Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, members of the General Assembly, my fellow Illinoisans: It's actually kind of fun to start a speech like that twice in one month. 议长先生、主席先生、各位议员、我的伊利诺伊州同胞们：一个月内两次以这样的方式开始演讲，其实还挺有意思的。
What an incredible privilege it is to address this chamber. And to Governor Rauner, Senator Durbin, members of Congress, Speaker Madigan, Former Governor Pat Quinn, Mayor Langfelder and the people of Springfield -- thank you for such a warm welcome as I come back home. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. It's good to be home. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank you. It is great to see so many old friends like John Cullerton and Emil Jones. I miss you guys. 能在这个议事厅发表演讲，我感到无比荣幸。向劳纳州长、德宾参议员、各位国会议员、马迪根议长、前州长帕特·奎因、兰费尔德市长以及斯普林菲尔德的人民表示感谢——感谢你们在我回家之际给予我如此热烈的欢迎。谢谢你们。非常感谢。谢谢。回到家的感觉真好。谢谢你们，朋友们。谢谢。谢谢。很高兴见到这么多老朋友，比如约翰·卡勒顿和埃米尔·琼斯。我想念你们。
It's great to be in the State Capitol. Being here today calls to mind the first time I spoke on the Senate floor, almost 20 years ago. And I was passionate, idealistic, ready to make a difference. Just to stand in that magnificent chamber was enough to fill me up with a heightened sense of purpose. 能回到州议会大厦真是太棒了。今天站在这里，让我想起了近20年前我第一次在参议院发言的情景。那时的我充满热情、满怀理想，准备大展拳脚。仅仅是站在那个宏伟的议事厅里，就足以让我心中充满崇高的使命感。
And I probably needed a little dose of reality when I first arrived. So one day, I rose to speak about a bill. And I thought I'd made some compelling points, with irrefutable logic. And I was about to sit down, feeling pretty good about myself, when Pate Philip sauntered over to my desk. Now, there are some young people here, so for those of you who don't remember, Pate Philip was the Senate Majority Leader at the time. 而我刚到这里的时候，可能确实需要一点现实的敲打。所以有一天，我站起来就一项法案发言。我以为自己提出了一些令人信服的观点，逻辑无懈可击。就在我准备坐下、自我感觉良好的时候，佩特·菲利普慢悠悠地走到我的办公桌前。现在在场的有些年轻人，可能不记得了，佩特·菲利普当时是参议院多数党领袖。
He was a Marine, and big shock of white hair, chomped on a cigar; was so politically incorrect that you don't even know how to describe it. But he always treated me well. And he came by and he slapped me on the back, he said, "Kid, that was a pretty good speech. In fact, I think you changed a lot of minds. But you didn't change any votes." Then he singled, and they gaveled, and we got blown out. 他是一名海军陆战队员，一头标志性的白发，嘴里总叼着雪茄；他政治上的不正确程度，你都不知道该怎么形容。但他一直对我很好。他走过来拍了拍我的背说："小子，演讲讲得不错。说实话，我觉得你改变了不少人的想法。但你一张票也没改变。"然后他打了个手势，他们一敲槌，我们就惨败了。
So that was my first lesson in humility. The next came when I presented my own first bill. It was a simple piece of legislation that would make it a lot easier for Illinois manufacturers to hire graduating community college students. I didn't know any serious opposition, so I asked for a vote. And what I got was a good hazing. I assume that this custom still exists. 那就是我学到的第一课——谦逊。第二课来自我提出自己的第一项法案时。那是一项简单的立法，旨在让伊利诺伊州的制造商更容易雇用社区学院的毕业生。我没觉得会有什么强烈反对，于是就要求投票。结果我好好地被"修理"了一顿。我猜这个传统现在还在。
So a senior colleague put the vote on hold to ask, "Could you correctly pronounce your name for me? I'm having a little trouble with it." "Obama," I said. "Is that Irish?" he asked. And being in my early 30s at the time, I was a little cocky -- I said, "It will be when I run countywide." "That was a good joke," he said, but he wasn't amused. "This bill is still going to die." 于是一位资深同事暂停了投票，问道："你能正确念出你的名字吗？我念着有点费劲。""奥巴马，"我说。"是爱尔兰名字吗？"他问。当时我才三十出头，有点自负——我说："等我参加全县竞选时就是了。""笑话讲得不错，"他说，但他并不觉得好笑，"反正这项法案还是得死掉。"
And he went on to complain that my predecessor's name was easier to pronounce than mine, that I didn't have cookies at my desk like she did, how would I ever expect to get any votes without having cookies on my desk. "I definitely urge a no vote," he said, "whatever your name is." 他接着抱怨说，我前任的名字比我的好念，我桌上不像她那样放着饼干，没有饼干我怎么能指望拉到选票呢。"我绝对投反对票，"他说，"不管你叫什么名字。"
And for the next several minutes, the Senate debated on whether I should add an apostrophe to my name for the Irish, or whether the fact that "Obama" ends in a vowel meant I actually belonged to the Italians -- and just how many trees had had to die to print this terrible, miserable bill, anyway. 在接下来的几分钟里，参议院就我是否应该给名字加个撇号以示爱尔兰渊源展开了辩论，或者说"奥巴马"以元音结尾是否意味着我其实是意大利人——还有，为了印刷这份糟糕透顶的法案，到底得砍掉多少棵树啊。
And I was chastened. And I said, "If I survive this event, I will be eternally grateful and consider this a highlight of my legal and legislative career." And I asked for a vote. And initially the tote board showed that it was going down, but at the last minute it flipped and my bill passed. But I was duly reminded that I was a freshman in the minority. And I want to thank all my former colleagues in both chambers for not letting me forget it. 我被说得灰头土脸。我说："如果这次能过关，我将永远感激不尽，并把这视为我法律和立法生涯的一大亮点。"然后我要求投票。起初计票板显示法案要被否决了，但在最后一刻形势逆转，我的法案通过了。但我也被郑重地提醒，我是少数党里的一名新人。我要感谢两院的所有前同事们，他们从没让我忘记这一点。
To be a rookie in the minority party, as I was, is not much fun in any legislature. We were called "mushrooms" -- because we were kept in the dark and fed a lot of manure. But one benefit of being in such a position -- not being invited into the meetings where the big deals were being made -- is that I had a lot of time to get to know my colleagues. And many of us were away from our families, and so we became friends. 像我那样作为少数党里的新人，在任何议会里都不是什么有趣的事。我们被称为"蘑菇"——因为我们被蒙在鼓里，还被灌了很多大粪。但处于这样的位置也有一个好处——不用去参加那些敲定大交易的会议——所以我有很多时间去了解我的同事们。我们很多人都远离家人，所以我们成了朋友。
We went to fish fries together. We'd go to union halls. We'd play in golf scrambles. We had a great bipartisan poker game at the Illinois Manufacturer's Association. Boro Relijie would host, and folks like Dave Luechtefeld and Terry Link, others would join in. We'd eat downstairs -- and I can't say I miss the horseshoes. 我们一起去吃鱼排。我们去工会大厅。我们打高尔夫 scramble 赛。我们在伊利诺伊制造商协会有一场超棒的两党扑克游戏。博罗·雷利耶做东，戴夫·卢克特菲尔德、特里·林克等人都会参加。我们在楼下吃饭——我得说我可不想念那些 horseshoe 三明治。
But away from the glare of TV, or the tweets, or the GIFs of today's media, what we discovered was that despite our surface differences -- Democrats and Republicans, downstate hog farmers, inner-city African Americans, suburban businesspeople, Latinos from Pilsen or Little Village -- despite those differences, we actually had a lot in common. We cared about our communities. We cared about our families. We cared about America. 但远离电视的聚光灯、远离推特、远离如今媒体的动图，我们发现，尽管表面上我们有分歧——民主党人和共和党人、南部的养猪农户、内陆城市的非裔美国人、郊区的商人、皮尔森或小村的拉丁裔——尽管有这些差异，我们其实有很多共同点。我们关心我们的社区。我们关心我们的家人。我们关心美国。
We fought hard for our positions. I don't want to be nostalgic here -- we voted against each other all the time. And party lines held most of the time. But those relationships, that trust we'd built meant that we came at each debate assuming the best in one another and not the worst. 我们为自己的立场激烈抗争。我不想在这里怀旧——我们一直都在互相投反对票。党派界限大多数时候都很分明。但那些我们建立的关系、那份信任，意味着我们在每次辩论中都假设对方心怀善意，而非恶意。
I was reminiscing with Christine Radogno -- we came in in the same class. And we were on opposite sides of most issues, but I always trusted her and believed that she was a good person. And if we had a bill that we might be able to work together on, it was a pleasure to work with her on. Or Dave Syverson, who -- we worked together on the Public Health and Welfare Committee, and we got some important work done that made a difference in people's lives. 我和克里斯汀·拉多尼奥一起回忆往事——我们是同一届进来的。我们在大多数问题上都站在对立面，但我一直信任她，相信她是个好人。如果我们有一项法案可以合作，和她一起工作是件愉快的事。还有戴夫·赛弗森——我们一起在公共卫生与福利委员会工作，我们完成了一些重要的工作，真正改善了人们的生活。
And we didn't call each other idiots or fascists who were trying to destroy America. Because then we'd have to explain why we were playing poker or having a drink with an idiot or a fascist who was trying to destroy America. 而且我们不会互相骂对方是白痴或企图摧毁美国的法西斯分子。因为那样的话，我们就得解释为什么要和一个白痴或一个企图摧毁美国的法西斯分子一起打牌或喝酒了。
And that respect gave us room for progress. And after I'd served here for six years, my party finally gained the majority. Emil Jones became the President of the Senate. And by then, I had made some friends across the aisle -- like Kirk Dillard, who I believe is here today, and we were able to pass the first serious ethics reform in 25 years. 那份尊重给了我们进步的空间。我在这里任职六年后，我的政党终于成为了多数党。埃米尔·琼斯成为了参议院议长。到那时，我已经在 aisle 对面交了一些朋友——比如柯克·迪拉德，我相信他今天也在这里——我们得以通过了25年来第一项严肃的道德改革法案。
And working closely with law enforcement, who knew by then that we cared about cops and sheriffs and prosecutors. And working with folks like John Cullerton, we passed Illinois' first racial profiling law, which was good for police officers and minority communities. 我们与执法部门密切合作，那时他们已经知道我们关心警察、警长和检察官。和约翰·卡勒顿等人一起，我们通过了伊利诺伊州第一部种族貌相法案，这对警察和少数族裔社区都有好处。
And because someone like my friend, John Bouman, who worked at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, helped us build coalitions across the state, including with business, and was able to then reach out to Republicans, we were able to increase tax credits for the working poor and expand health insurance to children in need. 因为我的朋友约翰·布曼——他在施赖弗贫困法律中心工作——帮助我们在全州建立联盟，包括与商界合作，并得以接触共和党人，我们才得以提高了工薪阶层的税收抵免，并为有需要的儿童扩大了医疗保险。
And we wouldn't bend on our most deeply held principles, but we were willing to forge compromises in pursuit of a larger goal. We were practical when we needed to be. We could fight like heck on one issue and then shake hands on the next. Somebody like Jesse White was able to travel around the state and people didn't even know what party he was necessarily from because he brought so much joy with the tumblers and the work that they were doing. 我们不会在最核心的原则上妥协，但我们愿意为了追求更大的目标而达成妥协。在需要的时候我们很务实。我们可以在一个问题上激烈争吵，然后在下一个问题上握手言和。像杰西·怀特这样的人，他走遍全州，人们甚至不一定知道他属于哪个党，因为他和那些翻跟头的表演者以及他们的工作带来了太多欢乐。
So I want you to know that this is why I've always believed so deeply in a better kind of politics, in part because of what I learned here in this legislature. Because of what I learned traveling across the state, visiting some of your districts, before I was running statewide, before I was a U.S. senator; learning all the corners of this state -- this most-representative of states. 所以我想让你们知道，这就是为什么我一直深深信仰一种更好的政治，部分原因就是我在这个议会里学到的东西。因为我在走遍全州、参观你们的选区时学到的东西——在我竞选全州职位之前，在我成为联邦参议员之前；了解了这个州的各个角落——这个最具代表性的州。
A state of small towns and rich farmland, and the world's greatest city. A microcosm of America, where Democrats and Republicans and independents, and good people of every ethnicity and every faith shared certain bedrock values. 一个有着小镇和肥沃农田，以及世界上最伟大城市的州。美国的缩影，在这里，民主党人、共和党人和独立人士，以及各个种族、各个信仰的善良人们，共享着某些基本价值观。
I just saw a story the other day showing that if you rank all 50 states across categories like education levels and household incomes, and race and religion, the one state that most closely mirrors America as a whole is Illinois, this state. 前几天我刚看到一篇报道，说如果你按教育水平、家庭收入、种族和宗教等类别对所有50个州进行排名，最能反映整个美国面貌的那个州就是伊利诺伊州，就是这个州。
And I learned by talking to your constituents that if you were willing to listen, it was possible to bridge a lot of differences. I learned that most Americans aren't following the ins and outs of the legislature carefully, but they instinctively know that issues are more complicated than rehearsed sound bites; that they play differently in different parts of the state and in the country. 通过与你们的选民交谈，我了解到，如果你愿意倾听，就有可能弥合许多分歧。我了解到，大多数美国人并不会密切关注议会的细节，但他们本能地知道，问题比排练好的声音片段要复杂得多；这些问题在州内不同地区、在全国不同地方，表现都不尽相同。
They understand the difference between realism and idealism; the difference between responsibility and recklessness. They had the maturity to know what can and cannot be compromised, and to admit the possibility that the other side just might have a point. 他们理解现实主义和理想主义的区别；责任和鲁莽的区别。他们有足够的成熟度知道什么可以妥协、什么不能妥协，也承认对方可能有道理。
And it convinced me that if we just approached our national politics the same way the American people approach their daily lives -- at the workplace, at the Little League game; at church or the synagogue -- with common sense, and a commitment to fair play and basic courtesy, that there is no problem that we couldn't solve together. 这让我相信，如果我们能以美国人民对待日常生活的方式——在工作场所、在少棒联盟的比赛中、在教堂或犹太会堂里——以常识、对公平竞争的承诺和基本的礼貌来对待我们的国家政治，那么就没有我们共同解决不了的问题。
And that was the vision that guided me when I first ran for the United States Senate. That's the vision I shared when I said we are more than just a collection of red states and blue states, but we are the United States of America. And that vision is why, nine years ago today, on the steps of the Old State Capitol just a few blocks from here, I announced my candidacy for President. 正是这个愿景指引着我第一次竞选联邦参议员。正是这个愿景，让我说出我们不仅仅是红州和蓝州的集合，我们是美利坚合众国。也正是这个愿景，九年前的今天，在离这里几个街区的旧州议会大厦台阶上，我宣布了我的总统候选人身份。
Now, over these nine years, I want you to know my faith in the generosity and the fundamental goodness of the American people has been rewarded and affirmed over and over and over again. I've seen it in the determination of autoworkers who had been laid off but were sure that they could once again be part of a great, iconic Americans industry. 九年过去了，我想让你们知道，我对美国人民的慷慨和基本善良的信念，一次又一次地得到了回报和印证。我从汽车工人的决心中看到了这一点——他们曾被解雇，但坚信自己能再次成为这个伟大的、标志性的美国产业的一部分。
I've seen it in the single mom who goes back to school even as she's working and looking after her kids because she wants a better life for that next generation. I've seen it the vision and risk-taking of small businessmen. I've seen it time and time again in the courage of our troops. 我从一位单身母亲身上看到了这一点——她一边工作一边照顾孩子，还要重返学校，因为她想让下一代过上更好的生活。我从小商人的远见和冒险精神中看到了这一点。我从我们军队的勇气中一次又一次地看到了这一点。
But it's been noted often by pundits that the tone of our politics hasn't gotten better since I was inaugurated, in fact it's gotten worse; that there's still this yawning gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics. Which is why, in my final State of the Union address, and in the one before that, I had to acknowledge that one of my few regrets is my inability to reduce the polarization and meanness in our politics. I was able to be part of that here and yet couldn't translate it the way I wanted to into our politics in Washington. 但评论家常说，自我就职以来，我们政治的基调并没有变好，反而变得更糟；我们面临的挑战之巨大与我们政治之渺小之间，仍然存在着巨大的鸿沟。正因如此，在我最后一次国情咨文演讲中，以及之前的那次演讲中，我不得不承认，我为数不多的遗憾之一，就是未能减少我们政治中的极化和恶意。我在这里曾是其中的一部分，却没能把它按照我想要的方式带到华盛顿的政治中去。
And people ask me why I've devoted so much time to this topic. And I tell them it's not just because I'm President, and the polarization and the gridlock are frustrating to me. The fact is we've gotten a heck of a lot done these past seven years, despite the gridlock. We saved the economy from a depression. We brought back an auto industry from the brink of collapse. 人们问我为什么在这个话题上投入这么多时间。我告诉他们，这不只是因为我是总统，极化和僵局让我感到沮丧。事实是，尽管有僵局，过去七年我们还是做成了很多事。我们把经济从大萧条的边缘拉了回来。我们让汽车工业从崩溃的边缘起死回生。
We helped our businesses create 14 million new jobs over the past six years. We cut the unemployment rate from 10 percent to 4.9 percent. We covered nearly 18 million more Americans with health insurance. We ignited a clean energy revolution. We got bin Laden. We brought the vast majority of our troops home to their families. We got a lot done. We're still getting a lot done. 我们帮助企业在过去六年创造了1400万个新工作岗位。我们把失业率从10%降到了4.9%。我们让近1800万美国人获得了医疗保险。我们掀起了一场清洁能源革命。我们击毙了本·拉登。我们让绝大多数军人回家与家人团聚。我们做成了很多事。我们还在继续做成很多事。
And our political system helped make these things possible, and the list could go on. There's no doubt America is better off today than when I took office. I didn't want this to be a State of Union speech where we have the standing up and the sitting down. Come on, guys, you know better than that. No, no, no, I've got a serious point to make here. I've got a serious point to make here because this is part of the issue, right? We have an importation of our politics nationally, and on cable and talk radio, and it seeps into everything. 我们的政治制度让这一切成为可能，这样的例子还有很多。毫无疑问，美国今天比我就职时更好了。我可不想把这变成一场国情咨文演讲，让你们一会儿站起来一会儿坐下。拜托，各位，你们比这清楚。不，不，不，我在这里要讲一个严肃的观点。我要讲一个严肃的观点，因为这就是问题的一部分，对吗？我们把全国性的政治——以及有线电视和谈话电台上的政治——带到了这里，它渗透到了一切事物中。
The point I'm trying to make is I care about fixing our politics not only because I'm the President today, or because some of my initiatives have been blocked by Congress -- that happens to every President, happens to every governor, happens to everybody who participates -- anybody who participates in a democracy. You're not going to get 100 percent of what you want all the time. 我想说的是，我关心改善我们的政治，不仅仅因为我是现任总统，也不仅仅因为我的一些提案被国会否决了——每位总统都会遇到这种情况，每位州长都会遇到，每个参与民主的人都会遇到。你不可能永远得到你想要的一切。
The reason this is important to me is, next year I'll still hold the most important title of all, and that's the title of citizen. And as an American citizen, I understand that our progress is not inevitable -- our progress has never been inevitable. It must be fought for, and won by all of us, with the kind of patriotism that our fellow Illinoisan, Adlai Stevenson, once described not as a "short, frenzied outburst of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." It requires citizenship and a sense that we are one. 对我来说，这件事之所以重要，是因为明年我仍将拥有最重要的头衔，那就是公民的头衔。作为一名美国公民，我明白我们的进步不是必然的——我们的进步从来都不是必然的。它必须由我们所有人去争取、去赢得，带着我们伊利诺伊州的同乡阿德莱·史蒂文森曾描述的那种爱国主义——不是"短暂的、狂热的情感爆发，而是一生的平静而坚定的奉献"。这需要公民精神，需要一种我们是一体的意识。
And today that kind of citizenship is threatened by a poisonous political climate that pushes people away from participating in our public life. It turns folks off. It discourages them, makes them cynical. And when that happens, more powerful and extreme voices fill the void. When that happens, progress stalls. 而今天，这种公民精神正受到有毒政治气候的威胁，这种气候把人们推离公共生活。它让人们失去兴趣。它让人们气馁，变得愤世嫉俗。当这种情况发生时，更强大、更极端的声音就会填补空白。当这种情况发生时，进步就会停滞。
And that's how we end up with only a handful of lobbyists setting the agenda. That's how we end up with policies that are detached from what working families face every day. That's how we end up with the well-connected who publicly demand that government stay out of their business but then whisper in its ear for special treatment. 这就是为什么最后只有少数说客在设定议程。这就是为什么我们的政策与工薪家庭每天面临的现实脱节。这就是为什么那些有权有势的人公开要求政府别管他们的生意，私下里却在政府耳边低语要求特殊待遇。
That's how our political system gets consumed by small things when we are a people that are called to do great things -- to give everybody a shot in a changing economy; to keep America safe and strong in an uncertain world; to repair our climate before it threatens everything we leave for our kids. 这就是我们的政治制度如何被小事消耗的，而我们作为一个民族，被召唤去做伟大的事——在不断变化的经济中给每个人机会；在不确定的世界中保持美国的安全和强大；在气候威胁到我们留给孩子的一切之前修复它。
So that's what's on my mind as I come back to Illinois today. This is what will be a focus of mine over the course of this year and beyond: What can we do, all of us, together, to try to make our politics better? And I speak to both sides on this. As all of you know, it could be better, and all of you would feel prouder of the work you do if it was better. 所以这就是我今天回到伊利诺伊州心中所想的。这将是我今年及以后的一个重点：我们所有人可以一起做些什么，来努力让我们的政治变得更好？我对两党都这样说。你们都知道，政治可以变得更好，而如果它变得更好，你们都会为自己的工作感到更自豪。
So, first, let's put to rest a couple of myths about our politics. One is the myth that the problems with our politics are new. They are not. American politics has never been particularly gentle or high-minded -- especially not during times of great change. 那么首先，让我们打破几个关于我们政治的迷思。一个迷思是，我们政治的问题是新出现的。不是的。美国政治从来就不是特别温和或高尚的——尤其是在大变革时期。
As I mentioned when I visited a mosque in Maryland last week, Thomas Jefferson's opponent tried to stir things up by suggesting he was a Muslim. So I'm in good company. But that's nothing compared to the newspaper which warned that if Jefferson were elected, "murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly taught and practiced." 正如我上周访问马里兰州一座清真寺时提到的，托马斯·杰斐逊的对手曾试图挑起事端，暗示他是穆斯林。所以我还不算孤单。但这跟一家报纸的警告比起来算不了什么——那家报纸警告说，如果杰斐逊当选，"谋杀、抢劫、强奸、通奸和乱伦将被公开教授和实行。"
His Vice President, Aaron Burr, literally killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. I don't even want to tell you what Andrew Jackson's opponents said about his mamma. Lincoln, himself, was routinely called "weak, wishy-washy," a "yahoo," "an unshapely man," "the obscene ape of Illinois," and, my favorite -- a "facetious pettifogger." I don't know what that means -- but it sounds insulting. 他的副总统亚伦·伯尔，真的在一场决斗中杀死了亚历山大·汉密尔顿。我都不想告诉你们安德鲁·杰克逊的对手们是怎么说他妈妈的。林肯本人也经常被骂成"软弱、优柔寡断"、"乡巴佬"、"丑八怪"、"伊利诺伊的下流猿猴"，还有我最喜欢的——"滑稽的讼棍"。我不知道那是什么意思——但听起来很侮辱人。
So, comparatively speaking, today is not that bad -- as long as you've got a thick skin. As Harold Washington once said: "Politics ain't beanbag." It's tough. And that's okay. 所以，相对而言，今天还不算太糟——只要你脸皮够厚。正如哈罗德·华盛顿曾经说过的："政治可不是豆子袋游戏。"它很残酷。这没关系。
There's also the notion sometimes that our politics are broken because politicians are significantly more corrupt or beholden to big money than they used to be. There's no doubt that lobbyists still have easier access to the halls of power than the average American. There's a lot of work that we need to do to make sure that the system works for ordinary people and not just the well-connected. That's true at the federal level; that's true at the state level. Folks aren't entirely wrong when they feel as if the system too often is rigged and does not address their interests. 还有一种观点有时认为，我们的政治之所以破裂，是因为政客们比过去腐败得多，或者说被大钱控制得更厉害。毫无疑问，说客们仍然比普通美国人更容易进入权力殿堂。我们需要做很多工作来确保这个制度为普通人服务，而不仅仅是为有关系的人服务。在联邦层面是这样；在州层面也是这样。当人们觉得制度常常被操纵、不符合他们的利益时，他们并非完全错了。
But, relative to the past, listen, I'm confident we've got enough rules and checks to prevent anyone in my Cabinet from siphoning whiskey tax revenue into their own pockets like President Grant's administration did. Until FDR went after the ward bosses of Tammany Hall, they controlled judges and politicians as they pleased -- patronage, bribery, and money laundering. It's not as easy as it was to whip up tens of thousands of phantom votes, whether in Chicago or South Texas. 但是，和过去相比，听着，我有信心我们有足够的规则和制衡，来防止我内阁里的任何人像格兰特总统政府那样，把威士忌税收入中饱私囊。在罗斯福整顿坦慕尼协会的选区老大之前，他们随心所欲地控制着法官和政客——政治分赃、贿赂、洗钱。不管是在芝加哥还是南德克萨斯，要炮制几万张幽灵选票，已经不像以前那么容易了。
From the Teapot Dome to Watergate, history tells us we should always be vigilant and demand that our public servants follow the highest ethical standards. But the truth is that the kind of corruption that is blatant, of the sort that we saw in the past, is much less likely in today's politics. And the Justice Department and the media work hard to keep it that way. And that's a very good thing. So we don't want to romanticize the past and think somehow it's a difference in the people being elected. 从茶壶山丑闻到水门事件，历史告诉我们，我们应该始终保持警惕，要求我们的公务员遵循最高的道德标准。但事实是，过去那种明目张胆的腐败，在今天的政治中已经不太可能发生了。司法部和媒体都在努力保持这种状态。这是一件非常好的事。所以我们不要把过去浪漫化，以为问题出在当选的人身上。
And it also isn't true that today's issues are inherently more polarizing than the past. I remember, we endured four years of Civil War that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead Americans. This country was divided on a fundamental question. Before Pearl Harbor, entering into World War II was a highly charged debate. The fault lines of Vietnam, the culture wars of the '60s -- they still echo into our politics a half-century later. 同样不对的是，认为今天的问题本质上比过去更两极分化。我记得，我们经历了四年内战，导致数十万美国人死亡。这个国家在一个根本问题上分裂了。珍珠港事件之前，是否参加第二次世界大战是一场激烈的辩论。越南的断层线、60年代的文化战争——半个世纪后仍在我们的政治中回响。
We've been arguing since our founding over the proper size and role of government; the meaning of individual freedom and equality; over war and peace, and the best way to give all of our citizens opportunity. And these are important debates that everybody should join, with all the rigor that a free people require. 从建国之初，我们就一直在争论政府的适当规模和角色；个人自由和平等的意义；战争与和平，以及给所有公民机会的最佳方式。这些都是重要的辩论，每个人都应该以自由人民所要求的全部严谨来参与。
My point is, the problem is not that politicians are worse, the problem is not that the issues are tougher. And so it's important for us to understand that the situation we find ourselves in today is not somehow unique or hopeless. We've always gone through periods when our democracy seems stuck. And when that happens, we have to find a new way of doing business. 我的观点是，问题不在于政客们更坏了，问题不在于议题更棘手了。所以我们必须明白，我们今天所处的境况并非独一无二，也不是毫无希望的。我们的民主一直都有陷入困境的时候。每当这种情况发生，我们就必须找到新的做事方式。
We're in one of those moments. We've got to build a better politics -- one that's less of a spectacle and more of a battle of ideas; one that's less of a business and more of a mission; one that understands the success of the American experiment rests on our willingness to engage all our citizens in this work. 我们正处于这样的时刻之一。我们必须建立一种更好的政治——少一些 spectacle，多一些思想的交锋；少一些生意，多一些使命；一种理解美国实验的成功取决于我们是否愿意让所有公民参与这项工作的政治。
And that starts by acknowledging that we do have a problem. And we all know it. What's different today is the nature and the extent of the polarization. How ideologically divided the parties are is brought about by some of the same long-term trends in our politics and our culture. The parties themselves have become more homogenous than ever. A great sorting has taken place that drove Southern conservatives out of the Democratic Party, Northern moderates out of the Republican Party, so you don't have within each party as much diversity of views. 而这首先要承认我们确实有问题。我们都知道。今天不同的是极化的性质和程度。两党在意识形态上的分裂程度，是由我们政治和文化中的一些同样的长期趋势造成的。政党本身比以往任何时候都更加同质化。一场大分化已经发生，把南方保守派赶出了民主党，把北方温和派赶出了共和党，所以每个政党内部的观点多样性都不如以前了。
And you've got a fractured media. Some folks watch FOX News; some folks read the Huffington Post. And very often, what's profitable is the most sensational conflict and the most incendiary sound bites. And we can choose our own facts. We don't have a common basis for what's true and what's not. I mean, if I listened to some of these conservative pundits, I wouldn't vote for me either. I sound like a scary guy. 然后是碎片化的媒体。有些人看福克斯新闻；有些人读《赫芬顿邮报》。很多时候，最能赚钱的是最耸人听闻的冲突和最煽动性的声音片段。我们可以选择自己的事实。我们对什么是真什么是假没有共同的基础。我的意思是，如果我听那些保守派评论员的话，我也不会投票给我自己。我听起来像个可怕的家伙。
You've got advocacy groups that, frankly, sometimes benefit from keeping their members agitated as much as possible, assured of the righteousness of their cause. Unlimited dark money -- money that nobody knows where it's coming from, who's paying -- drowns out ordinary voices. And far too many of us surrender our voices entirely by choosing not to vote. 还有一些倡导团体，老实说，有时它们的利益就在于让其成员尽可能保持愤怒，坚信自己事业的正义性。不受限制的黑钱——没人知道钱从哪里来、是谁出的钱——淹没了普通的声音。而我们中太多人选择不投票，完全放弃了自己的声音。
And this polarization is pervasive and it seeps into our society to the point where surveys even suggest that many Americans wouldn't want their kids to date someone from another political party. Now, some of us don't want our kids dating, period. But that's a losing battle. 这种极化无处不在，渗透到我们的社会中，以至于调查甚至显示，许多美国人不希望自己的孩子和另一个政党的人约会。当然，我们有些人本来就不想让孩子约会。但那是一场打不赢的仗。
But this isn't just an abstract problem for political scientists. This has real impact on whether or not we can get things done together. This has a real impact on whether families are able to support themselves, or whether the homeless are getting shelter on a cold day. It makes a difference as to the quality of the education that kids are getting. This is not an abstraction. 但这不只是政治学家的抽象问题。这对我们能否一起做成事有着实实在在的影响。这对家庭能否养活自己、无家可归者在寒冷的日子里能否得到庇护，有着实实在在的影响。这关系到孩子们接受的教育质量。这不是抽象的。
But so often, these debates, particularly in Washington but increasingly in state legislatures, become abstractions. It's as if there are no people involved, it's just cardboard cutouts and caricatures of positions. It encourages the kind of ideological fealty that rejects any compromise as a form of weakness. And in a big, complicated democracy like ours, if we can't compromise, by definition, we can't govern ourselves. 但很多时候，这些辩论——尤其是在华盛顿，在州议会中也越来越如此——变成了抽象的东西。好像没有人牵涉其中，只是纸板剪影和立场的漫画。它鼓励那种把任何妥协都视为软弱的意识形态忠诚。而在我们这样一个庞大而复杂的民主国家，如果我们不能妥协，根据定义，我们就无法自治。
Look, I am a progressive Democrat. I am proud of that. I make no bones about it. I'm going to make another point here. I believe that people should have access to health care. I believe they should have access to a good public education. I believe that workers deserve a higher minimum wage. I believe that collective bargaining is critical to the prospects of the middle class, and that pensions are vital to retirement, as long as they're funded responsibly. 听着，我是一名进步派民主党人。我为此感到自豪。我对此毫不掩饰。我在这里还要再讲一点。我相信人们应该享有医疗保健。我相信他们应该享有良好的公共教育。我相信工人应该得到更高的最低工资。我相信集体谈判对中产阶级的前景至关重要，养老金对退休至关重要——只要它们得到负责任的资助。
Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Sit down, Democrats. Sit down. Sit down -- just for a second. I appreciate that, but I want to make this larger point. 等一下，等一下。坐下，民主党人。坐下。坐下——就一会儿。我很感激，但我想讲一个更宏大的观点。
I believe we're judged by how we care for the poor and the vulnerable. I believe that in order to live up to our ideals, we have to continually fight discrimination in all its forms. I believe in science, and the science behind things like climate change, and that a transition to cleaner sources of energy will help preserve the planet for future generations. 我相信，我们如何对待穷人和弱势群体，是评判我们的标准。我相信，为了不辜负我们的理想，我们必须不断与各种形式的歧视作斗争。我相信科学，相信气候变化背后的科学，相信向清洁能源的过渡将有助于为子孙后代保护地球。
I believe in a tough, smart foreign policy that says America will never hesitate to protect our people and our allies, but that we should use every element of our power and never rush to war. 我相信一种强硬而明智的外交政策，即美国将毫不犹豫地保护我们的人民和盟友，但我们应该运用我们的每一种力量，绝不急于开战。
Those are the things I believe. But here's the point I want to make. I believe that there are a lot of Republicans who share many of these same values, even though they may disagree with me on the means to achieve them. I think sometimes my Republican colleagues make constructive points about outdated regulations that may need to be changed, or programs that even though well-intended, didn't always work the way they were supposed to. 这些就是我相信的事情。但我想说的是，我相信很多共和党人也有许多相同的价值观，尽管他们可能在实现这些价值观的手段上与我意见不一。我认为，有时候我的共和党同僚们就过时的法规可能需要修改、或者有些项目虽然用心良苦但效果并不总是理想，提出了建设性的意见。
And where I've got an opportunity to find some common ground, that doesn't make me a sellout to my own party. That applies -- well, we'll talk later, Duncan. This is what happens, everybody starts cherry-picking. One thing I've learned is folks don't change. 而当我有机会找到一些共同点时，这并不意味着我背叛了自己的政党。这适用于——好吧，邓肯，我们以后再聊。事情就是这样，大家都开始挑好听的听。我学到的一件事就是人是不会变的。
So trying to find common ground doesn't make me less of a Democrat or less of a progressive. It means I'm trying to get stuff done. 所以，寻求共同点并不会让我变得不像民主党人，也不会让我变得不那么进步。这只意味着我在努力把事情做成。
And the same applies to a Republican who, heaven forbid, might agree with me on a particular issue -- or if I said America is great, decided to stand during a State of Union. It's not a controversial proposition. You're not going to get in trouble. 同样的道理也适用于共和党人——但愿不会——如果他们在某个问题上同意我的看法——或者如果我说美国很棒，他们就在国情咨文期间站起来。这又不是什么有争议的命题。你们不会有麻烦的。
But the fact that that's hard to do is a testament to how difficult our politics has become. Because folks are worried, well, I'm going to get yelled at by you, or this blogger is going to write that, or this talk show host is going to talk about me, and suddenly I've got to challenger, and calling me a RINO or a not a real progressive. 但这件事之所以很难做到，恰恰证明了我们的政治已经变得多么困难。因为人们担心，嗯，我会被你们骂，或者某个博主会写文章说我，或者某个脱口秀主持人会谈论我，然后我突然就有了挑战者，骂我是"名义上的共和党人"或者不是真正的进步派。
So when I hear voices in either party boast of their refusal to compromise as an accomplishment in and of itself, I'm not impressed. All that does is prevent what most Americans would consider actual accomplishments -- like fixing roads, educating kids, passing budgets, cleaning our environment, making our streets safe. 所以当我听到两党中有人把拒绝妥协本身吹嘘成一种成就时，我并不觉得了不起。那只会阻止大多数美国人认为的真正成就——比如修路、教育孩子、通过预算、清洁环境、保障街道安全。
It cuts both ways, guys. See, suddenly everybody is standing. This is fascinating to watch. The point is, it cuts both ways. 这对两党都一样，各位。看，突然大家都站起来了。看着真有意思。我的意思是，这对双方都一样。
Our Founders trusted us with the keys to this system of self-government. Our politics is the place where we try to make this incredible machinery work; where we come together to settle our differences and solve big problems, do big things together that we could not possibly do alone. And our Founders anchored all this in a visionary Constitution that separates power and demands compromise, precisely to prevent one party, or one wing of a party, or one faction, or some powerful interests from getting 100 percent of its way. 我们的开国元勋把自治制度的钥匙交给了我们。政治是我们努力让这台不可思议的机器运转起来的地方；是我们聚在一起解决分歧、解决大问题、共同完成我们独自无法完成的伟大事业的地方。我们的开国元勋把这一切建立在一部富有远见的宪法之上，这部宪法分权制衡、要求妥协，正是为了防止一个政党、或一个政党的某一派、或某一个派系、或某些强大的利益集团为所欲为。
So when either side makes blanket promises to their base that it can't possibly meet -- tax cuts without cuts to services -- "everything will be fine, but we won't spend any money" -- war without shared sacrifice -- "we're going to be tough, but don't worry, it will be fine" -- union bashing or corporate bashing without acknowledging that both workers and businesses make our economy run. 所以当任何一方向其基本盘做出根本无法兑现的承诺时——不削减服务的减税——"一切都会好起来的，但我们不会花一分钱"——没有共同牺牲的战争——"我们会很强硬，但别担心，不会有事的"——打击工会或打击企业，却不承认工人和企业共同推动了我们的经济运行——
That kind of politics means that the supporters will be perennially disappointed. It only adds to folks' sense that the system is rigged. It's one of the reasons why we see these big electoral swings every few years. It's why people are so cynical. 这样的政治意味着支持者会永远失望。它只会增加人们觉得制度被操纵的感觉。这就是为什么我们每隔几年就会看到大选摇摆的原因之一。这就是为什么人们如此愤世嫉俗。
Now, I don't pretend to have all the answers to this. These trends will not change overnight. If I did, I would have already done them through an executive action. That was just a joke, guys. Relax. A sense of humor is also helpful. 我并不是假装对这一切都有答案。这些趋势不会在一夜之间改变。如果我有办法，我早就通过行政命令搞定了。那只是个玩笑，各位。放松点。幽默感也很有帮助。
But I do want to offer some steps that we can take that I believe would help reform our institutions and move our system in a way that helps reflect our better selves. And these aren't particularly original, but I just want to go ahead and mention them. 但我确实想提出一些我们可以采取的步骤，我相信这些步骤将有助于改革我们的制度，并推动我们的体系朝着更好地反映我们更好的一面的方向发展。这些并不是什么特别新颖的想法，但我想在这里提一下。
First is to take, or at least reduce, some of the corrosive influence of money in our politics. 第一步是消除——或者至少减少——金钱对我们政治的腐蚀性影响。
Now, this year, just over 150 families -- 150 families -- have spent as much on the presidential race as the rest of America combined. Today, a couple of billionaires in one state can push their agenda, dump dark money into every state -- nobody knows where it's coming from -- mostly used on these dark ads, everybody is kind of dark and the worst picture possible. And there's some ominous voice talking about how they're destroying the country. 今年，仅有150多个家族——150个家族——在总统竞选中花费的金额，相当于美国其他所有人的总和。今天，一两个亿万富翁在一个州就可以推动他们的议程，把黑钱倾泻到每个州——没人知道钱从哪里来——大多用在那些负面广告上，每个人都显得很阴暗，用最糟糕的照片。然后有个阴森的声音在说他们如何如何摧毁这个国家。
And they spend this money based on some ideological preference that really is disconnected to the realities of how people live. They're not that concerned about the particulars of what's happening in a union hall in Galesburg, and what folks are going through trying to find a job. They're not particularly familiar with what's happening at a VFW post. 他们花这些钱是基于某种意识形态偏好，而这种偏好与人们的生活现实完全脱节。他们并不真正关心盖尔斯堡工会大厅里发生了什么，以及人们在找工作时经历了什么。他们对退伍军人协会里发生的事情也不太了解。【电话铃声】谁的手机没关。在卡本代尔。
[Phone rings.] Somebody's phone is on. In Carbondale. They haven't heard personally from farmers outside of the Quads and what they're going through. Those are the voices that should be outweighing a handful of folks with a lot of money. I'm not saying the folks with a lot of money should have no voice; I'm saying they shouldn't be able to drown out everybody else's. 他们也没有亲自听过四方区以外农民的声音，不知道他们在经历什么。那些声音才应该比少数有钱人的声音更有分量。我不是说有钱人就不该有发言权；我是说他们不应该压过其他人的声音。
And that's why I disagree with the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. I don't believe that money is speech, or that political spending should have no limits, or that it shouldn't be disclosed. I still support a constitutional amendment to set reasonable limits on financial influence in America's elections. 这就是为什么我不同意最高法院的"公民联合"判决。我不相信金钱就是言论，也不相信政治支出应该没有限制，也不相信不应该公开披露。我仍然支持通过宪法修正案，对美国选举中的金钱影响设定合理的限制。
But amending the Constitution is an extremely challenging and time-consuming process -- as it should be. So we're going to have to come up with more immediate ways to reduce the influence of money in politics. There are a lot of good proposals out there, and we have to work to find ones that can gain some bipartisan support -- because a handful of families and hidden interests shouldn't be able to bankroll elections in the greatest democracy on Earth. 但修改宪法是一个极其困难和耗时的过程——也理应如此。所以我们必须想出更直接的方法来减少金钱对政治的影响。有很多好的提案，我们必须努力找到能够获得一些两党支持的方案——因为在地球上最伟大的民主国家，少数家族和隐藏的利益集团不应该能够资助选举。
The second step towards a better politics is rethinking the way that we draw our congressional districts. Now, let me point this out -- I want to point this out, because this is another case of cherry-picking here. This tends to be popular in states where Democrats have been drawing the lines among Republicans, and less popular among Republicans where they control drawing the lines. So let's be very clear here -- nobody has got clean hands on this thing. Nobody has got clean hands on this thing. 改善政治的第二步是重新思考我们划分国会选区的方式。现在，让我指出这一点——我想指出这一点，因为这是另一个挑好听的说的例子。在共和党被民主党划选区的州，这事在共和党人中很受欢迎；而在共和党控制划选区的州，就不那么受欢迎了。所以我们在这里要非常清楚——在这件事上没有人是干净的。没有人是干净的。
The fact is, today technology allows parties in power to precision-draw constituencies so that the opposition's supporters are packed into as few districts as possible. That's why our districts are shaped like earmuffs or spaghetti. It's also how one party can get more seats even when it gets fewer votes. 事实是，今天的技术允许执政党精确地划分选区，把反对党的支持者塞进尽可能少的选区里。这就是为什么我们的选区形状像耳罩或意大利面。这也是为什么一个党即使得到更少的选票也能获得更多席位的原因。
And while this gerrymandering may insulate some incumbents from a serious challenge from the other party, it also means that the main thing those incumbents are worried about are challengers from the most extreme voices in their own party. That's what's happened in Congress. You wonder why Congress doesn't work? 虽然这种不公正划分选区的做法可能让一些现任议员免受来自对方的严重挑战，但这也意味着，这些现任议员最担心的是自己党内最极端声音的挑战者。这就是国会的现状。你想知道为什么国会不起作用吗？
The House of Representatives there, there may be a handful -- less than 10 percent -- of districts that are even competitive at this point. So if you're a Republican, all you're worried about is what somebody to your right is saying about you, because you know you're not going to lose a general election. Same is true for a lot of Democrats. So our debates move away from the middle, where most Americans are, towards the far ends of the spectrum. And that polarizes us further. 在众议院，可能只有少数——不到10%的——选区还有竞争力。所以如果你是共和党人，你唯一担心的就是你右边的人会怎么说你，因为你知道你不会在大选中输。很多民主党人也是如此。所以我们的辩论偏离了大多数美国人所在的中间地带，走向了光谱的两端。这让我们更加两极分化。
Now, this is something we have the power to fix. And once the next census rolls around and we have the most up-to-date picture of America's population, we should change the way our districts are drawn. In America, politicians should not pick their voters; voters should pick their politicians. And this needs to be done across the nation, not just in a select few states. It should be done everywhere. 现在，这件事我们是有能力去改变的。当下一次人口普查到来，我们有了美国人口的最新数据时，我们就应该改变划分选区的方式。在美国，政客不应该挑选他们的选民；选民应该挑选他们的政客。这需要在全国范围内进行，而不仅仅是在少数几个州。应该在每个地方都这样做。
Now, the more Americans use their voice and participate, the less captive our politics will be to narrow constituencies. No matter how much undisclosed money is spent, no matter how many negative ads are run, no matter how unrepresentative a district is drawn, if everybody voted, if a far larger number of people voted, that would overcome in many ways some of these other institutional barriers. It would make our politics better. 越多的美国人行使他们的声音、参与进来，我们的政治就越不会被狭隘的利益集团所绑架。不管花了多少未披露的钱，不管投放了多少负面广告，不管选区划分得多么不具代表性，如果每个人都去投票，如果有更多的人去投票，在很多方面就能克服这些制度性障碍。这会让我们的政治变得更好。
And that's why a third step towards a better politics is making voting easier, not harder; and modernizing it for the way that we live now. 这就是为什么改善政治的第三步是让投票变得更容易，而不是更难；让投票方式现代化，适应当下的生活方式。
Now, this shouldn't be controversial, guys. You liked the redistricting thing, but not letting people vote. I should get some applause on that, too. 这不该有争议啊，各位。你们喜欢重划选区那事儿，却不喜欢让人们投票。这个我也该得到点掌声吧。
Listen, three years ago, I set up a bipartisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. It had the election lawyers from my campaign and from Mitt Romney's campaign. They got together outside of the context of immediate politics. And I actually want to thank this assembly for moving to adopt some of its recommendations. 听着，三年前，我成立了一个两党委员会来改善美国的投票体验。委员会里有我竞选团队的选举律师，也有米特·罗姆尼竞选团队的律师。他们抛开当下的政治，坐到了一起。我要感谢这个议会采纳了其中一些建议。
Thanks to the good work of my dear friend, Senator Don Harmon, and many of you, there's a new law going into effect this year that will allow Illinoisans to register and vote at the polls on Election Day. It expands early voting -- something that makes it a lot easier for working folks and busy parents to go vote. 感谢我亲爱的朋友唐·哈蒙参议员以及你们中的许多人的出色工作，今年将有一项新法律生效，允许伊利诺伊州人民在选举日当天到投票站登记并投票。它扩大了提前投票——这让工薪阶层和忙碌的父母们去投票变得容易多了。
Think about it. If you're a single mom, and you've got to take public transportation to punch a clock, work round the clock, get home, cook dinner on a Tuesday in bad weather -- that's tough. Why would we want to make it so that she couldn't do it on a Saturday or a Sunday? How is that advancing our democracy? 想想吧。如果你是一位单身妈妈，你得坐公交去打卡上班，没日没夜地工作，回到家还要在一个天气糟糕的星期二做晚饭——那已经够难的了。为什么我们要让她不能在周六或周日去投票呢？这怎么能推进我们的民主呢？
So this law will make a difference. I'm proud of my home state for helping to lead the way. 所以这项法律会带来改变。我为我的家乡州能率先行动感到自豪。
And we know this works. In 2012 and 2014, the states with the highest voter turnout all had same-day registration. So today, I ask every state in America to join us -- reduce these barriers to voting. Make it easier for your constituents to get out and vote. 而且我们知道这是有效的。在2012年和2014年，选民投票率最高的州都实行了同日登记制。所以今天，我呼吁美国每个州都加入我们——减少这些投票障碍。让你们的选民更容易走出来投票。
And I'd encourage this assembly to take the next step. Senator Manar and Representative Gabel have bills that would automatically register every eligible citizen to vote when they apply for a driver's license. That will protect the fundamental right of everybody. Democrats, Republicans, independents, seniors, folks with disabilities, the men and women of our military -- it would make sure that it was easier for them to vote and have their vote counted. 我还鼓励这个议会迈出下一步。马纳参议员和加贝尔众议员提出的法案，将让每一位符合条件的公民在申请驾照时自动登记为选民。这将保护每个人的基本权利。民主党人、共和党人、独立人士、老年人、残障人士、我们的男女军人——这将确保他们更容易投票，他们的选票也更容易被统计。
And as one of your constituents, I think you should pass that legislation right away. I think the Governor should sign it without delay. Let's make the Land of Lincoln a leader in voter participation. That's something we should be proud to do. Let's set the pace -- encourage other states across the country to follow our lead, making automatic voter registration the new norm across America. 作为你们的选民之一，我认为你们应该立即通过这项立法。我认为州长应该毫不拖延地签署它。让林肯之地成为选民参与的引领者。这是我们应该引以为豪的事。让我们树立榜样——鼓励全国其他州效仿我们，让自动选民登记成为美国的新常态。
Now, just during the course of this talk, it's been interesting to watch the dynamics, obviously. In part because so much of our politics now is just designed for short-term, tactical gain. If you think that having more voters will hurt you on Election Day, then suddenly you're not interested in participation. And if you think that the gerrymandering is helping you instead of hurting you, then you're not for those proposals. 就在这次演讲的过程中，观察大家的反应变化很有意思，显然是这样。部分原因是，我们如今的政治太多是为了短期的战术利益而设计的。如果你认为更多选民会在选举日对你不利，那你突然就对参与不感兴趣了。如果你认为不公正划分选区对你有利而不是有害，那你就不支持那些提案了。
We get trapped in these things. We know better. If we were setting up a set of rules ahead of time, and you didn't know where you stood, which party you were going to be in, if you didn't have all the data and the poll numbers to tell you what's going to give you an edge or not, you'd set up a system that was fair. You'd encourage everybody to be part of it. That's what we learned in our civics books. That's how it should work. 我们陷入了这些圈套。我们知道不该这样。如果我们事先设定一套规则，而你不知道自己站在哪一边、属于哪个党，如果你没有所有数据和民调数字告诉你什么会给你带来优势，你就会建立一个公平的制度。你会鼓励每个人都参与其中。这是我们在公民课本上学到的。事情本该如此。
The fact that we can't do that, that brings me to my last point, which is, even as we change the way system works, we also have a responsibility to change the way that we, as elected officials and as citizens, work together. Because this democracy only works when we get both right -- when the system is fair, but also when we build a culture that is trying to make it work. 我们做不到这一点，这引出了我的最后一点，那就是，即使我们改变制度的运作方式，我们也有责任改变我们作为民选官员和公民彼此合作的方式。因为只有当两者都做对时——当制度是公平的，同时我们也建立了一种努力让制度运转的文化时——我们的民主才能发挥作用。
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about something a friend of mine, Deval Patrick, once said to his constituents when he was governor of Massachusetts. He said, "Insist from us and from each other a modicum of civility as the condition for serving you." This is what he told voters. "Insist on us having a modicum of civility." 最近，我一直在想我的朋友德瓦尔·帕特里克在担任马萨诸塞州州长时对他的选民说过的话。他说："要求我们、也要求彼此保持最低限度的礼貌，作为为你们服务的条件。"这是他对选民说的。"要求我们保持最低限度的礼貌。"
I think that's something that all of us, as Americans, have to insist from each other. Our children are watching what we do. They don't just learn it in school, they learn it by watching us -- the way we conduct ourselves, the way we treat each other. If we lie about each other, they learn it's okay to lie. If we make up facts and ignore science, then they just think it's just their opinion that matters. 我认为这是我们所有美国人都必须相互要求的事情。我们的孩子在看着我们的所作所为。他们不只是在学校里学到这些，他们通过观察我们来学习——我们的行为方式、我们对待彼此的方式。如果我们互相撒谎，他们就会觉得撒谎是可以的。如果我们编造事实、无视科学，那他们就会觉得只有自己的意见才重要。
If they see us insulting each other like school kids, then they think, well, I guess that's how people are supposed to behave. The way we respect -- or don't -- each other as citizens will determine whether or not the hard, frustrating, but absolutely necessary work of self-government continues. 如果他们看到我们像小学生一样互相侮辱，他们就会想，好吧，我猜人就该这样行事。我们作为公民是否尊重——或不尊重——彼此，将决定自治这项艰难、令人沮丧但绝对必要的工作能否继续下去。
I've got daughters that are getting older now, and one of the most important things about being a parent I think is them just seeing what you do not when you're out in public, not when you're dealing with somebody important, but just how do you do -- how do you treat people generally. And it makes me much more mindful. I want to live up to their expectations. 我的女儿们渐渐长大了，我认为做父母最重要的事情之一，就是她们看到你在公共场合之外、不是在和重要人物打交道时的样子——就是你平时是怎样的人、你一般怎样对待别人。这让我更加注意自己的言行。我想不辜负她们的期望。
And in that same way, I want this democracy to live up to the people's expectations. We can't move forward if all we do is tear each other down. And the political incentives, as they are today, too often rewards that kind of behavior. That's what gets attention. So it will require some courage just to act the way our parents taught us to act. It shouldn't, but in this political environment apparently it does. We've got to insist to do better from each other, for each other. 同样地，我希望这个民主制度不辜负人民的期望。如果我们所做的只是互相拆台，我们就无法前进。而如今的政治激励，太多时候奖励的就是那种行为。那才能获得关注。所以，仅仅像我们父母教导我们的那样行事，都需要一些勇气。这本不该如此，但在如今的政治环境中显然是这样。我们必须要求彼此做得更好，为了彼此。
Rather than reward those who'd disenfranchise any segment of America, we've got to insist that everybody arm themselves with information, and facts, and that they vote. If 99 percent of us voted, it wouldn't matter how much the 1 percent spends on our elections. 与其奖励那些剥夺任何一部分美国公民权利的人，我们不如坚持让每个人都用信息和事实武装自己，然后去投票。如果我们99%的人都去投票，那1%的人在选举中花多少钱都不重要了。
Rather than reward the most extreme voices, or the most divisive language, or who is best at launching schoolyard taunts, we should insist on a higher form of discourse in our common life, one based on empathy and respect, -- which does not mean you abandon principle. It doesn't mean you're not tough. 与其奖励最极端的声音、最具分裂性的语言、最会发动校园式嘲讽的人，我们不如在公共生活中坚持更高形式的对话，一种建立在同理心和尊重之上的对话——这并不意味着你要放弃原则。也不意味着你不强硬。
Rather than paint those who disagree with us as motivated by malice, to suggest that any of us lack patriotism -- we can insist, as Lincoln did, that we are not enemies, but friends; that our fellow Americans are not only entitled to a different point of view, but that they love this country as much as we do. 与其把与我们意见不同的人描绘成出于恶意，或者暗示我们中有人不爱国——我们不如像林肯那样坚持，我们不是敌人，而是朋友；我们的美国同胞不仅有权持有不同的观点，而且他们和我们一样热爱这个国家。
Rather than reward a 24/7 media that so often thrives on sensationalism and conflict, we have to stand up and insist, no, reason matters, facts matter; issues are complicated. When folks just make stuff up, they can't go unchallenged. And that's true for Democrats if you hear a Democratic make something up, and that's true for a Republican if you see a Republican cross that line. 与其奖励一个靠耸人听闻和冲突为生的全天候媒体，我们必须站出来坚持：不，理性很重要，事实很重要；问题是复杂的。当人们编造东西时，不能让他们不受质疑。对民主党人来说是这样——如果你听到民主党人编造东西，对共和党人来说也是这样——如果你看到共和党人越界了。
Rather than accept the notion that compromise is a sellout to one side, we've got to insist on the opposite -- that it can be a genuine victory that means progress for all sides. And rather than preventing our kids from dating people in other parties -- well, I may have issues about dating, generally -- but we can trust that we've raised our kids to do the right thing, and to look at the qualities of people's character, not some label attached to them. 与其接受妥协就是背叛某一方的观念，我们不如坚持相反的看法——妥协可以是真正的胜利，意味着各方都取得了进展。而且，与其阻止我们的孩子和其他政党的人约会——好吧，我可能对约会这件事本身就有意见——但我们可以相信，我们把孩子教育得很好，他们会看人的品格，而不是贴在他们身上的标签。
And maybe, most of all, whenever someone begins to grow cynical about our politics, or believes that their actions can't make a difference or it's not worth participating in, we've got to insist, even against all evidence to the contrary, that in fact they can make a difference. And in this job of being a citizen of the United States of America, that's a big deal. It's something we should revere and take seriously. 也许最重要的是，每当有人开始对我们的政治感到愤世嫉俗，或者认为他们的行动无法带来改变、不值得参与时，我们都必须坚持——哪怕所有证据都指向相反——他们确实可以带来改变。而作为美利坚合众国的公民，这份工作意义重大。这是我们应该敬畏和认真对待的事情。
Abraham Lincoln wasn't always the giant that we think of today. He lacked formal schooling. His businesses and his law practices often struggled. After just one term in Congress, his opposition to the Mexican-American War damaged his reputation so badly he did not run for reelection. He was denounced as a traitor, a demagogue, an enemy sympathizer. He returned to his law practice and admitted he was losing interest in politics entirely. 亚伯拉罕·林肯并不总是我们今天想象中的那个巨人。他没有受过多少正规教育。他的生意和律师事务所常常陷入困境。仅仅在国会任职一届后，他对美墨战争的反对就严重损害了他的声誉，以至于他没有寻求连任。他被谴责为叛徒、煽动者、敌人的同情者。他回到了律师事务所，并承认他对政治正在完全失去兴趣。
And then something happened that shook his conscience. Congress effectively overturned the Missouri Compromise, that flawed and fragile law that had prohibited slavery in the North and legalized it in the South, but left the question ultimately unsettled. And stunned by this news, Lincoln said he'd been roused "as he had never been before" over what it meant for America's future. 然后发生了一件事，震动了他的良知。国会实际上推翻了《密苏里妥协案》——那部有缺陷但脆弱的法律，曾禁止北方实行奴隶制、允许南方实行奴隶制，但最终没有解决这个问题。林肯被这个消息震惊了，他说他"前所未有地"被唤醒了，意识到这对美国的未来意味着什么。
And so, here in Springfield, at the state fair, he got back in the game and he delivered the first of his great anti-slavery speeches to a crowd of thousands. And over the next six years, even as he lost two more political races, his arguments with Douglas and others shaped the national debate. That's when he uttered those brilliant words on the steps of the Old State Capitol that "A house divided against itself cannot stand;" that "this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free." 于是，就在这里，在斯普林菲尔德的州集市上，他重新投入了政治，并向数千名听众发表了他第一篇伟大的废奴演讲。在接下来的六年里，尽管他又输掉了两场政治选举，但他与道格拉斯等人的辩论塑造了全国性的讨论。就在那时，他在旧州议会大厦的台阶上说出了那些辉煌的话："分裂之家不能站立；""这个政府不能永远忍受半奴隶半自由的状态。"
He became the first Republican President, and I believe our greatest President. And through his will and his words and, most of all, his character, he held a nation together and he helped free a people. 他成为了第一位共和党总统，我相信也是我们最伟大的总统。通过他的意志、他的言辞，最重要的是他的品格，他维系了一个国家，解放了一个民族。
And those victories did not solve all of our problems. He would be attacked at times for the compromises he was prepared to make by abolitionists and folks from his own side. It would be 100 years more until the law guaranteed African Americans the equal rights that they had been promised. Even 50 years after that, our march is not yet finished. 而那些胜利并没有解决我们所有的问题。他有时会因为准备做出的妥协而受到废奴主义者和自己阵营人士的攻击。又过了100年，法律才保障非裔美国人被许诺的平等权利。即使在那之后又过了50年，我们的征程仍未结束。
But because Lincoln made that decision not to give up, and not to let other voices speak for him, and because he held in his mind the strength of principle but the vision, the ability to understand those who disagreed with him, and showed them respect even as he fought them -- because of what he set in motion, generations of free men and women of all races and walks of life have had the chance to choose this country's course. What a great gift. What a great legacy he has bestowed up. 但因为林肯做出了不放弃、不让别人替他发声的决定，因为他心中既有原则的力量，又有理解反对者的胸怀和远见，即使在与他们斗争时也给予他们尊重——因为他所开启的一切，一代又一代、各种族和各行各业的自由男女才有机会选择这个国家的道路。多么伟大的礼物啊。他留下了多么伟大的遗产。
And that's the thing about America. We are a constant work of progress. And our success has never been certain, none of our journey has been preordained. And there's always been a gap between our highest ideals and the reality that we witness every single day. 这就是美国的特质。我们是一个不断进步的作品。我们的成功从来不是确定的，我们的旅程从来不是注定的。在我们最高的理想和我们每天目睹的现实之间，一直存在着差距。
But what makes us exceptional -- what makes us Americans -- is that we have fought wars, and passed laws, and reformed systems, and organized unions, and staged protests, and launched mighty movements to close that gap, and to bring the promise and the practice of America into closer alignment. We've made the effort to form that "more perfect union." 但让我们与众不同的——让我们成为美国人的——是我们通过战争、通过立法、通过改革制度、通过组织工会、通过举行抗议、通过发起伟大的运动来缩小这个差距，让美国的承诺和实践更加一致。我们一直在努力，以建立一个"更完美的联邦"。
Nine years to the day that I first announced for this office, I still believe in that politics of hope. And for all the challenges of a rapidly changing world, and for all the imperfections of our democracy, the capacity to reach across our differences and choose that kind of politics -- not a cynical politics, not a politics of fear, but that kind of politics -- sustained over the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime, that's something that remains entirely up to us. 从我第一次宣布竞选总统的那天算起，九年过去了，我仍然相信那种希望的政治。尽管这个迅速变化的世界充满挑战，尽管我们的民主有种种不完美，但跨越分歧、选择那种政治的能力——不是愤世嫉俗的政治，不是恐惧的政治，而是那种政治——在一生的平静而坚定的奉献中持续下去，这完全取决于我们自己。
Thank you, Illinois. God bless you. God bless America. It's good to see all you. I miss you guys. Thank you. 谢谢你，伊利诺伊。上帝保佑你。上帝保佑美国。很高兴见到大家。我想念你们。谢谢你。