As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence, the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
思索前方的路，我們無時無刻不在銘記那些遠征沙漠和偏遠山區(qū)的英勇美國戰(zhàn)士，對他們充滿了感激之情，他們和那些安息在阿靈頓國家公墓之下的戰(zhàn)爭英雄們一樣，給與我們啟示。
我們尊敬他們，不僅因為他們是自由的守護者，還因為他們代表的是為國家服務的精神，他們自愿追尋比自身的價值更偉大的意義(美國國家之偉大)。此時此刻，在這個要塑造一代人的時刻，我們需要的正是這樣一種精神。
因為無論美國政府能做多少，必須做多少，美國國家的立國之本最終還是美國人的決心和信念。于防洪堤壩決堤之時收留陌生受難者的善意，于在經(jīng)濟不景氣的時候?qū)幵笢p少自己工時也不肯看著朋友失業(yè)的無私，正是他們支撐我們走過黑暗的時刻。消防隊員沖入滿是濃煙的樓梯搶救生命的勇氣，父母養(yǎng)育孩子的堅持，正是這些決定了我們的命運。
我們面臨的挑戰(zhàn)也許是新的，我們應對挑戰(zhàn)的措施也許也是新的，但那些長期以來指導我們成功的價值觀——勤奮、誠實、勇氣、公平競爭、包容以及對世界保持好奇心，還有對國家的忠誠和愛國主義——卻是歷久彌新，這些價值觀是可靠的。他們是創(chuàng)造美國歷史的無聲力量。我們現(xiàn)在需要的就是回歸這些古老的價值觀。我們需要一個新的負責任的時代，一個覺醒的時代，每個國人都應意識到即我們對自己、對國家和世界負有責任，我們不應該不情愿地接受這些責任，而應該快樂地承擔起這些責任。我們應該堅定這一認識，即沒有什么比全身心投入一項艱巨的工作更能鍛煉我們的性格，更能獲得精神上的滿足。
這是公民應盡的義務，應做出的承諾。
我們自信源于對上帝的信仰，上帝號召我們要掌握自己的命運。
這就是我們自由和信仰的意義，這也是為何不同種族、不同信仰、不同性別和年齡的人可以同聚一堂在此歡慶的原因，也是我今天能站在這里莊嚴宣誓的原因，而在50多年前我的父親甚至都不能成為地方餐館的服務生。
所以，讓我們銘記自己的身份，鐫刻自己的足跡。在美國誕生的時代，那最寒冷的歲月里，一群勇敢的愛國人士圍著篝火在冰封的河邊取暖。首都被占領，敵人在挺進，冬天的雪被鮮血染成了紅色。在美國大革命最受質(zhì)疑的時刻，我們的國父們這樣說：
“我們要讓未來的世界知道……在深冬的嚴寒里，唯有希望和勇氣才能讓我們存活……面對共同的危險時，我們的城市和國家要勇敢地上前去面對?！?/p>
今天的美國也在嚴峻的寒冬中面對共同的挑戰(zhàn)，讓我們記住國父們不朽的語言。帶著希望和勇氣，讓我們再一次勇敢地面對寒流，迎接可能會發(fā)生的風暴。我們要讓我們的子孫后代記住，在面臨挑戰(zhàn)的時候，我們沒有屈服，我們沒有逃避也沒有猶豫，我們腳踏實地、心懷信仰，秉承了寶貴的自由權(quán)利并將其安全地交到了下一代的手中。
（來源：Yahoo/環(huán)球在線）
