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Remarks by President Obama to Parliament in London
奥巴马在英国议会发表讲话 [视频]

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) high-five as they play table tennis at Globe Academy in London May 24, 2011. Obama on Tuesday begins a visit to Britain where he and Prime Minister David Cameron will review NATO action to help end conflict in Libya and Western policy towards uprisings in the Arab world. [Xinhua/AFP Photo]

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) high-five as they play table tennis at Globe Academy in London May 24, 2011. Obama on Tuesday begins a visit to Britain where he and Prime Minister David Cameron will review NATO action to help end conflict in Libya and Western policy towards uprisings in the Arab world. [Xinhua/AFP Photo]


For there is one final quality that I believe makes the United States and the United Kingdom indispensable to this moment in history. And that is how we define ourselves as nations. 因为我认为有一个最终的特质使美国和英国在这一历史时刻责无旁贷。那就是我们对自己国家的定义。
Unlike most countries in the world, we do not define citizenship based on race or ethnicity. Being American or British is not about belonging to a certain group; it's about believing in a certain set of ideals -- the rights of individuals, the rule of law. That is why we hold incredible diversity within our borders. That's why there are people around the world right now who believe that if they come to America, if they come to New York, if they come to London, if they work hard, they can pledge allegiance to our flag and call themselves Americans; if they come to England, they can make a new life for themselves and can sing God Save The Queen just like any other citizen. 不同于世界上多数国家,我们不是以种族或族裔来界定公民身份。做美国人或英国人不意味着属于某个团体,而是意味着相信一套理念──个人权利,以及法治。这就是我们两国境内人口如此多元的原因。这就是为什么世界上现在有些人相信如果他们来到美国,如果他们来到纽约,如果他们来到伦敦,勤奋工作,就能宣誓效忠我们的国旗,称自己为美国人。也有人相信如果他们来到英国开始新生活,他们可以像其他公民一样高唱《天佑女王》。
Yes, our diversity can lead to tension. And throughout our history there have been heated debates about immigration and assimilation in both of our countries. But even as these debates can be difficult, we fundamentally recognize that our patchwork heritage is an enormous strength -- that in a world which will only grow smaller and more interconnected, the example of our two nations says it is possible for people to be united by their ideals, instead of divided by their differences; that it's possible for hearts to change and old hatreds to pass; that it's possible for the sons and daughters of former colonies to sit here as members of this great Parliament, and for the grandson of a Kenyan who served as a cook in the British Army to stand before you as President of the United States. (Applause.) 确实,我们的多元化有可能引发矛盾。在我们两国历史上都曾发生过关于移民和同化的激烈争论。但即便有这种可能非常艰难的争论,我们从根本上认识到,我们百衲而成的传统是一种巨大的力量——在这个只会变得越来越小、相互联系越来越紧密的世界里,我们两个国家的例子表明,人们能够被理想连接在一起,而不是被差异所分隔;人心可以改变,旧仇能够消除;昔日殖民地的儿女能作为这个伟大议会的成员在这里占有席位;一个曾在英国军队当过厨师的肯尼亚人的孙子能作为美国总统站在你们面前。(掌声)
That is what defines us. That is why the young men and women in the streets of Damascus and Cairo still reach for the rights our citizens enjoy, even if they sometimes differ with our policies. As two of the most powerful nations in the history of the world, we must always remember that the true source of our influence hasn't just been the size of our economies, or the reach of our militaries, or the land that we've claimed. It has been the values that we must never waver in defending around the world -- the idea that all beings are endowed by our Creator with certain rights that cannot be denied. 这就是我们的特征。这就是为什么在大马士革和开罗街头的男女青年即使有时不同意我们的政策却仍然在争取我国公民所享有的权利。跻身于历史最强大的国家之列,我们两国必须永远牢记:我们影响力的真正来源不仅是因为我们的经济规模,我们的军事能力,或我们所拥有的土地。它来源于我们在全世界必须毫不动摇地捍卫的价值观——所有人都被赋予某些无法剥夺的权利。
That is what forged our bond in the fire of war -- a bond made manifest by the friendship between two of our greatest leaders. Churchill and Roosevelt had their differences. They were keen observers of each other's blind spots and shortcomings, if not always their own, and they were hard-headed about their ability to remake the world. But what joined the fates of these two men at that particular moment in history was not simply a shared interest in victory on the battlefield. It was a shared belief in the ultimate triumph of human freedom and human dignity -- a conviction that we have a say in how this story ends. 这就是在战火中铸造了我们紧密关系的理念——这种紧密关系体现为我们两国最伟大的两位领导人丘吉尔和罗斯福之间的友谊。丘吉尔和罗斯福两人各有不同。如果说他们并不总是清楚自己的盲点和缺点,他们却都能敏锐地观察到对方的问题,他们对自己重塑世界的能力都有清醒的头脑。但在那特殊的历史时刻将这两人的命运联系在一起的并不仅仅是在战场上取胜的共同利益,也因为他们对人类自由与尊严必将取得最后胜利的共同信念——坚信我们对这一段历史的结局有发言权。
This conviction lives on in their people today. The challenges we face are great. The work before us is hard. But we have come through a difficult decade, and whenever the tests and trials ahead may seem too big or too many, let us turn to their example, and the words that Churchill spoke on the day that Europe was freed: 今天,两国人民继承了这一信念。我们面临的挑战是巨大的,摆在我们面前的工作是艰巨的。但我们已经历了困难的10年,无论前面的考验和磨难有多么巨大、多么繁多,让我们学习他们的榜样,牢记丘吉尔在欧洲获得自由的那一天讲的话:
"In the long years to come, not only will the people of this island but... the world, wherever the bird of freedom chirps in [the] human heart, look back to what we've done, and they will say 'do not despair, do not yield... march straightforward'." “在未来的岁月里,不仅是这个岛国的人民,而且……还有全世界,无论何处只要自由之鸟在人类心底啼鸣,回顾我们所做的一切,他们会说:‘不要绝望,不要屈服……奋勇向前’。”
With courage and purpose, with humility and with hope, with faith in the promise of tomorrow, let us march straightforward together, enduring allies in the cause of a world that is more peaceful, more prosperous, and more just. 让我们在争取全世界更和平、更繁荣、更正义的事业中,作为永恒的盟友,勇敢坚定、谦恭谨慎、满怀希望、坚定对未来前途的信心,共同奋勇向前。
Thank you very much. (Applause.) 非常感谢诸位。(掌声)
(Whitehouse.gov May 27, 2011) (美国国务院国际信息局)


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