The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
前方的道路很漫長，我們將步履維艱。我們也許無法在一年內，甚至是（我的）一個任期內，達成我們的目標。但是，今晚，我比任何時候都對此更有信心。我承諾，我們所有人將作為一個整體順利的到達目的地。
我們將不可避免地遭遇許多挫折，也許開頭并不會一帆風順。我們需要弄明白一點，那就是政府無法解決所有的問題，也許有很多人不會同意我上臺執政后制定的政策。不過，我將坦誠地接受各方的批評，直面我們的挑戰。我將傾聽你們的意見，尤其是不同的政見。總之，我邀請各位一同投入到國家的建設中來，用我們勤勞的雙手堆砌建設這個國家所需的磚瓦。正是這一方式，使美國在221年的建國道路上不斷前行。
我在21個月前的深冬開始為競選做出的努力并不會在今晚畫上句號。我們所追求的并不是這場選舉的勝利，這僅僅是為我們提供了一個做出變革的機會。如果回到過去的老路，我們將無法做出任何改變。當然，如果沒有你們，一切都無法發生。
所以，讓我們一同喚醒自己的愛國心，喚醒為國效力的責任感，我們將一道披星戴月，披荊斬棘向前行進，我們需要照顧的不再只有我們自己，而是每一個人。這次的金融危機讓我們認識到一個事實，如果大眾受苦受難，華爾街就不可能繁華似錦。我們必須攜手與共、共同經歷這個國家的榮辱興衰。
長期以來，兩黨隔閡以及不成熟的狹隘主義造成了我們現在的失敗政策，所以讓我們一同抵制住這種傾向，避免回到那條老路。請記住，這個國家有一個民主黨人將第一次手扛民主和共和兩黨旗幟邁向白宮。充滿自信，崇尚個人自由，維護國家團結將是我們共同追求的價值觀。盡管民主黨在今晚取得了壓倒性的勝利，但是我們將繼續帶著謙卑前行，愈合這個國家因分裂受到的創傷。社會的分裂曾經阻礙我們國家前行的腳步。正如林肯總統在1861年的反國家分裂的演說中說到，“我們不是敵人，而是朋友。我們決不能成為敵人。盡管目前的情緒有些緊張，但決不能容許它使我們之間的親密情感紐帶破裂。”我要告訴那些沒有將選票投給我的朋友，也許我沒有贏得你們的選票，但我將聆聽你們的聲音，我需要你們的幫助，因為我同樣將成為你們的總統。
我要告訴那些在美國大陸以外關注今晚選舉的人們，也許你們在一個被世界遺忘的角落通過收音機了解今晚的選舉，盡管我們的國情不一樣，但是我們的命運是緊緊聯系在一起的。一個全新的美國領導層即將呼之欲出。我要告訴那些試圖破壞這個世界的人們，我們將打敗你們！我要告訴那些追求和平和安全的人們，我們將全力支持你們！我要告訴那些對美國的未來持懷疑態度的人們，今晚，我們再次證明了一個事實，那就是這個國家擁有強大的力量，這并不是因為我們擁有眾多的武器和財富。民主、自由、機遇、堅定不屈的希望才是這個國家保持強大的持久力量！
美國強大的真諦在于它能夠做出改變，我們的國家可以變得更加完美。我們過去所達到的成就讓我們看到了前進的希望。
本屆選舉創造了多項歷史之最，有許多故事將代代相傳。但此時此刻，我腦海中想起的是一名來自亞特蘭大的選民，這位名叫安妮·尼克松·庫珀的女性和千千萬萬的選民一樣，靜靜地站在投票隊伍之中，投出自己的選票，表達自己的聲音。不過，與眾不同的是，她已經106歲高齡了。在她出生的年代，公路上沒有汽車，天空中沒有飛機。像她一樣的人僅僅因為膚色和性別就被擋在參與投票的大門之外。
今晚，我由此聯想到了她一個世紀以來，在美國見證的一切：困苦與希望，奮斗與進步，那是一個讓人無能為力的年代，但人們必須不斷告訴自己美國的偉大信條：“是的，我們可以！”曾經，女性無法表達自己的意見，她們的希望成為幻影。如今，她終于見證了這一幕，和她一樣有著悲慘遭遇的人們成功地投出了自己的選票。是的，我們可以！
當整個美國大陸都籠罩在經濟大蕭條的絕望之中時，她見證了一個國家戰勝自身恐懼，重新崛起，羅斯福總統推行的“新政”不僅給美國帶來了新的就業機會，更給美國人民帶來了共同的價值觀。是的，我們可以！
當敵人的炮彈投向我們的港口，當世界被暴政所威脅，她見證了一個崛起的民族，民主重獲新生。是的，我們可以！
她目睹了發生在蒙哥馬利巴士上、伯明翰的高壓水龍頭下、塞爾瑪大橋上的種族歧視暴行……而后，來自亞特蘭大的民權先驅告訴人們，“我們可以戰勝這一切”。是的，我們可以！
而后，人類登月，柏林墻倒塌，世界重新集結在科學和想象力的號角下。現在，在這場選舉中，她終于用自己的指尖觸碰到投票屏幕，鄭重地投下選票。飽經106年的滄桑變化，穿越歲月的風云變遷，她知道美國能做出怎樣的改變。是的，我們可以！
美國，我們風雨兼程，一路走來。我們經歷了太多，但前方仍有許多夢想等待著我們去實現。今晚，讓我們大聲地問自己，我們的孩子是否還能看到下一個世紀；我可愛的女兒是否能和安妮·尼克松·庫珀一樣幸運，享受漫長的人生。他們將看到怎樣的變革？我們將取得怎樣的進步？
這是我們給出答案的機會。這是屬于我們的時刻。這是我們的時代：讓人們有事可做；為我們的孩子打開機遇之門；推動世界和平與繁榮；再次鍛造美國夢，重申這一不可動搖的事實——雖然我們每個人不盡相同，但我們是一個整體，只要我們呼吸尚存，希望就永不磨滅。我們將用那歷經時間考驗的不朽信條擲地有聲地直面質疑：“是的，我們可以！”
謝謝！上帝保佑你們，保佑美利堅合眾國！
(Source: Agencies/中國日報網環球在線 英語點津姍姍編輯)
