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奧巴馬在巴納德學院畢業典禮上的講話

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奧巴馬在巴納德學院畢業典禮上的講話

Remarks by President Obama at Barnard College Commencement Ceremony
Barnard College
Columbia University
New York, New York
May 14, 2012
美國總統奧巴馬在巴納德學院畢業典禮上的講話

紐約州 紐約市
哥倫比亞大學巴納德學院
2012年5月14日

Thank you so much. (Applause.) Thank you. Please, please have a seat. Thank you. (Applause.)
非常感謝大家。(掌聲)謝謝大家,請入座。謝謝大家。(掌聲)

Thank you, President Spar, trustees, President Bollinger. Hello, Class of 2012! (Applause.) Congratulations on reaching this day. Thank you for the honor of being able to be a part of it.
謝謝你們,斯巴院長[譯者注:中文名石德葆]、各位校董、伯林格校長。2012屆畢業生,你們好!(掌聲)祝賀你們迎來了這一天。感謝你們讓我有幸來參加這個活動。

There are so many people who are proud of you -- your parents, family, faculty, friends -- all who share in this achievement. So please give them a big round of applause. (Applause.) To all the moms who are here today, you could not ask for a better Mother’s Day gift than to see all of these folks graduate. (Applause.)
有很多人爲你們感到驕傲——你們的父母、家人、師長和朋友——都爲取得這一成就出了力。因此,請爲他們熱烈鼓掌。(掌聲)今天在座的各位母親們,再也沒有比看到所有這些孩子們畢業更好的母親節禮物了。(掌聲)

I have to say, though, whenever I come to these things, I start thinking about Malia and Sasha graduating, and I start tearing up and -- (laughter) -- it's terrible. I don't know how you guys are holding it together. (Laughter.)
但是我得說,每當我來到這種場合,就會想到瑪莉婭和薩夏將來畢業的情景,我就會熱淚盈眶——(笑聲)——真不好意思。我不知道你們大家是怎麼把持得住的。(笑聲)

I will begin by telling a hard truth: I’m a Columbia college graduate. (Laughter and applause.) I know there can be a little bit of a sibling rivalry here. (Laughter.) But I’m honored nevertheless to be your commencement speaker today -- although I’ve got to say, you set a pretty high bar given the past three years. (Applause.) Hillary Clinton -- (applause) -- Meryl Streep -- (applause) -- Sheryl Sandberg -- these are not easy acts to follow. (Applause.)
我一開始就要說明一個確鑿的事實:我是一名哥倫比亞大學的畢業生。(笑聲和掌聲)我知道可能會有一點同門弟子相爭的勁兒。(笑聲)但我還是爲能夠在你們今天的畢業典禮上講話而感到榮幸——不過我得說,你們在過去三年樹立了相當高的標準。(掌聲)希拉里·克林頓——(掌聲)——梅麗爾·斯特里普——(掌聲)——謝里爾·桑德伯格——在她們之後出場可不容易。(掌聲)

But I will point out Hillary is doing an extraordinary job as one of the finest Secretaries of State America has ever had. (Applause.) We gave Meryl the Presidential Medal of Arts and Humanities. (Applause.) Sheryl is not just a good friend; she’s also one of our economic advisers. So it’s like the old saying goes -- keep your friends close, and your Barnard commencement speakers even closer. (Applause.) There's wisdom in that. (Laughter.)
但我要指出,希拉里的工作極爲出色,她是美國有史以來最傑出的國務卿之一。(掌聲)我們已授予梅麗爾藝術與人文總統獎章。(掌聲)謝里爾不僅是一位好朋友;她還是我們的經濟顧問之一。正如那句老話所說——親近你的朋友,但更要親近在你們巴納德學院畢業典禮上講話的人。(掌聲)這話寓意深長。(笑聲)

Now, the year I graduated -- this area looks familiar -- (laughter) -- the year I graduated was 1983, the first year women were admitted to Columbia. (Applause.) Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Music was all about Michael and the Moonwalk. (Laughter.)
話說我畢業那年——這個地方看着眼熟——(笑聲)——我畢業於1983年,哥倫比亞大學開始錄取女生的第一年。(掌聲)當時薩莉·萊德成爲第一位進入太空的美國女性。那時的音樂全是麥克爾和太空步。(笑聲)

[AUDIENCE MEMBER: Do it! (Laughter.)]
【畫外音:一名聽衆說“走一個!”(笑聲)】

No Moonwalking. (Laughter.) No Moonwalking today. (Laughter.)
不走太空步。(笑聲)今天不走太空步。(笑聲)

We had the Walkman, not iPods. Some of the streets around here were not quite so inviting. (Laughter.) Times Square was not a family destination. (Laughter.) So I know this is all ancient history. Nothing worse than commencement speakers droning on about bygone days. (Laughter.) But for all the differences, the Class of 1983 actually had a lot in common with all of you. For we, too, were heading out into a world at a moment when our country was still recovering from a particularly severe economic recession. It was a time of change. It was a time of uncertainty. It was a time of passionate political debates.
我們當時有“隨身聽”,沒有IPod。這四周的一些街區沒有現在這樣誘人。(笑聲)時報廣場不是適合全家人去的地方。(笑聲)我知道這一切都屬於古老的過去了。畢業典禮演講人絮叨舊事是再糟糕不過的。但是,儘管有種種差別,1983年畢業班其實與你們各位有許多共同之處。這是因爲,當時我們踏入社會的時候,也正值國家從一場特別嚴重的經濟衰退中恢復。那是一個變革的時期,一個充滿未知的時期,一個政治辨倫激情高漲的時期。

You can relate to this because just as you were starting out finding your way around this campus, an economic crisis struck that would claim more than 5 million jobs before the end of your freshman year. Since then, some of you have probably seen parents put off retirement, friends struggle to find work. And you may be looking toward the future with that same sense of concern that my generation did when we were sitting where you are now.
你們能夠體會到這一點,因爲在你們剛開始熟悉這所校園的時候,經濟危機降臨,不等你們第一學年結束,它已經導致500多萬人失業。從那個時候以來,你們大概看到一些父母推遲了退休計劃,一些朋友在苦苦求職。面對未來,你們也許像當年我這一代坐在你們的座位上的時候一樣,感到憂心忡忡。

Of course, as young women, you’re also going to grapple with some unique challenges, like whether you’ll be able to earn equal pay for equal work; whether you’ll be able to balance the demands of your job and your family; whether you’ll be able to fully control decisions about your own health.
當然,作爲年輕女性,你們還要應對某些特殊的挑戰,比如是否能夠享有同工同酬;是否能夠平衡工作和家庭的需要;是否能夠對自身健康有全部決定權。

And while opportunities for women have grown exponentially over the last 30 years, as young people, in many ways you have it even tougher than we did. This recession has been more brutal, the job losses steeper. Politics seems nastier. Congress more gridlocked than ever. Some folks in the financial world have not exactly been model corporate citizens. (Laughter.)
雖然過去30年來女性的機會有了突飛猛進的增加,但作爲年輕人,你們在很多方面面臨着比我們當時更嚴峻的挑戰。這場衰退更加嚴重,失業人數更多。政治爭議似乎更加難以調和。國會比以往任何時候更加僵持。金融界的一些人很難被稱爲模範企業公民。(笑聲)

No wonder that faith in our institutions has never been lower, particularly when good news doesn’t get the same kind of ratings as bad news anymore. Every day you receive a steady stream of sensationalism and scandal and stories with a message that suggest change isn’t possible; that you can’t make a difference; that you won’t be able to close that gap between life as it is and life as you want it to be.
所以,毫不奇怪,對我們體制的信心達到空前之低,特別是好消息不如壞消息引人注意的時候。人們每天接到一連串聳人聽聞的消息或者醜聞,其中傳遞的信息是:變革是不可能的;你們的努力無濟於事;你們無法消除現實生活與你們的理想生活之間的差距。

My job today is to tell you don’t believe it. Because as tough as things have been, I am convinced you are tougher. I’ve seen your passion and I’ve seen your service. I’ve seen you engage and I’ve seen you turn out in record numbers. I’ve heard your voices amplified by creativity and a digital fluency that those of us in older generations can barely comprehend. I’ve seen a generation eager, impatient even, to step into the rushing waters of history and change its course.
我今天的任務就是要告訴你們,不要相信這些說法。因爲儘管困難很大,但我堅信你們的能力更大。我看到過你們的激情,我看到過你們的奉獻。我看到過你們的投入,我看到過你們挺身而出,人數空前。我聽到了你們的聲音,創意和對數碼技術的精通使得這種聲音格外響亮,而我們這些年長的人幾乎不得其解。我看到心情迫切、躍躍欲試的一代人準備躋身歷史激流中,扭轉其方向。

And that defiant, can-do spirit is what runs through the veins of American history. It’s the lifeblood of all our progress. And it is that spirit which we need your generation to embrace and rekindle right now.
這種蔑視困難、積極進取的精神貫穿於整個美國曆史的進程。這種精神是我們一切進步的源泉。此時此刻,我們需要你們這一代繼承和發揚光大的正是這種精神。

See, the question is not whether things will get better -- they always do. The question is not whether we’ve got the solutions to our challenges -- we’ve had them within our grasp for quite some time. We know, for example, that this country would be better off if more Americans were able to get the kind of education that you’ve received here at Barnard -- (applause) -- if more people could get the specific skills and training that employers are looking for today.
可以看出,問題並不在於事情是否會好轉——情況總是會變好的。問題也不在於我們是否已經有了應對我們面臨的挑戰的解決辦法——我們一直掌握着這些解決辦法,已有相當一段時間了。比如說,我們知道,如果有更多的美國人能得到你們在巴納德得到的這樣的教育(掌聲)——如果有更多的人能夠獲得今天的僱主所需要的那些特定的技能和訓練,美國的情況會更好。

We know that we’d all be better off if we invest in science and technology that sparks new businesses and medical breakthroughs; if we developed more clean energy so we could use less foreign oil and reduce the carbon pollution that’s threatening our planet. (Applause.)
我們知道,如果我們投資於能夠造就新的企業並帶動醫學突破的科學與技術,如果我們開發出更多的清潔能源以減少使用外國石油並減少對我們的地球構成威脅的碳污染,我們大家的日子會過得更好。(掌聲)

We know that we’re better off when there are rules that stop big banks from making bad bets with other people’s money and -- (applause) -- when insurance companies aren’t allowed to drop your coverage when you need it most or charge women differently from men. (Applause.) Indeed, we know we are better off when women are treated fairly and equally in every aspect of American life -- whether it’s the salary you earn or the health decisions you make. (Applause.)
我們知道,如果有一定的規則制止大銀行拿別人的錢去惡賭(掌聲)——如果不允許保險公司在你最需要的時候取消你的保險資格或者對男女收費標準不一,我們的日子會過得更好。(掌聲)確實,我們都知道,如果婦女在國家生活的方方面面都能得到公平與平等的對待——無論是你的薪金所得還是你所作的健康決定,我們的日子會過得更好。(掌聲)

We know these things to be true. We know that our challenges are eminently solvable. The question is whether together, we can muster the will -- in our own lives, in our common institutions, in our politics -- to bring about the changes we need. And I’m convinced your generation possesses that will. And I believe that the women of this generation -- that all of you will help lead the way. (Applause.)
我們知道這些都是實實在在的道理。我們知道,我們面臨的挑戰顯然都是可以解決的。問題是,我們是否能夠擰成一股繩,拿出意志力——在我們自己的生活中,在我們共同的體制中,在我們的政治事務中——實現我們所需的變革。我堅信,你們這一代具有這種意志力。我相信,這一代女性——你們所有的人將會在這條道路上走在前面。

Now, I recognize that’s a cheap applause line when you're giving a commencement at Barnard. (Laughter.) It’s the easy thing to say. But it’s true. It is -- in part, it is simple math. Today, women are not just half this country; you’re half its workforce. (Applause.) More and more women are out-earning their husbands. You’re more than half of our college graduates, and master’s graduates, and PhDs. (Applause.) So you’ve got us outnumbered. (Laughter.)
我承認,這是不用費力就能在巴納德學院的畢業典禮上贏得鼓掌喝彩的一句話。(笑聲)說這樣的話很容易。但事實確實如此。這是——在某種程度上,這是簡單的數學題。今天,婦女不僅佔這個國家總人口的一半,你們還是這個國家勞動力的一半。(掌聲)越來越多的女性收入超過了她們的丈夫。你們在我們的大學畢業生中,在擁有碩士學位和博士學位的畢業生中佔了一半以上。(掌聲)所以,你們在人數上超過了我們。(笑聲)

After decades of slow, steady, extraordinary progress, you are now poised to make this the century where women shape not only their own destiny but the destiny of this nation and of this world.
在幾十年來的緩慢、持續、不凡的進展之後,你們即將在本世紀實現這樣的目標:婦女不僅能改變自己的命運,還能改變這個國家乃至這個世界的命運。But how far your leadership takes this country, how far it takes this world -- well, that will be up to you. You’ve got to want it. It will not be handed to you. And as someone who wants that future -- that better future -- for you, and for Malia and Sasha, as somebody who’s had the good fortune of being the husband and the father and the son of some strong, remarkable women, allow me to offer just a few pieces of advice. That's obligatory. (Laughter.) Bear with me.
然而,你們的主動性能使這個國家走多遠、能使這個世界走多遠,還要取決於你們自己。你們必須有這種願望。進步不可能由別人拱手奉上。作爲一個希望你們、瑪莉婭和薩夏擁有這一前途及更美好前途的人,作爲一個有幸成爲幾位堅強傑出的女性的丈夫、父親和兒子的人,請允許我貢獻幾條建議。這是義不容辭的。(笑聲) 容我慢慢道來。

My first piece of advice is this: Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table. (Applause.)
我的第一條建議是,僅僅參與還不夠,要爲在決策中贏得一席之地而奮鬥。能爲坐上首席而奮鬥就更好了。(掌聲)

It’s been said that the most important role in our democracy is the role of citizen. And indeed, it was 225 years ago today that the Constitutional Convention opened in Philadelphia, and our founders, citizens all, began crafting an extraordinary document. Yes, it had its flaws -- flaws that this nation has strived to perfect over time. Questions of race and gender were unresolved. No woman’s signature graced the original document -- although we can assume that there were founding mothers whispering smarter things in the ears of the founding fathers. (Applause.) I mean, that's almost certain.
有人說,我們民主中最重要的角色是公民角色。的確如此,225年前的今天,費城召開了制憲大會,我們的開國元勳,我們所有的公民,開始起草一項偉大的綱領。是的,該文件有缺陷,這個國家後來爲了完善它而作出了努力。種族和性別問題當時沒有得到解決。最初的文件上沒有婦女的簽名來爲之增添光彩,但是我們可以想象,一些開國之母在開國之父的耳旁輕聲細語地指點一些高招。(掌聲)我是說,幾乎肯定如此。

What made this document special was that it provided the space -- the possibility -- for those who had been left out of our charter to fight their way in. It provided people the language to appeal to principles and ideals that broadened democracy’s reach. It allowed for protest, and movements, and the dissemination of new ideas that would repeatedly, decade after decade, change the world -- a constant forward movement that continues to this day.
這份文件之所以特別,是因爲它爲那些沒有被納入我們的憲法的人們提供了爭取權利的空間和可能性。它爲人民提供了藉助於一些原則和理想拓展民主範圍的語言。它允許發起抗議和運動,允許傳播新思想,一代又一代地改變着世界,形成了一股永不休止的潮流,一直延續到今天。

Our founders understood that America does not stand still; we are dynamic, not static. We look forward, not back. And now that new doors have been opened for you, you’ve got an obligation to seize those opportunities.
我們的開國元勳認識到,美國並非一成不變;我們充滿活力,不會停滯不前。我們向前看,不回頭。既然新的大門已爲你們敞開,你們就有義務把握這些機會。

You need to do this not just for yourself but for those who don’t yet enjoy the choices that you’ve had, the choices you will have. And one reason many workplaces still have outdated policies is because women only account for 3 percent of the CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. One reason we’re actually refighting long-settled battles over women’s rights is because women occupy fewer than one in five seats in Congress.
你們需要這麼做,不僅是爲了你們自己,也是爲了那些沒有得到你們已經有過以及還將擁有的種種選擇的人。許多工作場所仍在實行過時的政策,原因之一就是婦女只佔財富500強公司首席行政官的3%。我們仍在爲爭取婦女權利而再次進行早已完成的抗爭,原因之一就是婦女在國會所佔的席位還不到五分之一。

Now, I’m not saying that the only way to achieve success is by climbing to the top of the corporate ladder or running for office -- although, let’s face it, Congress would get a lot more done if you did. (Laughter and applause.) That I think we’re sure about. But if you decide not to sit yourself at the table, at the very least you’ve got to make sure you have a say in who does. It matters.
我不是說取得成功的唯一途徑是晉升到公司的最高層,或是競選公職,不過,請讓我們面對這個事實:如果你們競選公職,國會將能大有作爲。(笑聲和掌聲) 我想大家對此是深信無疑的。但如果你們決定不親身參政,至少也應該確保自己有權選擇議員。這很重要。

Before women like Barbara Mikulski and Olympia Snowe and others got to Congress, just to take one example, much of federally-funded research on diseases focused solely on their effects on men. It wasn’t until women like Patsy Mink and Edith Green got to Congress and passed Title IX, 40 years ago this year, that we declared women, too, should be allowed to compete and win on America’s playing fields. (Applause.) Until a woman named Lilly Ledbetter showed up at her office and had the courage to step up and say, you know what, this isn’t right, women weren’t being treated fairly -- we lacked some of the tools we needed to uphold the basic principle of equal pay for equal work.
例如,在像芭芭拉·米庫爾斯基和奧林匹婭·斯諾及其他女性進入國會前,聯邦資助的大部分疾病研究主要側重於疾病對男性的影響。40年前的今天,帕齊·明克和伊迪絲·格林等女性進入國會並通過[教育法修正案]《第九條》,從而宣佈女性也有資格在美國的運動場上參與競賽並取勝。(掌聲)一個名叫莉莉·萊德貝特的女性來到她的辦公室,勇敢地而明確地說:你們知道嗎,這不對,女性沒有得到公正待遇——我們缺乏一些必要的手段捍衛同工同酬的基本原則。

So don’t accept somebody else’s construction of the way things ought to be. It’s up to you to right wrongs. It’s up to you to point out injustice. It’s up to you to hold the system accountable and sometimes upend it entirely. It’s up to you to stand up and to be heard, to write and to lobby, to march, to organize, to vote. Don’t be content to just sit back and watch.
所以不要接受別人對於事情理當如何的看法。你應當來糾正錯誤做法。你應當來指出不公不義。你應當來督促社會體制負起責任,有時需要全盤改變。你應當挺身而出,發表意見,撰文遊說,遊行示威,組織民衆,投票表決。不要滿足於袖手旁觀。

Those who oppose change, those who benefit from an unjust status quo, have always bet on the public’s cynicism or the public's complacency. Throughout American history, though, they have lost that bet, and I believe they will this time as well. (Applause.) But ultimately, Class of 2012, that will depend on you. Don’t wait for the person next to you to be the first to speak up for what’s right. Because maybe, just maybe, they’re waiting on you.
那些反對變革、受益於不公平現狀的人,總是賭定公衆要不是憤世嫉俗就是洋洋自得。可是縱觀美國曆史,他們一再下錯賭注,我相信這一次也不例外。(掌聲)可是說到底,2012屆的同學們,這將取決於你們。不要等待你身旁的人第一個爲正義發言。因爲有可能,只是有此可能,他們正在等你帶頭。

Which brings me to my second piece of advice: Never underestimate the power of your example. The very fact that you are graduating, let alone that more women now graduate from college than men, is only possible because earlier generations of women -- your mothers, your grandmothers, your aunts -- shattered the myth that you couldn’t or shouldn’t be where you are. (Applause.)
這就涉及我的第二條建議:切勿低估以身作則的力量。你們即將畢業的事實,且不說目前大學畢業的女生人數超過男生,都是因爲前輩女性--你們的母親、祖母、姨嬸--打破了你不能或者不應當身在此處的神話。(掌聲)

I think of a friend of mine who’s the daughter of immigrants. When she was in high school, her guidance counselor told her, you know what, you’re just not college material. You should think about becoming a secretary. Well, she was stubborn, so she went to college anyway. She got her master’s. She ran for local office, won. She ran for state office, she won. She ran for Congress, she won. And lo and behold, Hilda Solis did end up becoming a secretary -- (laughter) -- she is America’s Secretary of Labor. (Applause.)
我想起一位朋友,她是移民的女兒。念中學時,她的指導老師告訴她,你不是念大學的材料,你應當考慮去當祕書。她很固執,所以還是念了大學,進而拿到碩士學位。她競選地方公職,結果勝選。她競選州政府公職,再度勝選。她競選國會議員,又是勝選。請聽好了,希爾達·索利斯最終的確成爲一名祕書--(笑聲)--她成爲美國勞工部的祕書[譯者注:“祕書”和“部長”在英文中是同一個單詞]。(掌聲)

So think about what that means to a young Latina girl when she sees a Cabinet secretary that looks like her. (Applause.) Think about what it means to a young girl in Iowa when she sees a presidential candidate who looks like her. Think about what it means to a young girl walking in Harlem right down the street when she sees a U.N. ambassador who looks like her. Do not underestimate the power of your example.
所以想想看,當一名拉丁裔的小女孩看到一名長得像她的內閣部長,會作何感想。(掌聲) 當一名艾奧瓦州的小女孩看到一名長得像她的總統候選人,會作何感想。當一名小女孩走在哈萊姆區的街上,看到一名長得像她的駐聯合國大使,她會作何感想。不要低估了你們以身作則的力量。

This diploma opens up new possibilities, so reach back, convince a young girl to earn one, too. If you earned your degree in areas where we need more women -- like computer science or engineering -- (applause) -- reach back and persuade another student to study it, too. If you're going into fields where we need more women, like construction or computer engineering -- reach back, hire someone new. Be a mentor. Be a role model.
這張文憑將會開闢新的可能性,因此,回過頭去,說服另一個小女孩也去追求文憑。如果你們學習的專業是需要更多女性投入的領域--比如計算機科學或者工程學--(掌聲)--也要說服另一名學生加入你們的學習行列。如果你們進入的是需要更多女性加入的領域,如建築施工或者計算機工程--那就回頭聘一位新人。做一個指導者。做一個好榜樣。

Until a girl can imagine herself, can picture herself as a computer programmer, or a combatant commander, she won’t become one. Until there are women who tell her, ignore our pop culture obsession over beauty and fashion -- (applause) -- and focus instead on studying and inventing and competing and leading, she’ll think those are the only things that girls are supposed to care about. Now, Michelle will say, nothing wrong with caring about it a little bit. (Laughter.) You can be stylish and powerful, too. (Applause.) That's Michelle’s advice. (Applause.)
一名女孩要成爲計算機程序員或者軍事指揮官,她必須首先具備這樣的理想。如果沒有別的女性告訴她,不要在意我們的流行文化對於美麗和時尚的迷戀--(掌聲)--而是專注學習,發明創新,與人競爭,發揮領導作用,她就會一直在意那些事情。好,米歇爾會說,在意一點又何妨。(笑聲)你可以既時髦又有力量。(掌聲) 那是米歇爾的建議。(掌聲)

And never forget that the most important example a young girl will ever follow is that of a parent. Malia and Sasha are going to be outstanding women because Michelle and Marian Robinson are outstanding women. So understand your power, and use it wisely.
千萬不要忘記一個女孩仿效的最重要榜樣就是她的父母。瑪莉婭和莎夏將會成爲傑出的女性,因爲米歇爾和瑪麗安·魯賓遜都是傑出的女性。所以,要認識到你們的力量,並且明智地加以運用。

My last piece of advice -- this is simple, but perhaps most important: Persevere. Persevere. Nothing worthwhile is easy. No one of achievement has avoided failure -- sometimes catastrophic failures. But they keep at it. They learn from mistakes. They don’t quit.
我的最後一點建議--這很簡單,但可能是最重要的一點:堅持不懈。堅持不懈。有價值的事物得之不易。沒有一個有成就的人能夠避免失敗--有時甚至是一敗塗地。可是他們堅持不懈,從錯誤中學習。他們絕不放棄。

You know, when I first arrived on this campus, it was with little money, fewer options. But it was here that I tried to find my place in this world. I knew I wanted to make a difference, but it was vague how in fact I’d go about it. (Laughter.) But I wanted to do my part to do my part to shape a better world.
你們知道,我剛到這個校園時,沒多少錢,更沒多少選擇。但正是在這裏,我試圖尋找我在這個世界上的立足之地。我知道我想有所作爲,但卻不清楚如何去做。(笑聲)可我想盡自己的力量去建設一個更美好的世界。

So even as I worked after graduation in a few unfulfilling jobs here in New York -- I will not list them all -- (laughter) -- even as I went from motley apartment to motley apartment, I reached out. I started to write letters to community organizations all across the country. And one day, a small group of churches on the South Side of Chicago answered, offering me work with people in neighborhoods hit hard by steel mills that were shutting down and communities where jobs were dying away.
因此,即使當我畢業後在紐約從事幾份沒有成就感的工作的時候——我不會一 一列舉——(笑聲)——即使在我搬出一間雜亂的公寓又搬到另一間同樣雜亂的公寓的時候,我也在努力求索。我開始給全國各地的社區組織寫信。有一天,芝加哥南區的一個小型教會組織回了信,給了我一份爲當地居民服務的工作,他們那裏的鋼廠停業使他們受到沉重打擊,那裏的就業機會也一天天消失。

The community had been plagued by gang violence, so once I arrived, one of the first things we tried to do was to mobilize a meeting with community leaders to deal with gangs. And I’d worked for weeks on this project. We invited the police; we made phone calls; we went to churches; we passed out flyers. The night of the meeting we arranged rows and rows of chairs in anticipation of this crowd. And we waited, and we waited. And finally, a group of older folks walked in to the hall and they sat down. And this little old lady raised her hand and asked, “Is this where the bingo game is?” (Laughter.) It was a disaster. Nobody showed up. My first big community meeting -- nobody showed up.
當地社區一直被幫派暴力所擾,所以我一到那裏,我們爭取做的第一件事情就是與社區領袖開會商量應對幫派的對策。我爲這項工作忙了好幾個星期。我們邀請了警察;我們打了電話,我們去了教堂;我們散發了傳單。要開會的那天晚上,我們排好了一排排椅子,以爲會有一大羣人到會。我們等啊等。最後,一​​羣老人走進大廳,然後坐下來。有一位瘦小的老太太舉起了手,問道:“賓果遊戲是在這裏嗎?”(笑聲)真是糟糕透了。沒有人來。我的第一個社區大會——沒有人到場。

And later, the volunteers I worked with told me, that's it; we’re quitting. They'd been doing this for two years even before I had arrived. They had nothing to show for it. And I’ll be honest, I felt pretty discouraged as well. I didn't know what I was doing. I thought about quitting. And as we were talking, I looked outside and saw some young boys playing in a vacant lot across the street. And they were just throwing rocks up at a boarded building. They had nothing better to do -- late at night, just throwing rocks. And I said to the volunteers, “Before you quit, answer one question. What will happen to those boys if you quit? Who will fight for them if we don’t? Who will give them a fair shot if we leave?
後來,和我一起工作的志願人員對我說,夠了,我們不幹了。他們在我來之前已經幹了兩年之久。他們覺得沒有任何成就可言。說實話,我也感到相當氣餒​​。我不知道我在做什麼。我想過不幹了。當我們交談的時候,我往外邊看了看,看到一羣年輕的男孩在馬路對面的空地上玩耍。他們正對着一座用板子釘起來的建築物投擲石塊。他們百無聊賴——在深夜,扔石頭玩。我對那些志願人員說:“在你們退出之前,先回答一個問題。如果你們不幹了那些男孩會怎麼樣?如果我們不爲他們着想,還有誰會爲他們奮鬥呢?如果我們走了,還有誰會給他們一個公平的機會呢?

And one by one, the volunteers decided not to quit. We went back to those neighborhoods and we kept at it. We registered new voters, and we set up after-school programs, and we fought for new jobs, and helped people live lives with some measure of dignity. And we sustained ourselves with those small victories. We didn’t set the world on fire. Some of those communities are still very poor. There are still a lot of gangs out there. But I believe that it was those small victories that helped me win the bigger victories of my last three and a half years as President.
志願者們一個接一個地決定不放棄。我們回到那些街區,繼續堅持工作。我們給新選民登記,我們安排課後活動,我們爭取新的就業機會,並幫助人們活得更有尊嚴。我們用那些小小的勝利鼓勵自己。我們並沒有做什麼驚天動地的事。這些社區中有一些仍然很貧窮。那裏仍然有很多的幫派出沒。但我相信,就是這些小小的勝利幫助我在這三年半里作爲總統贏得了更大的勝利。

And I wish I could say that this perseverance came from some innate toughness in me. But the truth is, it was learned. I got it from watching the people who raised me. More specifically, I got it from watching the women who shaped my life.
我希望我能說這種執着源於我與生俱來的某種毅力。但事實是,這是後天學到的。我是從養育我的人身上學到的。更具體地說,我是從影響了我的生活的那些女性身上學到的。

I grew up as the son of a single mom who struggled to put herself through school and make ends meet. She had marriages that fell apart; even went on food stamps at one point to help us get by. But she didn’t quit. And she earned her degree, and made sure that through scholarships and hard work, my sister and I earned ours. She used to wake me up when we were living overseas -- wake me up before dawn to study my English lessons. And when I’d complain, she’d just look at me and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.” (Laughter.)
我是一個單身母親的兒子,她含辛茹苦,在努力維持家庭生計的同時完成學業。她有過破碎的婚姻,甚至一度靠領取食品劵勉強養家度日。但她沒有放棄。她獲得了學位,並確保我和我妹妹能依靠獎學金和辛勤努力來獲得我們的學位。當我們在海外生活時,她常常叫我起牀——天不亮就起牀,學習英語課程。當我抱怨時,她就會看着我說:“小子,這對我也並不輕鬆。”(笑聲)And my mom ended up dedicating herself to helping women around the world access the money they needed to start their own businesses -- she was an early pioneer in microfinance. And that meant, though, that she was gone a lot, and she had her own struggles trying to figure out balancing motherhood and a career. And when she was gone, my grandmother stepped up to take care of me.
我的母親最終完全投入到幫助世界各地婦女獲得創業所需資金的工作中——她是微型信貸的一個先驅。但這意味着她經常不在家,而且她有着自身的掙扎,要努力在做母親和發展事業之間找到平衡。她不在家時,我的外祖母承擔起照顧我的責任。

She only had a high school education. She got a job at a local bank. She hit the glass ceiling, and watched men she once trained promoted up the ladder ahead of her. But she didn’t quit. Rather than grow hard or angry each time she got passed over, she kept doing her job as best as she knew how, and ultimately ended up being vice president at the bank. She didn’t quit.
她僅受過高中教育。她在當地銀行找到一份工作,她遇到了事業上的玻璃天花板,眼看着她曾經培訓過的男人晉升到比她更高的級別。但她沒有退卻。她沒有因一次次機會旁落而變得冷漠或憤怒,而是繼續儘自己最大努力做好工作,最終她成爲銀行的副總裁。她沒有退卻。

And later on, I met a woman who was assigned to advise me on my first summer job at a law firm. And she gave me such good advice that I married her. (Laughter.) And Michelle and I gave everything we had to balance our careers and a young family. But let’s face it, no matter how enlightened I must have thought myself to be, it often fell more on her shoulders when I was traveling, when I was away. I know that when she was with our girls, she’d feel guilty that she wasn’t giving enough time to her work, and when she was at her work, she’d feel guilty she wasn’t giving enough time to our girls. And both of us wished we had some superpower that would let us be in two places at once. But we persisted. We made that marriage work.
後來,我遇到一位女性,她被派來擔任我在一家律師事務所從事的第一份暑期工作的指導。她對我的指導如此之好,以致於我娶了她。(笑聲)米歇爾和我竭盡全力在發展事業與照顧幼小的孩子之間找到平衡。但是說實話,不管我當時可能認爲自己是多麼開通,在我外出旅行時,在我不在家時,家事往往更多地落在她的肩上。我知道,在照顧我們的兩個女兒時,她爲沒有在工作上付出足夠時間感到內疚;而當她上班時,又爲沒有給孩子足夠的時間感到內疚。我們倆都唯願我們有某種超人的能力,使我們能夠兩者兼顧。但我們堅持住了,我們的努力保證了婚姻的成功。

And the reason Michelle had the strength to juggle everything, and put up with me and eventually the public spotlight, was because she, too, came from a family of folks who didn’t quit -- because she saw her dad get up and go to work every day even though he never finished college, even though he had crippling MS. She saw her mother, even though she never finished college, in that school, that urban school, every day making sure Michelle and her brother were getting the education they deserved. Michelle saw how her parents never quit. They never indulged in self-pity, no matter how stacked the odds were against them. They didn't quit.
米歇爾之所以能夠堅強地招架一切並忍受我,而且最終忍受公衆聚光,是因爲她同樣來自一個不輕易退卻的家庭——因爲她看到她的父親每天一大早起來去上班,儘管他從未唸完大學,儘管他患有影響行動的多發性硬化症。她看到,儘管她的母親從未唸完大學,但在那個學校,那個貧民區的學校,她每天都確保米歇爾和她的哥哥受到他們應該得到的教育。米歇爾看到她的父母從不放棄。他們從不沉溺於自憐,不管他們面臨多麼不利的境況。他們從不放棄。

Those are the folks who inspire me. People ask me sometimes, who inspires you, Mr. President? Those quiet heroes all across this country -- some of your parents and grandparents who are sitting here -- no fanfare, no articles written about them, they just persevere. They just do their jobs. They meet their responsibilities. They don't quit. I'm only here because of them. They may not have set out to change the world, but in small, important ways, they did. They certainly changed mine.
正是這些人激勵着我。人們有時問我,總統先生,是誰激勵着你?是這個國家各地那些默默耕耘的英雄——今天在座的你們一些人的父母和祖父母——他們不張揚,沒有文章報道他們,他們只是堅持不懈。他們只是做好本職工作。他們履行自己的責任。他們不放棄。正是因爲有他們我才站到這裏。他們或許並沒有從一開始就要改變世界,但他們以一點一滴的重要方式,改變了世界。他們無疑改變了我的世界。

So whether it’s starting a business, or running for office, or raising an amazing family, remember that making your mark on the world is hard. It takes patience. It takes commitment. It comes with plenty of setbacks and it comes with plenty of failures.
因此,無論是創辦一家企業、 競選公職、還是撫養一個美好的家庭,請記住:要在這個世界上留下你的影響不是一件輕而易舉的事情。它需要耐心。它需要投入。隨之而來的是大量挫折,以及無數次的失敗。

But whenever you feel that creeping cynicism, whenever you hear those voices say you can’t make a difference, whenever somebody tells you to set your sights lower -- the trajectory of this country should give you hope. Previous generations should give you hope. What young generations have done before should give you hope. Young folks who marched and mobilized and stood up and sat in, from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, didn’t just do it for themselves; they did it for other people. (Applause.)
但每當你感覺到那種迎面撲來的冷嘲熱諷,每當你聽到人們說你無法改變現狀,每當有人告訴你要苟且偷生——這個國家走過的道路應該給你帶來希望。前幾代人的經歷應該給你帶來希望。在你之前的一代又一代年輕人做過的一切應該給你帶來希望。無論是在塞尼卡福爾斯還是在塞爾瑪或是在石牆,當時那些參加遊行、動員起來、挺身而出、進行靜坐的年輕人,他們不僅僅是爲自己這樣做 ;他們這樣做是爲了別人。(掌聲)

That’s how we achieved women’s rights. That's how we achieved voting rights. That's how we achieved workers’ rights. That's how we achieved gay rights. (Applause.) That’s how we’ve made this Union more perfect. (Applause.)
就是這樣,我們獲得了婦女權利;就是這樣,我們獲得了選舉權;就是這樣,我們獲得了工人權利;就是這樣,我們獲得了同性戀權利。(掌聲)就是這樣,我們使我們的合衆國更趨完美。(掌聲)

And if you’re willing to do your part now, if you're willing to reach up and close that gap between what America is and what America should be, I want you to know that I will be right there with you. (Applause.) If you are ready to fight for that brilliant, radically simple idea of America that no matter who you are or what you look like, no matter who you love or what God you worship, you can still pursue your own happiness, I will join you every step of the way. (Applause.)
如果你們願意現在就來盡你們的職責,如果你們願意竭盡所能縮小美國現狀與理想之間的差距,我想讓你們知道:我會與你們站在一起。(掌聲)。不管你是誰、不管你的外貌如何、不管你愛的是誰或敬拜什麼樣的神,你仍然可以追求自己的幸福——如果你準備爲美國實現這個十分簡單卻又非常美好的想法而奮鬥,我會在前進的道路上與你並肩邁出每一步。(掌聲)

Now more than ever -- now more than ever, America needs what you, the Class of 2012, has to offer. America needs you to reach high and hope deeply. And if you fight for your seat at the table, and you set a better example, and you persevere in what you decide to do with your life, I have every faith not only that you will succeed, but that, through you, our nation will continue to be a beacon of light for men and women, boys and girls, in every corner of the globe.
與以往任何時候相比——與以往任何時候相比,現在美國都更需要你們——2012屆的同學們——所能貢獻的一切。美國需要你們高瞻遠矚、胸懷大志。如果你們爲爭取自己的發言權而奮鬥,樹立一個更好的榜樣,堅持做你們一生中立志要做的事情,我堅信,不僅你們會取得成功,而且由於你們的努力,我們的國家將繼續是爲全球每一個角落的男人和女人、男孩和女孩照耀航程的燈塔。

So thank you. Congratulations. (Applause.) God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
因此,謝謝大家。向你們祝賀。(掌聲)上帝保佑你們。上帝保佑美利堅合衆國。(掌聲)

巴納德學院簡介:

巴納德學院(Barnard College)是美國的一所私立女子高等學校,1889年於紐約市創辦,以原哥倫比亞學院院長費雷德里克·巴納德的名字命名。1900年併入哥倫比亞大學,仍保留獨立的學校董事會和財政機構,有自己的教師、圖書館和與哥倫比亞大學共同享有的設備,但學士學位由哥倫比亞大學授予。課程涉及人文學、社會科學和自然科學,亦提供音樂、戲劇等方面的專門課程。學生可參加哥倫比亞大學的許多活動,亦可到哥倫比亞大學聽課。