The President.Hello, Chicago! It's good to be home! Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. It's good to be home. Thanks. All right, everybody sit down. We're on live TV here. I've got to—I've got to move. You can tell that I'm a lame duck because nobody's following instructions. [Laughter] Everybody have a seat. 总统：大家好，芝加哥！回家真好！谢谢大家。谢谢各位。谢谢。非常感谢。谢谢。回家真好。谢谢。好了，大家请坐下。我们正在直播。我得——我得继续讲。你们可以看出来我是个跛脚鸭了，因为没人听我的指令。[笑声]大家请坐下。
My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well wishes that we've received over the past few weeks. But tonight, tonight it's my turn to say thanks. Whether we have seen eye to eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people, in living rooms and in schools, at farms, on factory floors, at diners and on distant military outposts—those conversations are what have kept me honest and kept me inspired and kept me going. And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man. 我的美国同胞们，米歇尔和我在过去几周里收到了无数美好的祝福，深受感动。但今晚，今晚该轮到我说谢谢了。无论我们意见一致还是很少达成共识，我与你们——美国人民——在客厅、在学校、在农场、在工厂车间、在餐厅和遥远的军事前哨的对话——这些对话让我保持诚实、让我受到鼓舞、让我继续前行。每一天，我都从你们身上学到东西。你们让我成为了更好的总统，也让我成为了更好的人。
So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties. And I was still trying to figure out who I was, still searching for a purpose in my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss. 我第一次来到芝加哥是在二十出头的时候。那时我还在努力寻找自我，还在寻找人生的目标。就在离这里不远的一个社区，我开始在关闭的钢铁厂阴影下与教会团体一起工作。就是在这些街道上，我见证了信仰的力量和劳动人民在面对挣扎和失落时的从容尊严。
Audience members.Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! 听众：再干四年！再干四年！再干四年！
The President.I can't do that. 总统：我不能那样做。
Audience members.Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! 听众：再干四年！再干四年！再干四年！
The President.Now, this is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged and they come together to demand it. 总统：就在这里，我明白了：只有当普通人参与进来、投入进来、团结起来要求变革时，变革才会发生。
After 8 years as your President, I still believe that. And it's not just my belief. It's the beating heart of our American idea, our bold experiment in self-government. It's the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that we, the people, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect Union. 在担任你们的总统八年之后，我仍然相信这一点。这不只是我的信念。这是我们美国理念跳动的心脏，是我们大胆的自治实验。这是一种信念：我们人生而平等，造物主赋予我们某些不可剥夺的权利，包括生命、自由和追求幸福的权利。这是一种坚持：这些权利虽然不言自明，却从来不是自动生效的；我们人民，通过我们民主的工具，可以形成一个更完善的联邦。
What a radical idea, a great gift that our Founders gave to us: The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat and toil and imagination, and the imperative to strive together, as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good. 这是多么激进的理念，我们的开国元勋们给了我们多么伟大的礼物：通过汗水、辛劳和想象力追逐个人梦想的自由，以及共同奋斗、实现共同利益、更大利益的责任。
For 240 years, our Nation's call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It's what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It's what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. It's what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It's what powered workers to organize. It's why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima, Iraq and Afghanistan, and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well. 240年来，我们国家对公民身份的召唤为每一代人赋予了工作和目标。正是这一点引导爱国者选择共和而非暴政，引导拓荒者向西跋涉，引导奴隶勇敢地踏上通往自由的临时铁路。正是这一点吸引移民和难民跨越海洋和格兰德河。正是这一点推动妇女争取选举权。正是这一点激励工人组织起来。正是这一点让美国大兵在奥马哈海滩和硫磺岛、在伊拉克和阿富汗献出生命，也正是这一点让从塞尔玛到石墙的人们准备好献出自己的生命。
So that's what we mean when we say America's exceptional: not that our Nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change and make life better for those who follow. Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It's always been contentious. Sometimes it's been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all and not just some. 所以当我们说美国是例外的时候，我们指的是：不是说我们的国家从一开始就是完美的，而是说我们展现了改变的能力，让后来者的生活变得更好。是的，我们的进步并不均衡。民主的工作总是艰难的。总是充满争议。有时甚至是血腥的。每前进两步，我们常常感觉后退一步。但美国的漫长历程的特点是向前运动，不断扩大我们的建国信条，拥抱所有人，而不仅仅是一部分人。
If I had told you 8 years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history; if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran's nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11; if I had told you that we would win marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens—if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that's what we did. That's what you did. 如果我八年前告诉你们，美国将扭转严重的经济衰退，重启我们的汽车工业，并开启历史上最长的就业创造期；如果我告诉你们，我们将与古巴人民翻开新的篇章，不发一枪就关闭伊朗的核武器计划，除掉9/11事件的主谋；如果我告诉你们，我们将赢得婚姻平等，并为另外2000万同胞确保医疗保险的权利——如果我告诉你们所有这些，你们可能会说我们的目标定得太高了。但这就是我们做到的。这就是你们做到的。
You were the change. You answered people's hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started. 你们就是变革。你们回应了人民的希望，正因为你们，从几乎所有方面衡量，美国都比我们开始时更好、更强大。
In 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy. 十天后，世界将见证我们民主的一个标志。
Audience members.No! 听众：不要！
The President.No, no, no, no, no, the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected President to the next. I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. Because it's up to all of us to make sure our Government can help us meet the many challenges we still face. 总统：不，不，不，不，不，是和平的权力交接——从一位自由选举产生的总统到下一位。我向当选总统特朗普承诺，我的政府将确保尽可能平稳的过渡，就像布什总统为我做的那样。因为我们所有人都有责任确保我们的政府能够帮助我们应对仍面临的诸多挑战。
We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth. Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now. 我们拥有应对这些挑战所需的一切。毕竟，我们仍然是世界上最富有、最强大和最受尊敬的国家。我们的年轻、我们的动力、我们的多样性和开放性、我们无限的冒险和创新能力意味着未来应该属于我们。但这种潜力只有在我们的民主运转良好时才能实现。只有当我们的政治更好地反映人民的善良时。只有当我们所有人，无论党派归属或特定利益，都帮助恢复我们现在迫切需要的共同目标感时。
That's what I want to focus on tonight: the state of our democracy. Understand, democracy does not require uniformity. Our Founders argued. They quarreled. Eventually, they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity: the idea that for all our outward differences, we're all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. 今晚我想重点谈的是：我们民主的状态。要明白，民主不需要统一。我们的开国元勋们争论过。他们争吵过。最终，他们妥协了。他们期望我们也这样做。但他们知道，民主确实需要基本的团结感：即尽管我们外表不同，但我们同舟共济；我们荣辱与共。
There have been moments throughout our history that threatened that solidarity. The beginning of this century has been one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic change, and the specter of terrorism—these forces haven't just tested our security and our prosperity, but are testing our democracy as well. And how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids and create good jobs and protect our homeland. In other words, it will determine our future. 在我们的历史中，有过威胁这种团结的时刻。本世纪初就是其中之一。一个缩小的世界、日益加剧的不平等、人口变化和恐怖主义的幽灵——这些力量不仅考验了我们的安全和繁荣，也考验了我们的民主。而我们如何应对这些对民主的挑战，将决定我们教育孩子、创造好工作和保护家园的能力。换句话说，这将决定我们的未来。
To begin with, our democracy won't work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity. And the good news is that today the economy is growing again. Wages, incomes, home values, and retirement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again. The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as the stock market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. And I've said and I mean it: If anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we've made to our health care system that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it. 首先，如果每个人都没有经济机会，我们的民主就无法运转。好消息是，今天经济再次增长。工资、收入、房屋价值和退休账户都在再次上升。贫困率再次下降。富人缴纳的税款比例更加公平，尽管股市屡创新高。失业率接近十年来的低点。未参保率从未如此之低。医疗保健成本以50年来最慢的速度上涨。我说过，而且是认真的：如果有人能制定出一个明显优于我们对医疗保健系统所做改进的计划，覆盖同样多的人且成本更低，我将公开支持它。
Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points or take credit, but to make people's lives better. 因为，归根结底，这就是我们服务的目的。不是为了得分或邀功，而是为了改善人民的生活。
But for all the real progress that we've made, we know it's not enough. Our economy doesn't work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class. That's the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic ideal. While the top 1 percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many of our families, in inner cities and in rural counties, have been left behind—the laid off factory worker, the waitress or health care worker who's just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills—convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their Government only serves the interests of the powerful. That's a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics. 但尽管我们取得了所有真正的进步，我们知道这还不够。当少数人以牺牲不断壮大的中产阶级和想要进入中产阶级的人的机会为代价而繁荣时，我们的经济就无法正常运转或快速增长。这是经济层面的论点。但极端不平等也会腐蚀我们的民主理想。当最富有的1%积累了更大份额的财富和收入时，我们太多的家庭，无论是在内城还是在农村县，都被抛在了后面——被解雇的工厂工人、勉强维持生计并努力支付账单的女服务员或医护人员——他们相信游戏对他们不利，相信他们的政府只为有权有势的人的利益服务。这会导致我们政治中更多的愤世嫉俗和两极分化。
But there are no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won't come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle class jobs obsolete. 但这种长期趋势没有快速解决办法。我同意，我们的贸易应该公平，而不仅仅是自由。但下一波经济动荡不会来自海外。它将来自自动化的无情步伐，这使得许多好的中产阶级工作变得过时。
And so we're going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need, to give workers the power to unionize for better wages, to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now, and make more reforms to the Tax Code so corporations and individuals who reap the most from this new economy don't avoid their obligations to the country that's made their very success possible. 因此，我们必须打造一个新的社会契约，确保我们所有孩子获得所需的教育，赋予工人组织工会争取更高工资的权力，更新社会保障体系以反映我们现在的生活方式，并对税法进行更多改革，使从这个新经济中获益最多的企业和个人无法逃避对使他们成功成为可能的国家的义务。
We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can't be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don't create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come. 我们可以争论如何最好地实现这些目标。但我们不能对目标本身自满。因为如果我们不为所有人创造机会，阻碍我们进步的不满和分裂在未来几年只会加剧。
There's a second threat to our democracy, and this one is as old as our Nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a postracial America. And such a vision, however well intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. Now, I've lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10 or 20 or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. You can see it not just in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum. 对我们民主的第二个威胁，这个威胁与我们国家本身一样古老。在我当选后，有人谈论后种族时代的美国。而这样的愿景，无论初衷多么美好，从来都不现实。种族仍然是我们社会中一股强大且常常分裂的力量。现在，我活得足够久了，知道种族关系比10年、20年或30年前要好，不管有些人怎么说。你不仅可以从统计数据中看到这一点，你还可以从各个政治光谱的年轻美国人的态度中看到这一点。
But we're not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do. If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. If we're unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don't look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children, because those Brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America's workforce. And we have shown that our economy doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women. 但我们还没有达到我们需要达到的水平。我们所有人都还有更多工作要做。如果每一个经济问题都被描绘成勤劳的白人中产阶级与不值得的少数群体之间的斗争，那么各种肤色的工人都将为残羹剩饭而争斗，而富人则进一步退入他们的私人领地。如果我们不愿意投资移民的孩子，仅仅因为他们看起来不像我们，我们将削弱我们自己孩子的前景，因为那些棕色皮肤的孩子将占美国劳动力越来越大的比例。我们已经表明，我们的经济不必是一场零和游戏。去年，所有种族、所有年龄段、男性和女性的收入都有所增长。
So if we're going to be serious about race going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination: in hiring and in housing and in education and in the criminal justice system. That is what our Constitution and our highest ideals require. But laws alone won't be enough. Hearts must change. It won't change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work, the way it should, in this increasingly diverse Nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction, Atticus Finch, who said, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." 因此，如果我们未来要认真对待种族问题，我们需要维护反歧视法律：在就业、住房、教育和刑事司法系统中。这是我们宪法和最高理想的要求。但仅靠法律是不够的。人心必须改变。这不会在一夜之间改变。社会态度往往需要几代人的时间才能改变。但如果我们的民主要在这个日益多元化的国家中正常运转，那么我们每个人都需要努力听从美国小说中一位伟大人物阿蒂克斯·芬奇的建议，他说："你永远无法真正理解一个人，除非你从他的角度考虑问题……除非你穿上他的鞋子走一走。"
For Blacks and other minority groups, that means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face, not only the refugee or the immigrant or the rural poor or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged White guy who, from the outside, may seem like he's got advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change. We have to pay attention and listen. 对于黑人和其他少数群体来说，这意味着将我们自己争取正义的真正斗争与这个国家许多人面临的挑战联系起来，不仅是难民、移民或农村穷人或变性美国人，还有中年白人男性，从外表看，他可能似乎拥有优势，但他的世界已经被经济、文化和技术变革颠覆了。我们必须关注并倾听。
For White Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn't suddenly vanish in the sixties, that when minority groups voice discontent, they're not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness. When they wage peaceful protest, they're not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment that our Founders promised. 对于美国白人来说，这意味着承认奴隶制和吉姆·克劳法的影响并没有在六十年代突然消失，当少数群体表达不满时，他们不仅仅是在从事反向种族主义或践行政治正确。当他们进行和平抗议时，他们不是在要求特殊待遇，而是在要求我们的开国元勋们承诺的平等待遇。
For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish and Italians and Poles, who it was said were going to destroy the fundamental character of America. And as it turned out, America wasn't weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this Nation's creed, and this Nation was strengthened. 对于土生土长的美国人来说，这意味着提醒自己，今天关于移民的刻板印象，几乎一字不差地曾经被用来形容爱尔兰人、意大利人和波兰人，据说他们将摧毁美国的基本特征。但事实证明，美国并没有因为这些新来者的存在而变弱；这些新来者接受了这个国家的信条，这个国家因此变得更强大。
So regardless of the station that we occupy, we all have to try harder. We all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own. 因此，无论我们处于何种地位，我们都必须更加努力。我们都必须从这样一个前提开始：我们的每个同胞都像我们一样热爱这个国家；他们像我们一样重视辛勤工作和家庭；他们的孩子和我们的孩子一样好奇、充满希望、值得被爱。
And that's not easy to do. For too many of us, it's become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods or on college campuses or places of worship or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. And the rise of naked partisanship and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste—all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable. And increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it's true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there. 这并不容易做到。对我们太多人来说，退缩到自己的泡泡里变得更安全，无论是在我们的社区、大学校园、礼拜场所，还是特别是在我们的社交媒体上，周围都是看起来像我们、有相同政治观点且从不挑战我们假设的人。赤裸裸的党派之争的兴起、日益加剧的经济和地区分层、媒体分裂成适合各种口味的频道——所有这一切都让这种巨大的分类看起来很自然，甚至不可避免。而且，我们越来越在自己的泡泡中感到安全，以至于开始只接受符合我们观点的信息，无论真假，而不是根据现有证据来形成我们的观点。
And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. But politics is a battle of ideas. That's how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, then we're going to keep talking past each other, and we'll make common ground and compromise impossible. 这种趋势代表着对我们民主的第三个威胁。但政治是思想的较量。这就是我们民主的设计方式。在健康的辩论过程中，我们优先考虑不同的目标，并采用不同的方式来实现它们。但如果没有一些共同的事实基线，如果不愿意接受新信息并承认你的对手可能提出了一个合理的观点，如果科学和理性不重要，那么我们将继续彼此错过，我们将使共同点和妥协变得不可能。
And isn't that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on preschool for kids, but not when we're cutting taxes for corporations? How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It's not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts; it's self-defeating. Because, as my mom used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you. Take the challenge of climate change. In just 8 years, we've halved our dependence on foreign oil, we've doubled our renewable energy, we've led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet. But without bolder action, our children won't have time to debate the existence of climate change. They'll be busy dealing with its effects: more environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary. 这难道不是常常让政治令人沮丧的部分原因吗？当选官员怎么能在我们提议为孩子们的学前教育花钱时对赤字大发雷霆，而在我们为企业减税时却无动于衷？我们怎么能为自己政党的道德失范找借口，却在另一政党做同样事情时大肆抨击？这种选择性的事实筛选不仅不诚实；它是自我挫败的。因为，正如我妈妈常对我说的，现实总有一天会找上你。以气候变化的挑战为例。在短短八年里，我们对外国石油的依赖减半，可再生能源翻了一番，我们领导世界达成了一项有望拯救这个星球的协议。但如果不采取更大胆的行动，我们的孩子将没有时间辩论气候变化的存在。他们将忙于应对其影响：更多的环境灾难、更多的经济动荡、寻求庇护的气候难民潮。
Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country, the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our Founders. 现在，我们可以而且应该争论解决问题的最佳方法。但仅仅否认问题的存在，不仅背叛了后代，也背叛了这个国家的基本精神，即引导我们开国元勋们的创新和实际解决问题的基本精神。
It is that spirit, born of the Enlightenment, that made us an economic powerhouse: the spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral, the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket. 正是这种源于启蒙运动的精神，使我们成为经济强国：在基蒂霍克和卡纳维拉尔角起飞的精神，治愈疾病并将计算机放入每个口袋的精神。
It's that spirit, a faith in reason and enterprise and the primacy of right over might, that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression; that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power or national affiliations, but built on principles: the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion and speech and assembly, and an independent press. 正是这种精神，对理性、进取和正义高于强权的信念，使我们在大萧条期间能够抵制法西斯主义和暴政的诱惑；使我们能够与其他民主国家建立二战后的秩序，一种不仅基于军事力量或国家联盟，而且基于原则的秩序：法治、人权、宗教和言论及集会自由，以及独立的新闻界。
That order is now being challenged, first by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam, more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets and open democracies and civil society itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. They represent the fear of change; the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free thought; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what's true and what's right. 现在，这一秩序正受到挑战，首先是声称代表伊斯兰教的暴力狂热分子，最近是外国首都的独裁者，他们将自由市场、开放民主和公民社会本身视为对其权力的威胁。它们对我们民主构成的危险远比汽车炸弹或导弹更深远。它们代表着对变革的恐惧；对看起来、说话或祈祷方式不同的人的恐惧；对使领导人承担责任的法治的蔑视；对异议和自由思想的不容忍；对剑、枪、炸弹或宣传机器是真理和正义最终裁决者的信念。
Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, because of our intelligence officers and law enforcement and diplomats who support our troops, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past 8 years. And although Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists, including bin Laden. The global coalition we're leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed, and no one who threatens America will ever be safe. 由于我们身着军装的男女的非凡勇气，由于支持我们军队的情报官员、执法人员和外交官，在过去八年里，没有任何外国恐怖组织成功策划并执行对我们家园的袭击。尽管波士顿、奥兰多、圣贝纳迪诺和胡德堡事件提醒我们激进化有多危险，但我们的执法机构比以往任何时候都更有效、更警惕。我们已经消灭了数万名恐怖分子，包括本·拉登。我们领导的打击ISIL的全球联盟已经除掉了他们的领导人，并夺走了他们大约一半的领土。ISIL将被摧毁，任何威胁美国的人都永远不会安全。
And to all who serve or have served, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your Commander in Chief. And we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude. 对于所有服役或曾经服役的人来说，担任你们的总司令是我一生的荣幸。我们都欠你们一份深深的感激之情。
But protecting our way of life, that's not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when it gives in to fear. So, just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are. 但保护我们的生活方式，不仅仅是我们军队的工作。当民主屈服于恐惧时，它可能会崩溃。因此，正如我们作为公民必须保持警惕，抵御外部侵略一样，我们必须警惕那些使我们成为我们自己的价值观被削弱。
And that's why, for the past 8 years, I've worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That's why we've ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, reformed our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. That's why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans, who are just as patriotic as we are. [Applause] 这就是为什么在过去八年里，我努力将反恐斗争建立在更坚实的法律基础上。这就是为什么我们结束了酷刑，努力关闭关塔那摩监狱，改革了我们的监控法律以保护隐私和公民自由。这就是为什么我反对歧视穆斯林美国人，他们和我们一样爱国。[掌声]
That's why we cannot withdraw from big global fights: to expand democracy and human rights and women's rights and LGBT rights. No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that's part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened. 这就是为什么我们不能退出重大的全球斗争：扩大民主、人权、妇女权利和LGBT权利。无论我们的努力多么不完善，无论忽视这些价值观看起来多么权宜之计，这都是捍卫美国的一部分。因为反对极端主义、不容忍、宗派主义和沙文主义的斗争与反对专制主义和民族主义侵略的斗争是分不开的。如果自由的范围和对法治的尊重在世界范围内缩小，国家内部和国家之间发生战争的可能性就会增加，我们自己的自由最终也会受到威胁。
So let's be vigilant, but not afraid. ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight. Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world, unless we give up what we stand for and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors. 所以，让我们保持警惕，但不要害怕。ISIL会试图杀害无辜的人。但除非我们在斗争中背叛我们的宪法和原则，否则他们无法击败美国。像俄罗斯或中国这样的竞争对手无法在世界范围内与我们的影响力匹敌，除非我们放弃我们所代表的东西，把自己变成另一个欺凌弱小邻国的大国。
Which brings me to my final point: Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted. All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote. When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes. 这让我想到最后一点：每当我们想当然地对待民主时，民主就会受到威胁。我们所有人，无论党派，都应该全身心投入重建我们民主体制的任务。当美国的投票率在先进民主国家中处于最低水平时，我们应该让投票变得更容易，而不是更难。当人们对我们机构的信任度很低时，我们应该减少金钱在政治中的腐蚀影响，并坚持公共服务中的透明度和道德原则。当国会功能失调时，我们应该重新划分国会选区，鼓励政客迎合常识而不是僵化的极端主义。
But remember, none of this happens on its own. All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging. 但要记住，这一切都不会自动发生。这一切都取决于我们的参与；取决于我们每个人接受公民的责任，无论权力的钟摆向哪个方向摆动。
Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift, but it's really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. We, the people, give it meaning with our participation and with the choices that we make and the alliances that we forge. Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms, whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law, that's up to us. America is no fragile thing, but the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured. 我们的宪法是一份非凡、美丽的礼物，但它实际上只是一张羊皮纸。它本身没有力量。我们人民赋予它力量。我们人民通过我们的参与、我们做出的选择和我们建立的联盟赋予它意义。我们是否捍卫我们的自由，我们是否尊重和执行法治，这取决于我们。美国不是脆弱的东西，但我们漫长的自由之旅所取得的成就并非必然。
In his own Farewell Address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but "from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken . . . to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth." And so we have to preserve this truth with "jealous anxiety;" that we should reject "the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties" that make us one. 乔治·华盛顿在他自己的告别演说中写道，自治是我们安全、繁荣和自由的基础，但"出于各种原因和来自各个方面，人们将尽一切努力……削弱你们对这一真理的信念。"因此，我们必须以"嫉妒般的焦虑"来维护这一真理；我们应该拒绝"任何试图将我们国家的任何部分与其他部分分离或削弱使我们成为一体的神圣纽带的初步迹象"。
America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren't even willing to enter into public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen not just as misguided, but as malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others, when we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt, and when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them. 美国，当我们允许我们的政治对话变得如此腐蚀性，以至于品德良好的人甚至不愿意进入公共服务时；当我们的对话充满怨恨，以至于与我们意见不同的美国人不仅被视为误入歧途，而且被视为恶意时，我们就削弱了这些纽带。当我们将我们中的一些人定义为比其他人更美国人时，当我们将整个系统视为不可避免的腐败而一笔勾销时，当我们袖手旁观并指责我们选出的领导人而不审视我们自己在选举他们中的作用时，我们就削弱了这些纽带。
It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we've been given to continually try to improve this great Nation of ours. Because for all our outward differences, we, in fact, all share the same proud title, the most important office in a democracy: citizen. Citizen. 我们每个人都有责任成为我们民主的焦虑、嫉妒的守护者；拥抱我们被赋予的这项愉快的任务，不断努力改善我们这个伟大的国家。因为尽管我们外表不同，但事实上，我们都享有同样自豪的头衔，民主中最重要的职位：公民。公民。
So, you see, that's what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there's an election, not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you're tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life. If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If you're disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. Show up. Dive in. Stay at it. 所以，你们看，这就是我们民主的要求。它需要你们。不仅是在选举时，不仅是在你们自己的狭隘利益受到威胁时，而是在一生的时间里。如果你厌倦了在互联网上与陌生人争论，试着在现实生活中与他们中的一个交谈。如果有什么需要修复，那就系好鞋带，组织一些活动。如果你对当选官员感到失望，拿起剪贴板，收集一些签名，自己竞选公职。出现。投入。坚持下去。
Sometimes you'll win. Sometimes you'll lose. Presuming a reservoir of goodness in other people, that can be a risk, and there will be times when the process will disappoint you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of this work and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America, and in Americans, will be confirmed. 有时你会赢。有时你会输。假定他人内心善良，这可能是一种风险，有时过程会让你失望。但对于我们这些有幸参与这项工作并近距离看到它的人来说，让我告诉你，它可以激励和鼓舞人心。而且通常情况下，你对美国和美国人的信念会得到证实。
Mine sure has been. Over the course of these 8 years, I've seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in a Charleston church. I've seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch. I've seen wounded warriors who at points were given up for dead walk again. I've seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I've seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees or work for peace and, above all, to look out for each other. 我的信念肯定得到了证实。在这八年里，我看到了年轻毕业生和我们最新军官充满希望的面孔。我与寻求答案的悲痛家庭一起哀悼，并在查尔斯顿的一座教堂里找到了恩典。我看到我们的科学家帮助一名瘫痪男子恢复了触觉。我看到一度被认为必死无疑的受伤战士重新行走。我看到我们的医生和志愿者在地震后重建，并阻止了流行病的蔓延。我看到最年幼的孩子通过他们的行动和慷慨提醒我们，我们有义务照顾难民、为和平而努力，最重要的是，相互关心。
So that faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change—that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined. And I hope your faith has, too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home, you were there with us in 2004, in 2008, 2012; maybe you still can't believe we pulled this whole thing off. Let me tell you, you're not the only ones. [Laughter] 所以，我多年前就在离这里不远的地方所怀有的信念——相信普通美国人带来变革的力量——这种信念以我无法想象的方式得到了回报。我希望你们的信念也得到了回报。今晚在这里或在家观看的你们中的一些人，你们在2004年、2008年、2012年与我们在一起；也许你们仍然不敢相信我们完成了这一切。让我告诉你们，你们不是唯一的。[笑声]
Michelle—Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the South Side, for the past 25 years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. You took on a role you didn't ask for and you made it your own, with grace and with grit and with style and good humor. You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. And a new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. So you have made me proud. And you have made the country proud. 米歇尔——米歇尔·拉沃恩·罗宾逊，南区的女孩，在过去25年里，你不仅是我的妻子和我孩子的母亲，你还是我最好的朋友。你承担了一个你没有要求的角色，并以优雅、勇气、风格和幽默感将其变成了你自己的。你让白宫成为一个属于每个人的地方。新一代人因为有你作为榜样而将目光放得更高。所以你让我感到骄傲。你也让这个国家感到骄傲。
Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of circumstances, you have become two amazing young women. You are smart, and you are beautiful, but more importantly, you are kind, and you are thoughtful, and you are full of passion. And you wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I've done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad. 玛利亚和萨沙，在最奇怪的情况下，你们已经成为两个了不起的年轻女性。你们聪明、美丽，但更重要的是，你们善良、体贴、充满激情。你们如此轻松地承受了多年聚光灯下的负担。在我一生中所做的一切中，我最自豪的是成为你们的父亲。
To Joe Biden, the scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware's favorite son, you were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best. Not just because you have been a great Vice President, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother. And we love you and Jill like family, and your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives. 致乔·拜登，来自斯克兰顿的勇敢孩子，后来成为特拉华州最受欢迎的儿子，你是我作为候选人做出的第一个决定，也是最好的决定。不仅因为你一直是一位伟大的副总统，而且因为在这个过程中，我获得了一个兄弟。我们像家人一样爱你和吉尔，你们的友谊是我们生活中最大的乐趣之一。
To my remarkable staff: For 8 years—and for some of you, a whole lot more—I have drawn from your energy, and every day I tried to reflect back what you displayed: heart and character and idealism. I've watched you grow up, get married, have kids, start incredible new journeys of your own. Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. You guarded against cynicism. And the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we've done is the thought of all the amazing things that you are going to achieve from here. 致我杰出的工作人员：八年来——你们中的一些人甚至更长——我从你们的能量中汲取力量，每一天我都努力反映你们所展现的：心、品格和理想主义。我看着你们长大、结婚、生子、开启自己不可思议的新旅程。即使在困难和令人沮丧的时候，你们也从未让华盛顿打败你们。你们抵制了愤世嫉俗。而比我们所做的所有好事更让我骄傲的，是想到你们从这里将要取得的所有惊人成就。
And to all of you out there—every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change—you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will be forever grateful. Because you did change the world. You did. 致所有在那里的你们——每一个搬到陌生城镇的组织者，每一个欢迎他们的善良家庭，每一个敲门的志愿者，每一个第一次投票的年轻人，每一个为变革的辛勤工作而生活和呼吸的美国人——你们是任何人都希望拥有的最好的支持者和组织者，我将永远感激。因为你们确实改变了世界。你们做到了。
And that's why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans, it has inspired so many Americans, especially so many young people out there, to believe that you can make a difference, to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves. 这就是为什么今晚我离开这个舞台时，比我们开始时对这个国家更加乐观。因为我知道我们的工作不仅帮助了这么多美国人，也激励了这么多美国人，尤其是这么多年轻人，相信你们可以有所作为，相信你们可以将自己的命运与比自己更伟大的事物联系在一起。
Let me tell you, this generation coming up—unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic—I've seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair and just and inclusive America. You know that constant change has been America's hallmark; that it's not something to fear but something to embrace. You are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You'll soon outnumber all of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands. 让我告诉你们，即将到来的这一代人——无私、利他、富有创造力、爱国——我在这个国家的每个角落都看到了你们。你们相信一个公平、公正和包容的美国。你们知道不断的变革一直是美国的标志；这不是需要害怕的事情，而是需要拥抱的事情。你们愿意将民主的这项艰巨工作向前推进。你们很快就会超过我们所有人，我相信因此未来掌握在可靠的人手中。
My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won't stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you're young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President, the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me 8 years ago. I'm asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change, but in yours. 我的美国同胞们，为你们服务是我一生的荣幸。我不会停止。事实上，作为公民，我将在我剩下的所有日子里与你们在一起。但现在，无论你们年轻还是心态年轻，作为你们的总统，我最后一次请求你们，就像八年前你们给我一个机会时我请求的那样。我请求你们相信。不是相信我带来变革的能力，而是相信你们自己的能力。
I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the Moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes, we can. 我请求你们坚守写在我们建国文件中的信念；奴隶和废奴主义者低声说出的理念；移民、拓荒者和为正义而游行的人们唱出的精神；那些在外国战场到月球表面插上国旗的人重申的信条；每一个故事尚未写完的美国人心中的核心信条：是的，我们能。
Yes, we did. Yes, we can. 是的，我们做到了。是的，我们能。
Thank you. God bless you. May God continue to bless the United States of America. Thank you. 谢谢大家。上帝保佑你们。愿上帝继续保佑美利坚合众国。谢谢大家。