進，但是我們不可能看到它的盡頭。這是一部新世界的發(fā)展史，是一部后浪推前浪的歷史。這是一部美國由奴隸制社會發(fā)展成為崇尚自由的社會的歷史。這是一個強國保護而不是占有世界的歷史，是捍衛(wèi)而不是征服世界的歷史。這就是美國史。它不是一部十全十美的民族發(fā)展史，但它是一部在偉大和永恒理想指導下幾代人團結奮斗的歷史。
利益勇往直前，追求正義而不乏同情心，勇?lián)熑味鴽Q不推卸。我要通過這一切，用我們歷史上傳統(tǒng)價值觀來哺育我們的時代。
(同胞們)，你們所做的一切和政府的工作同樣重要。我希望你們不要僅僅追求個人享受而忽略公眾的利益；要捍衛(wèi)既定的改革措施，使其不會輕易被攻擊；要從身邊小事做起，為我們的國家效力。我希望你們成為真正的公民，而不是旁觀者，更不是臣民。你們應成為有責任心的公民，共同來建設一個互幫互助的社會和有特色的國家。
美國人民慷慨、強大、體面，這并非因為我們信任我們自己，而是因為我們擁有超越我們自己的信念。一旦這種公民精神喪失了，無論何種政府計劃都無法彌補它。一旦這種精神出
現(xiàn)了，無論任何錯誤都無法抗衡它。
在《獨立宣言》簽署之后，弗吉尼亞州的政治家約翰佩齊曾給托馬斯杰弗遜寫信說：”我們知道，身手敏捷不一定就能贏得比賽，力量強大不一定就能贏得戰(zhàn)爭。難道這一切不都是上帝安排的嗎？”
杰斐遜就任總統(tǒng)的那個年代離我們已經很遠了。時光飛逝，美國發(fā)生了翻天覆地的變化。但是有一點他肯定能夠預知，即我們這個時代的主題仍然是：我們國家無畏向前的恢宏故事和它追求尊嚴的純樸夢想。
我們不是這個故事的作者，是杰斐遜作者本人的偉大理想穿越時空，并通過我們每天的努力在變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實。我們正在通過大家的努力在履行著各自的職責。
帶著永不疲憊、永不氣餒、永不完竭的信念，今天我們重樹這樣的目標：使我們的國家變得更加公正、更加慷慨，去驗證我們每個人和所有人生命的尊嚴。
這項工作必須繼續(xù)下去。這個故事必須延續(xù)下去。上帝會駕馭我們航行的。
愿上帝保佑大家！愿上帝保佑美國！
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