奥巴马父亲节演讲

Barack Obama and his family celebrated Father's Day by attending Sunday services at the Apostolic Church of God on Chicago's South Side, where Obama gave a speech highly critical of absent black fathers. He urged them to remember their filial responsibilities and be more engaged in raising their children. Obama reminded the congregation of his own experience growing up without a father, saying that if he could be anything in life, he would be a good father to his daughters.

奥巴马父亲节演讲

巴拉克奥巴马一家在芝加哥南部的“使徒”教堂庆祝了父亲节，奥巴马在此发表的演讲强烈批评了失职的黑人父亲。奥巴马要求他们记住对子女的责任，呼吁他们更多地付起培养子女的责任。奥巴马回忆起他在没有父亲的情况下成长的经历，他说：他一生中要扮演很多角色，但他一定要做女儿的好父亲。

Read Obama's speech below.

奥巴马的演讲内容如下：

Good morning. It's good to be home on this Father's Day with my girls, and it's an honor to spend some time with all of you today in the house of our Lord.

早上好。在家里陪伴我的女儿是一件乐事，在教堂与各位共度也是我的荣幸。

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus closes by saying, "Whoever hears these words of mine, and does them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." [Matthew 7: 24-25]

在《登山宝训》的结尾，耶稣最后说：“无论谁听了我的话，并付诸实践，都应该会成为一位能在坚石上建造房屋的智者。大雨过后，洪水泛滥，狂风怒号，击打屋舍，但房屋不倒，是因为其建立在坚石之上。”（马太福音，第七章24-25）

Here at Apostolic, you are blessed to worship in a house that has been founded on the rock of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. But it is also built on another rock, another foundation - and that rock is Bishop Arthur Brazier. In forty-eight years, he has built this congregation from just a few hundred to more than 20,000 strong - a congregation that, because 1

of his leadership, has braved the fierce winds and heavy rains of violence and poverty; joblessness and hopelessness. Because of his work and his ministry, there are more graduates and fewer gang members in the neighborhoods surrounding this church. There are more homes and fewer homeless. There is more community and less chaos because Bishop Brazier continued the march for justice that he began by Dr. King's side all those years ago. He is the reason this house has stood tall for half a century. And on this Father's Day, it must make him proud to know that the man now charged with keeping its foundation strong is his son and your new pastor, Reverend Byron Brazier.

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在这里，你们被寄予希望到教堂中做礼拜，这是由耶稣基-督，我们的主，我们的先知所建立的，另一个基础——坚石是主教亚瑟布拉泽尔。在过去的四十八年间，他将集会人数从几百发展到了两万多，在他的领导下，我们勇敢的面对暴-力和贫困，失业和失望的狂风暴雨。在他的努力下，围绕着教堂的社区里，有越来越多的毕业生，越来越少的帮派成员。越来越多的人安了家，无家可归者则越来越少。有越来越多的社区，越来越少的混乱，因为亚瑟布拉泽尔继续着他多年前就开始了的马丁路德金式的对正义的追求。他是这座教堂历经半个世纪依然屹立的唯一理由。在这个父亲节，得知今天继续坚持这个坚实的基础的人是他的儿子和新的牧师，拜伦布拉泽尔，一定会使他感到骄傲。

Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches. They are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it.

今天，在我们建立我们的生活的所有基础之上，我们应该记得家庭是最重要的。在此基础上，我们应该承认父亲的重要并尊敬他们。他们是老师，是教练。他们是导师，是行为的楷模。他们是成功的范例，是不断将我们推向成功的人。

But if we are honest with ourselves, we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing - missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.

倘如我们对自己诚实，我们就不得不承认：太多的父亲从太多的生活，太多的家庭中消失。他们像男孩一样地放弃了他们的责任，而没有表现得像男人。因此，我们家庭的基础变得薄弱。

You and I know how true this is in the African-American community. We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled - doubled - since we were children. We know the statistics - that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it.

我们都知道这在黑人社区中是多么的常见。我们都知道半数以上的黑人孩子生活在单亲家庭中，这个数字被乘以二，再乘以二，自从我们还是孩子时。我们知道这些统计数字：在没有父亲的情况下成长的孩子生活在贫困和犯罪中的概率五倍于在有父亲的情况下成长的孩子；辍学的概率九倍于在有父亲的情况下成长的孩子；在监狱中终其一生的概率是在有父亲的情况下成长的孩子的二十倍。他们也更容易有行为问题，更容易离家出走，更容易成为青少年父母。而因此，我们社区的基础也变得薄弱。

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How many times in the last year has this city lost a child at the hands of another child? How many times have our hearts stopped in the middle of the night with the sound of a gunshot or a siren? How many teenagers have we seen hanging around on street corners when they should be sitting in a classroom? How many are sitting in prison when they should be working, or at least looking for a job? How many in this generation are we willing to lose to poverty or violence or addiction? How many?

在过去的一年里，在这座城市中，多少孩子死于单挑斗殴？多少人在午夜睡梦中，随着一声枪响或一声警笛停止了心跳？我们曾看到多少孩子在街角闲逛，当他们本应坐在教室里的时候？多少人应在工作或至少找工作时，却被囚禁在监狱里？这一代人有多少是我们愿意在贫困、暴-力和毒品中失去的？有多少?

Yes, we need more cops on the street. Yes, we need fewer guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them. Yes, we need more money for our schools, and more outstanding teachers in the classroom, and more afterschool programs for our children. Yes, we need more jobs and more job training and more opportunity in our communities.

是的，我们需要更多的巡警在街头。是的，我们需要那些不应该拥有枪支的人手中拥有更少的枪支。是的，我们需要更多的资金投入到学校，更多的杰出的老师在教室中授课，以及更多的课后活动给我们的孩子们。是的，我们需要更多的工作，更多的工作指导，更多的机会在我们的社区里。

But we also need families to raise our children. We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child - it's the courage to raise one.

但我们同样需要家庭去抚养我们的孩子。我们需要父亲们认识到责任不是结束于受精。我们需要他们认识到：你之所以是个男人，不因为你有生育能力，而是你有抚养以个孩子的勇气。

We need to help all the mothers out there who are raising these kids by themselves; the mothers who drop them off at school, go to work, pick up them up in the afternoon, work another shift, get dinner, make lunches, pay the bills, fix the house, and all the other things it takes both parents to do. So many of these women are doing a heroic job, but they need support. They need another parent. Their children need another parent. That's what keeps their foundation strong. It's what keeps the foundation of our country strong.

我们要帮助那些凭一己之力抚养孩子的母亲；母亲们将孩子送到学校，然后去工作，下午又将孩子从学校接回，开始另一份工作，做晚餐，做中餐，付学费，修理房子，而这一切都应由父母两人共同承担。多少母亲在独自承担如此纷繁复杂的工作，但她们需要支持。她们需要另一对父母。她们的子女需要另一对父母。这使她们的基础变得强大，这使整个国家的基础变得强大。

I know what it means to have an absent father, although my circumstances weren't as tough as they are for many young people today. Even though my father left us when I was two years old, and I only knew him from the letters he wrote and the stories that my family told, I was luckier than most. I grew up in Hawaii, and had two wonderful grandparents from Kansas who poured everything they had into helping my mother raise my sister and me - who worked with her to teach us about love and respect and the obligations we have to one another. I screwed up more often than I should've, but I got plenty of second chances. And even though we didn't have a lot of money, scholarships gave me the opportunity to go to some of the best schools in the country. A lot of kids don't get these chances today. There is no margin for error in their lives. So my own story is different in that way.

我知道这说明我曾有父爱的缺失，虽然我情况比起今天很多年轻人要好很多。即使我的父亲在我两岁时离开了我们，我也仅仅从他的书信和家人的讲述中了解他，但我比大多数人幸运很多。我在夏威夷长大，从堪萨斯来的祖父母倾其所有帮助母亲抚养我的姐姐和我。他们和母亲一道教育我们爱，尊重和对别人的责任。 4

我比理论上更多地犯错，但为我总有第二次机会。虽然我们不怎么有钱，但奖学金给了我机会到全美一些最好的学校学习。今天，很多孩子却不能得到那样的机会。经济条件不允许他们在人生中有任何过失。所以，我自己的故事倒是有些不同。

Still, I know the toll that being a single parent took on my mother - how she struggled at times to the pay bills; to give us the things that other kids had; to play all the roles that both parents are supposed to play. And I know the toll it took on me. So I resolved many years ago that it was my obligation to break the cycle - that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father to my girls; that if I could give them anything, I would give them that rock - that foundation - on which to build their lives. And that would be the greatest gift I could offer.

然而，我的确知道做一名像我母亲一样的单身母亲所需付出的代价——她怎样努力去为我们支付学费；给我们和其他孩子一样的东西；扮演父亲和母亲的角色。我也知道我所付出的代价。所以，我多年前就下定决心，把打破这循环作为我的责任——在我所能做的所有事中，我会做我女儿的好父亲；在所有我能给予她们的东西中，我会给她们一个坚实的基础，使她们能够在此之上建立自己的生活。而这也将是我所能给予她们的最好的礼物。

I say this knowing that I have been an imperfect father - knowing that I have made mistakes and will continue to make more; wishing that I could be home for my girls and my wife more than I am right now. I say this knowing all of these things because even as we are imperfect, even as we face difficult circumstances, there are still certain lessons we must strive to live and learn as fathers - whether we are black or white; rich or poor; from the South Side or the wealthiest suburb.

我虽这样说，但我当然知道我不是一个完美的父亲；我当然知道我犯了很多错误，也会继续犯更多错误；我也希望我能花比现在更多的时间在家里陪伴我的女儿和妻子。我这样说，因为我知道这一切都由于我们的不完美，由于我们所面对的困境，作为父亲，仍然有许多需要去努力学习，努力谋生——无论我们是黑人或白人；富有或贫困；来自南方或富人聚居的城郊。

The first is setting an example of excellence for our children - because if we want to set high expectations for them, we've got to set high expectations for ourselves. It's great if you have a job; it's even better if you have a college degree. It's a wonderful thing if you are married and living in a home with your children, but don't just sit in the house and watch "SportsCenter" all weekend long. That's why so many children 5

are growing up in front of the television. As fathers and parents, we've got to spend more time with them, and help them with their homework, and replace the video game or the remote control with a book once in awhile. That's how we build that foundation.

首先我们就得为孩子们树立优秀的榜样——因为，如果我们对孩子们有较高的期望，我们就先得对我们自己有较高的期望。如果你有一份工作那是很好的，如果你有大学学位那更好。如果你已经结婚了，并在家里和孩子同住，而且不仅仅是整个周末坐着成天地看“体育中心”那是再好不过的。那就是为什么如此多的孩子在电视机前长大。作为父母，我们需要花时间和孩子们在一起，给予他们功课上的辅导，在一段时间里，让书本取代电视游戏和遥控器。这就是我们建立基础的方法。

We know that education is everything to our children's future. We know that they will no longer just compete for good jobs with children from Indiana, but children from India and China and all over the world. We know the work and the studying and the level of education that requires.

我们都知道：教育决定孩子的未来。我们知道他们将不仅的印地安那的孩子为好的职位竞争，他们将和印度、中国乃至全世界的孩子竞争。我们也知道全球化竞争对于工作、学习和文化程度的要求。

You know, sometimes I'll go to an eighth-grade graduation and there's all that pomp and circumstance and gowns and flowers. And I think to myself, it's just eighth grade. To really compete, they need to graduate high school, and then they need to graduate college, and they probably need a graduate degree too. An eighth-grade education doesn't cut it today. Let's give them a handshake and tell them to get their butts back in the library!

有一次我去一个八年级毕业典礼，尽是夸耀、状况、礼服、鲜花。我想，这只是八年级。去真正地竞争，他们需要读完高中，读完大学，他们也许还需要大学学历。一个八年级毕业典礼真算不上什么。就让我们和孩子握握手，然后告诉他们回到图书馆！

It's up to us - as fathers and parents - to instill this ethic of excellence in our children. It's up to us to say to our daughters, don't ever let images on TV tell you what you are worth, because I expect you to dream without limit and reach for those goals. It's up to us to tell our sons, those songs on the radio may glorify violence, but in my house we live glory to achievement, self respect, and hard work. It's up to us to set

these high expectations. And that means meeting those expectations ourselves. That means setting examples of excellence in our own lives.

作为父母——我们应该灌输孩子们这种优秀的品行。我们应该去告诉孩子他的价值，而是由电视上的图片来完成，因为我希望你们有无限的梦想，然后实现那些目标。我们应该告诉孩子们那些电台上的歌是美化了暴-力，但在家里，我们生活在成就的荣誉、自尊和奋斗中。我刻录该寄予孩子一些高的期望。同时我们也被寄予期望，也等于在我们自己的生活中树立目标。

The second thing we need to do as fathers is pass along the value of empathy to our children. Not sympathy, but empathy - the ability to stand in somebody else's shoes; to look at the world through their eyes. Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in "us," that we forget about our obligations to one another. There's a culture in our society that says remembering these obligations is somehow soft - that we can't show weakness, and so therefore we can't show kindness.

第二，我们需要像父亲一样地关心孩子。不是同情，而是关心——学会换位思考；通过他们的眼睛观察这个世界的能力。有时，做“我们自己”是很容易的，因为我们忽视了我们对他人的义务。在我们的社会中，有一种观点说：牢记这些义务是不怎么容易的，我们不能表现出软弱，因此，我们也不能表现出仁慈。

But our young boys and girls see that. They see when you are ignoring or mistreating your wife. They see when you are inconsiderate at home; or when you are distant; or when you are thinking only of yourself. And so it's no surprise when we see that behavior in our schools or on our streets. That's why we pass on the values of empathy and kindness to our children by living them. We need to show our kids that you're not strong by putting other people down - you're strong by lifting them up. That's our responsibility as fathers.

And by the way - it's a responsibility that also extends to Washington. Because if fathers are doing their part; if they're taking our

responsibilities seriously to be there for their children, and set high expectations for them, and instill in them a sense of excellence and empathy, then our government should meet them halfway.

不仅如此，到华盛顿去也是一种责任，因为，如果父亲们对孩子们履行着他们的责任，对孩子们给予期望，灌输孩子们优秀的品行、关心，我们的政府就应该在其中帮助他们。

We should be ma-ki-ng it easier for fathers who make responsible choices and harder for those who avoid them. We should get rid of the financial penalties we impose on married couples right now, and start ma-ki-ng sure that every dime of child support goes directly to helping children instead of some bureaucrat. We should reward fathers who pay that child support with job training and job opportunities and a larger Earned Income Tax Credit that can help them pay the bills. We should expand programs where registered nurses visit expectant and new mothers and help them learn how to care for themselves before the baby is born and what to do after - programs that have helped increase father involvement, women's employment, and children's readiness for school. We should help these new families care for their children by expanding maternity and paternity leave, and we should guarantee every worker more paid sick leave so they can stay home to take care of their child without losing their income.

我们应该使那些负责的父亲的生活共容易，使那些不负责任的父亲的生活更加困难。我们应该免除对现在已婚夫妇的征税，我们要确保对孩子们每一分钱的抚养费都能使他们直接受益，而不落入贪官污吏的口袋。我们应该减免那些为孩子支付工作训练，寻找工作机会的父亲们的所得税，以此帮助他们支付生活所需。我们应该扩大让注册护士照看孕妇并教授他们自护、护理婴儿的项目——该项目促进了父亲们对家庭的投入，母亲们的外出自谋职业以及孩子们的入学率。我们应该为这些新的家庭提供照顾孩子的条件，延长产假和陪产假，并且我们应该支付请假的员工更多的工资，以便他们能够呆在家照顾孩子而不必担心工资的损失。

We should take all of these steps to build a strong foundation for our children. But we should also know that even if we do; even if we meet our obligations as fathers and parents; even if Washington does its part too, we will still face difficult challenges in our lives. There will still be days of struggle and heartache. The rains will still come and the winds will still blow.

我们要实现这这些步骤，从而为我们的孩子建立一个坚实的基础。但我们也知道，尽管我们这样做，尽管我们履行了我们作为父母的责任，尽管华盛顿也做好了自己该做的，我们在生活中仍要面对许多艰难的挑战。仍然会有奋斗的日子，心痛的时刻。雨会继续下，风会继续吹。

And that is why the final lesson we must learn as fathers is also the greatest gift we can pass on to our children - and that is the gift of hope.

这就是为什么，我们作为父亲所必须学的最后一课，我们能传给我们的孩子的最珍贵的礼物——是希望。

I'm not talking about an idle hope that's little more than blind optimism or willful ignorance of the problems we face. I'm talking about hope as that spirit inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better is waiting for us if we're willing to work for it and fight for it. If we are willing to believe.

我不是指守株待兔的希望，那不仅是盲目乐观，或是不清楚自己所面对的困难。我所说的希望是我们一直坚持的信念，无论如何，为之奋斗总强于坐待机会。如果我们愿意相信。

I was answering questions at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin the other day and a young man raised his hand, and I figured he'd ask about college tuition or energy or maybe the war in Iraq. But instead he looked at me very seriously and he asked, "What does life mean to you?"

我在威斯康辛州的一个市政厅回答提问时，一位年轻人举起了手，我本以为他会问我关于大学学费、能源或伊战的问题。出乎我的意料，他看着我，认真地问道：“生活对您意味着什么？”

Now, I have to admit that I wasn't quite prepared for that one. I think I stammered for a little bit, but then I stopped and gave it some thought, and I said this:

现在，我不得不承认，我当时对哪个问题每什么准备。我想我当时有点口吃，然后我停下了，思考片刻，我说：

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me - how do I make my way in the world, and how do I become successful and how do I get the things that I want.

当我年轻时，我认为生活就是为了我自己——我怎样找到自己的方向，怎样变得成功，怎样得到我想要的。

But now, my life revolves around my two little girls. And what I think about is what kind of world I'm leaving them. Are they living in a country where there's a huge gap between a few who are wealthy and a whole bunch of people who are struggling every day? Are they living in a country that is still divided by race? A country where, because they're girls, they don't have as much opportunity as boys do? Are they living in a country where we are hated around the world because we don't cooperate effectively

with other nations? Are they living a world that is in grave danger because of what we've done to its climate?

但现在，我的生活围绕着我的两个小女儿。而我所想的是我该给她们一个怎样的世界。她们是否生活在一个存在富人和穷人之间巨大鸿沟的国家？她们还是否生活在由肤色将人区分的国家？在这个国家，是否因为她们是女孩，所以得不到和男孩同等的机会？她们是否生活在一个怒视全世界的国家，因为我们不会和其他国家友好合作？她们是否生活在一个极度危险的世界，由于我们对环境的破坏？

And what I've realized is that life doesn't count for much unless you're willing to do your small part to leave our children - all of our children - a better world. Even if it's difficult. Even if the work seems great. Even if we don't get very far in our lifetime.

我认识到了，生命不以多少来计算，除非你愿意尽自己所能为孩子们留下一个更美好的世界。虽然这很困难。虽然这项工程显得巨大。虽然在有生之年我们无法做得太多。

That is our ultimate responsibility as fathers and parents. We try. We hope. We do what we can to build our house upon the sturdiest rock. And when the winds come, and the rains fall, and they beat upon that house, we keep faith that our Father will be there to guide us, and watch over us, and protect us, and lead His children through the darkest of storms into light of a better day. That is my prayer for all of us on this Father's Day, and that is my hope for this country in the years ahead. May God Bless you and your children. Thank you.

这是我们作为父亲，作为父母最终、最大的责任。我们尽力，我们希望：我们尽自己所能将房屋建立在坚石上，风雨交加，击打这房屋，但我们要保持信心，因为我们的父亲将会在那儿引导我们，照看我们，保护我们，他会领着他的孩子们穿过这最黑暗的暴风雨，进入新的一天更美好的阳光中。这是我为所有人在父亲节的祈祷，也是我对祖国未来几年的期望。上帝保佑你和你的孩子。谢谢。

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