本帖最后由 eagle 于 2016-1-12 22:01 编辑
博闻社
美国总统奥巴马今于港台时间上午10点发表其于任内的终回国情咨文，席间论及内政外交之际，其仍不忘针对外界臆测美经济衰退，国力渐弱一说极力澄清：「美国无庸置疑为世界最强国家。无人可及。（The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. It’s not even close.）」出席人士亦激昂回应：「USA！USA！USA！」
奥巴马随后亦称：「美国军费高于（排名）后8位的国家加总。美国军力史上最强。没有国家敢冒死对我们或盟友发动攻击。调查指出，自我就任以来，美国国际地位提升，于各项重要国际事务上，全球希冀美国领导，而非中俄。」
奥巴马国情咨文重点摘要：
我们生活在一场巨变的时代，这场巨变改变着我们的生活方式、工作方式、我们的星球以及我们在世界上的地位。这场巨变带来医学突破的前景，也造成困扰许多家庭的经济震荡。它给边远村庄的女孩儿带来受教育的希望，也使相距遥远的恐怖分子之间取得联系。它既能普惠民众，也能扩大不公。不管我们喜欢与否，这场巨变只会加速。
美国以前经历过种种巨变 –-- 战争，萧条， 移民涌入，劳工运动，以及民权运动。每一次，都有人告诉们要担心未来。每当我们有了一些威胁到美国既有秩序的群体或想法，就有人让我们停止变革，并且允诺会恢复往日的辉煌。可是每一次，我们都克服了那些恐惧。用林肯的话来说，我们没有照搬“沉寂的过去的教条”。相反，我们以新的思维开始新的行动。我们对巨变因势利导，始终扩展美国的机会，把它推向新的天地，惠及越来越多的人。由于我们这些行动，由于我们把他人眼里的灾难看成机遇，我们比以前更强大，更美好。
让我们谈谈未来。最为一个国家，我们必须要回答四个问题，不论是谁就任下届总统，或者是哪个党派控制下届国会。
首先，我们如何在这个新经济形势下给每个人公平的机会和安全保障？
其次，我们如何让技术为我们所用，而不是被技术所害——尤其是在解决如气候变化这类迫切问题的时候？
第三，我们如果保障美国的安全，并且在不成为世界警察的情况下领导世界？
最后，我们如何让我们的政治反映出我们最好的一面，而不是最糟糕的一面？
让我从经济开始。一个基本的事实是：美国目前是世界上最强最稳健的经济体。我们正处于历史上私营部门创造就业持续时间最长的阶段。1400多万个新增工作岗位，自从90年代以来就业增长最强劲的两年，失业率下降一半。我们的汽车业经历了最好的一年。制造业在过去六年创造了将近90万份新的工作。我们实现这些的时候，我们削减了近四分之三的赤字。
任何声称美国经济衰退的人都是在胡扯。经济一直在发生深刻变化倒是真的，这些变化早在经济衰退前就开始了，而且一直没有停歇——这也是让很多美国人感到担心的原因。今天，技术并不只是在生产线上代替了工作岗位，而是代替了任何能够自动化的工作岗位。在经济全球化的时代，企业可以设在任何地方，面临的竞争也更为激烈。因此，员工要求涨工资的力量减弱了；企业对社区的忠诚度也下降了。财富和收入越来越多地集中于社会顶层的那些人手中。
所有这些趋势挤压着工人，即便是他们仍然有工作，经济也仍在增长。这使得努力工作的家庭脱离贫困变得困难、年轻人找工作变得困难、员工想要退休也变得困难。虽然这些趋势并非美国独有，但是确实与美国独特的信念背道而驰，我们相信，每一个努力工作的人都应该有公平的机会。
我相信繁荣的私人企业是我们经济的生命之源。我认为那些过时的规矩需要改变，那些繁文缛节需要去除。但是经过多年公司利润创下新纪录后，让大银行或是大石油公司或是对冲基金以牺牲其他人为代价来制定他们自己的规则，或是任由集体谈判受到攻击，工薪家庭并不会获得更多的机会或是更高的薪水。金融危机不是领取食品券的人引起的，而是华尔街的轻率之举导致的。移民并不是工资上涨不够的原因，那些决定都是董事会作出的，而他们常常把季度收益看得比长远回报更重要。可以肯定，今晚正在看电视的普通家庭没有通过离岸账户来逃税。在这个新经济里，工人们、初创企业和小型企业需要更多的声音，而不是更少。规矩应该为他们服务。今年，我计划要激励那些意识到对他们的工人好会最终对他们的股东、客户和社区有益这个道理的企业，这样一来，我们可以把这些最好的做法传遍美国。
事实上，很多我们的最佳企业公民也是最有创意的。这让我来到我们作为一个国家需要回答的第二个大问题：我们如何重新激起创新精神来迎接最大的挑战？
60年前，当俄罗斯人在太空领域领先我们，我们没有否认他们的人造卫星。我们没有就科学争论，或是缩减我们的科研发展预算。我们几乎是在一夜之间建起了一个太空项目，12年后，我们登上了月球。
这种探索的精神是存在于我们的基因中的。我们就是爱迪生、莱特兄弟和乔治·华盛顿·卡弗。我们是格蕾丝·霍普，是凯瑟琳·约翰逊，是萨莉·莱德。我们是每一个从波士顿到奥斯汀到硅谷的移民和企业家，比赛着把世界变得更好。在过去的7年中，我们一直在培养这种精神。
我们保护了一个开放的互联网，还采取了大胆的新办法让更多的学生和低收入美国人能够上网。我们发起了新一代的制造业中心，在线工具提供了一个企业家可以在一天内创业所需的所有东西。
但是我们还可以做更多。去年，副总统拜登谈到了一个新的“登月计划”：美国人能够征服癌症。上个月，他与国会一道，拨给了国家卫生研究院的科学家们在过去十年多以来最有多的资源。今晚，我要宣布一项新的全国计划来实现这一目标。因为拜登在过去的四十年中在很多问题上为了我们所有人全力以赴，我要让他来负责这个计划的“指挥中心”。为了我们失去的亲人，为了我们还可以拯救的家庭，让我们使美国成为那个彻底治愈癌症的国家。
医学研究是关键的。当说到发展清洁能源的时候，我们也需要同样程度的保证。
如果任何人还想要就气候变化的科学来争论，那就试试吧。你会相当孤单，因为你将是与我们的军队、美国大部分企业领导人、大部分美国人、几乎整个科学界以及全世界200个国家争辩，他们都认为气候变化是一个问题，并打算要解决这个问题。
但是，即使地球还不是危在旦夕，即使2014年不是有史以来最温暖的一年－－直到2015年变得更热－－为什么我们要使美国企业错过生产和销售未来能源的机会呢？
7年前，我们做出了在清洁能源领域有史以来最大的单笔投资。以下是结果。从爱奥华州到德克萨斯州的田地，现在风能比更脏的传统能源更便宜。在从亚利桑那州到纽约州的房顶上，太阳能每年为美国人节省数千万美元的电费，还比煤矿业雇佣了更多的人，而且工资高于平均水平。我们正在采取措施，给予房主生产以及储存他们自己的能源的自由，这件事环保人士和茶党也一道支持。同时，我们削减外国原油进口近60%，在减排方面超过了地球上任何国家。
气候变化仅仅是很多我们与世界联结的安全议题中的一个。所以，我们要回答的第三个问题就是，如何保持美国的安全与强大，而同时既不孤立我们自己，也不到处在有问题的地方建立政权。
美国是全世界最强大的国家。我们在军事上的投入比后面8个国家之和还要多。我们的部队是人类历史上最强大的。没有哪个国家胆敢进攻我们或是我们的盟友，因为他们知道那是自取灭亡。调查显示，我们在全世界的地位比我刚当选总统时更高，每当出现重要的国际问题时，世界人民不会指望中国或是俄罗斯来领头，而是找我们。
我的每一天都以情报简报开启，我知道现在是一个危险时期。但那不是因为美国力量的减弱或者某个超级大国的崛起。在今天这个世界，对我们威胁更大的不是邪恶帝国，而是失败的国家。中东正在经历巨大的变化，这场变化将持续几代人，植根于一千多年的冲突中。转型中的中国经济吹来逆风。而俄罗斯虽然经济在萎缩，却向他们认为摆脱他们轨道的乌克兰和叙利亚投入大量资源来支持它们。我们在二战后建立的国际秩序现在也在挣扎着适应新的现实。
对古巴实行50年的孤立政策未能促进民主，而且削弱了我们在拉丁美洲的影响力。这就是我们为什么要和古巴恢复邦交，敞开旅行和商业的大门，这使我们得以改善古巴人民的生活。你想巩固我们在西半球的领导地位和信誉吗？那就必须承认冷战已经过去。解除禁运吧。
美国在21世纪的领导作用并非在以下二者之间做出选择：要么无视世界其他地区，要么占领并重建任何一个解体的社会。发挥领导作用意味者明智地运用军事力量，并团结全世界来推动正义事业。发挥领导作用意味着将对外援助看做我国国家安全的组成部分，而不是慈善施舍。我们领导将近200个国家达成了有史以来最具雄心的遏制气候改变协议，这不但帮助了易受伤害的国家，而且也保护了我们的子孙后代。我们帮助乌克兰捍卫其民主制度，帮助哥伦比亚结束持续数十年的战争，这加强了我们赖以生存的国际秩序。我们帮助非洲国家使其国民吃得上饭，看得起病，这避免了下次瘟疫蔓延到我国海岸。目前，我们正处于根除艾滋病的过程中，而且我们有能力根除疟疾 – 我今年将推动国会为此拨款。
这就是力量。这就是领导地位。这种领导地位依赖于我们的榜样力量。这就是我将继续致力于关闭关塔纳摩湾监狱的原因所在：这座监狱耗费大量经费，而且并无必要，只是为我们敌人提供了一个招募指导站。
这就是我们必须弃绝任何基于种族或宗教因素而攻击他人的政治行为的原因所在。这并非政治正确的问题，而是理解我们力量源于哪里的问题。全世界之所以尊重我们，并不仅是因为我们军力强大，而且是因为我们具有的多样性、开放性以及我们对各种信仰的尊重。教宗方济各曾在这里向各位指出，“模仿专制者和谋杀者的仇恨和暴力，就是取而代之的最佳方式”。政界人士侮辱穆斯林，损毁清真寺，恐吓孩子，这样做并不能让我们更安全。这种做法是无效的，是错误的。这种做法贬损我们在世人眼中的形象，使我们更难以实现我们的目标，而且有悖于我们国家的宗旨。
我国宪法以“我们人民”这几个字开篇。我们已经认识到，“我们人民”意味着所有的人，而不仅是一部分人，这就要求我们祸福与共。这是我今晚要讲的第4点，或许是最重要的一点。
我们所要的前景是：我们家人的机遇与安全，生活水平的提高，以及留给子孙可持续的、和平的地球。这一切都是能够实现的，但是只有我们共同努力才能实现，只有我们进行理性而建设性的辩论才能实现。
也只有我们去除政治弊端才能实现。
更好的政治并不意味着我们必须在所有事情上都看法一致。我们是一个庞大的国家，地域不同，态度不同，利益也不同。然而，这也正是我们的力量所在。我们的建国先贤们在各州以及政府各部门实行分权，并期待我们像他们那样进行争辩，其范围包括政府的规模和形式、商业和外交关系、自由的含义以及安全的要素。
但是，民主制度要求公民之间必须具有基本的信任纽带。如果我们认为与自己观点不同的人是出于恶意，或认为自己的政治对手不爱国，那么民主制度就无法运作。如果没有达成妥协的意愿，或甚至对基本事实都要加以质疑，或只肯听取与自己观点一致的人的声音，民主制度就会停止运作。如果只有最极端的观点才能得到关注，我们的公共生活就会凋零。最重要的是，如果一般民众感到自己的声音无关紧要，感到这个制度变得只有利于富人、有权势的人以及少数利益集团，那末，民主制度就会解体。
演说全文如次：
President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
Tonight marks the eighth year I’ve come here to report on the State of the Union. And for this final one, I’m going to try to make it shorter. I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa.
I also understand that because it’s an election season, expectations for what we’ll achieve this year are low. Still, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the constructive approach you and the other leaders took at the end of last year to pass a budget and make tax cuts permanent for working families. So I hope we can work together this year on bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform, and helping people who are battling prescription drug abuse. We just might surprise the cynics again.
But tonight, I want to go easy on the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead. Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty, from helping students learn to write computer code to personalizing medical treatments for patients. And I’ll keep pushing for progress on the work that still needs doing. Fixing a broken immigration system. Protecting our kids from gun violence. Equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage. All these things still matter to hardworking families; they are still the right thing to do; and I will not let up until they get done.
But for my final address to this chamber, I don’t want to talk just about the next year. I want to focus on the next five years, ten years, and beyond.
I want to focus on our future.
We live in a time of extraordinary change?—?change that’s reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet and our place in the world. It’s change that promises amazing medical breakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain working families. It promises education for girls in the most remote villages, but also connects terrorists plotting an ocean away. It’s change that can broaden opportunity, or widen inequality. And whether we like it or not, the pace of this change will only accelerate.
America has been through big changes before?—?wars and depression, the influx of immigrants, workers fighting for a fair deal, and movements to expand civil rights. Each time, there have been those who told us to fear the future; who claimed we could slam the brakes on change, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening America under control. And each time, we overcame those fears. We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the “dogmas of the quiet past.” Instead we thought anew, and acted anew. We made change work for us, always extending America’s promise outward, to the next frontier, to more and more people. And because we did?—?because we saw opportunity where others saw only peril?—?we emerged stronger and better than before.
What was true then can be true now. Our unique strengths as a nation?—?our optimism and work ethic, our spirit of discovery and innovation, our diversity and commitment to the rule of law?—?these things give us everything we need to ensure prosperity and security for generations to come. In fact, it’s that spirit that made the progress of these past seven years possible. It’s how we recovered from the worst economic crisis in generations. It’s how we reformed our health care system, and reinvented our energy sector; how we delivered more care and benefits to our troops and veterans, and how we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love.
But such progress is not inevitable. It is the result of choices we make together. And we face such choices right now. Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people? Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?
So let’s talk about the future, and four big questions that we as a country have to answer?—?regardless of who the next President is, or who controls the next Congress.
First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy?
Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us?—?especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change?
Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman?
And finally, how can we make our politics reflect what’s best in us, and not what’s worst?
Let me start with the economy, and a basic fact: the United States of America, right now, has the strongest, most durable economy in the world. We’re in the middle of the longest streak of private-sector job creation in history. More than 14 million new jobs; the strongest two years of job growth since the ’90s; an unemployment rate cut in half. Our auto industry just had its best year ever. Manufacturing has created nearly 900,000 new jobs in the past six years. And we’ve done all this while cutting our deficits by almost three-quarters.
Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction. What is true?—?and the reason that a lot of Americans feel anxious?—?is that the economy has been changing in profound ways, changes that started long before the Great Recession hit and haven’t let up. Today, technology doesn’t just replace jobs on the assembly line, but any job where work can be automated. Companies in a global economy can locate anywhere, and face tougher competition. As a result, workers have less leverage for a raise. Companies have less loyalty to their communities. And more and more wealth and income is concentrated at the very top.
All these trends have squeezed workers, even when they have jobs; even when the economy is growing. It’s made it harder for a hardworking family to pull itself out of poverty, harder for young people to start on their careers, and tougher for workers to retire when they want to. And although none of these trends are unique to America, they do offend our uniquely American belief that everybody who works hard should get a fair shot.
For the past seven years, our goal has been a growing economy that works better for everybody. We’ve made progress. But we need to make more. And despite all the political arguments we’ve had these past few years, there are some areas where Americans broadly agree.
We agree that real opportunity requires every American to get the education and training they need to land a good-paying job. The bipartisan reform of No Child Left Behind was an important start, and together, we’ve increased early childhood education, lifted high school graduation rates to new highs, and boosted graduates in fields like engineering. In the coming years, we should build on that progress, by providing Pre-K for all, offering every student the hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one, and we should recruit and support more great teachers for our kids.
And we have to make college affordable for every American. Because no hardworking student should be stuck in the red. We’ve already reduced student loan payments to ten percent of a borrower’s income. Now, we’ve actually got to cut the cost of college. Providing two years of community college at no cost for every responsible student is one of the best ways to do that, and I’m going to keep fighting to get that started this year.
Of course, a great education isn’t all we need in this new economy. We also need benefits and protections that provide a basic measure of security. After all, it’s not much of a stretch to say that some of the only people in America who are going to work the same job, in the same place, with a health and retirement package, for 30 years, are sitting in this chamber. For everyone else, especially folks in their forties and fifties, saving for retirement or bouncing back from job loss has gotten a lot tougher. Americans understand that at some point in their careers, they may have to retool and retrain. But they shouldn’t lose what they’ve already worked so hard to build.
That’s why Social Security and Medicare are more important than ever; we shouldn’t weaken them, we should strengthen them. And for Americans short of retirement, basic benefits should be just as mobile as everything else is today. That’s what the Affordable Care Act is all about. It’s about filling the gaps in employer-based care so that when we lose a job, or go back to school, or start that new business, we’ll still have coverage. Nearly eighteen million have gained coverage so far. Health care inflation has slowed. And our businesses have created jobs every single month since it became law. Now, I’m guessing we won’t agree on health care anytime soon. But there should be other ways both parties can improve economic security. Say a hardworking American loses his job?—?we shouldn’t just make sure he can get unemployment insurance; we should make sure that program encourages him to retrain for a business that’s ready to hire him. If that new job doesn’t pay as much, there should be a system of wage insurance in place so that he can still pay his bills. And even if he’s going from job to job, he should still be able to save for retirement and take his savings with him. That’s the way we make the new economy work better for everyone. I also know Speaker Ryan has talked about his interest in tackling poverty. America is about giving everybody willing to work a hand up, and I’d welcome a serious discussion about strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-income workers without kids.
But there are other areas where it’s been more difficult to find agreement over the last seven years?—?namely what role the government should play in making sure the system’s not rigged in favor of the wealthiest and biggest corporations. And here, the American people have a choice to make.
I believe a thriving private sector is the lifeblood of our economy. I think there are outdated regulations that need to be changed, and there’s red tape that needs to be cut. But after years of record corporate profits, working families won’t get more opportunity or bigger paychecks by letting big banks or big oil or hedge funds make their own rules at the expense of everyone else; or by allowing attacks on collective bargaining to go unanswered. Food Stamp recipients didn’t cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did. Immigrants aren’t the reason wages haven’t gone up enough; those decisions are made in the boardrooms that too often put quarterly earnings over long-term returns. It’s sure not the average family watching tonight that avoids paying taxes through offshore accounts. In this new economy, workers and start-ups and small businesses need more of a voice, not less. The rules should work for them. And this year I plan to lift up the many businesses who’ve figured out that doing right by their workers ends up being good for their shareholders, their customers, and their communities, so that we can spread those best practices across America.
In fact, many of our best corporate citizens are also our most creative. This brings me to the second big question we have to answer as a country: how do we reignite that spirit of innovation to meet our biggest challenges?
Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we didn’t deny Sputnik was up there. We didn’t argue about the science, or shrink our research and development budget. We built a space program almost overnight, and twelve years later, we were walking on the moon.
That spirit of discovery is in our DNA. We’re Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver. We’re Grace Hopper and Katherine Johnson and Sally Ride. We’re every immigrant and entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon Valley racing to shape a better world. And over the past seven years, we’ve nurtured that spirit.
We’ve protected an open internet, and taken bold new steps to get more students and low-income Americans online. We’ve launched next-generation manufacturing hubs, and online tools that give an entrepreneur everything he or she needs to start a business in a single day.
But we can do so much more. Last year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot, America can cure cancer. Last month, he worked with this Congress to give scientists at the National Institutes of Health the strongest resources they’ve had in over a decade. Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he’s gone to the mat for all of us, on so many issues over the past forty years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the family we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all. Medical research is critical. We need the same level of commitment when it comes to developing clean energy sources.
Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You’ll be pretty lonely, because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it.
But even if the planet wasn’t at stake; even if 2014 wasn’t the warmest year on record?—?until 2015 turned out even hotter?—?why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future?
Seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history. Here are the results. In fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power. On rooftops from Arizona to New York, solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills, and employs more Americans than coal?—?in jobs that pay better than average. We’re taking steps to give homeowners the freedom to generate and store their own energy?—?something environmentalists and Tea Partiers have teamed up to support. Meanwhile, we’ve cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly sixty percent, and cut carbon pollution more than any other country on Earth.
Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t bad, either.
Now we’ve got to accelerate the transition away from dirty energy. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future?—?especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. That’s why I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet. That way, we put money back into those communities and put tens of thousands of Americans to work building a 21st century transportation system.
None of this will happen overnight, and yes, there are plenty of entrenched interests who want to protect the status quo. But the jobs we’ll create, the money we’ll save, and the planet we’ll preserve?—?that’s the kind of future our kids and grandkids deserve.
Climate change is just one of many issues where our security is linked to the rest of the world. And that’s why the third big question we have to answer is how to keep America safe and strong without either isolating ourselves or trying to nation-build everywhere there’s a problem.
I told you earlier all the talk of America’s economic decline is political hot air. Well, so is all the rhetoric you hear about our enemies getting stronger and America getting weaker. The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. It’s not even close. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined. Our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world. No nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that’s the path to ruin. Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead?—?they call us.
As someone who begins every day with an intelligence briefing, I know this is a dangerous time. But that’s not because of diminished American strength or some looming superpower. In today’s world, we’re threatened less by evil empires and more by failing states. The Middle East is going through a transformation that will play out for a generation, rooted in conflicts that date back millennia. Economic headwinds blow from a Chinese economy in transition. Even as their economy contracts, Russia is pouring resources to prop up Ukraine and Syria?—?states they see slipping away from their orbit. And the international system we built after World War II is now struggling to keep pace with this new reality.
It’s up to us to help remake that system. And that means we have to set priorities.
Priority number one is protecting the American people and going after terrorist networks. Both al Qaeda and now ISIL pose a direct threat to our people, because in today’s world, even a handful of terrorists who place no value on human life, including their own, can do a lot of damage. They use the Internet to poison the minds of individuals inside our country; they undermine our allies.
But as we focus on destroying ISIL, over-the-top claims that this is World War III just play into their hands. Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped. But they do not threaten our national existence. That’s the story ISIL wants to tell; that’s the kind of propaganda they use to recruit. We don’t need to build them up to show that we’re serious, nor do we need to push away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that ISIL is representative of one of the world’s largest religions. We just need to call them what they are?—?killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed.
That’s exactly what we are doing. For more than a year, America has led a coalition of more than 60 countries to cut off ISIL’s financing, disrupt their plots, stop the flow of terrorist fighters, and stamp out their vicious ideology. With nearly 10,000 air strikes, we are taking out their leadership, their oil, their training camps, and their weapons. We are training, arming, and supporting forces who are steadily reclaiming territory in Iraq and Syria.
If this Congress is serious about winning this war, and wants to send a message to our troops and the world, you should finally authorize the use of military force against ISIL. Take a vote. But the American people should know that with or without Congressional action, ISIL will learn the same lessons as terrorists before them. If you doubt America’s commitment?—?or mine?—?to see that justice is done, ask Osama bin Laden. Ask the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen, who was taken out last year, or the perpetrator of the Benghazi attacks, who sits in a prison cell. When you come after Americans, we go after you. It may take time, but we have long memories, and our reach has no limit.
Our foreign policy must be focused on the threat from ISIL and al Qaeda, but it can’t stop there. For even without ISIL, instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world?—?in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in parts of Central America, Africa and Asia. Some of these places may become safe havens for new terrorist networks; others will fall victim to ethnic conflict, or famine, feeding the next wave of refugees. The world will look to us to help solve these problems, and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet bomb civilians. That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the world stage.
We also can’t try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. That’s not leadership; that’s a recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimately weakens us. It’s the lesson of Vietnam, of Iraq?—?and we should have learned it by now.
Fortunately, there’s a smarter approach, a patient and disciplined strategy that uses every element of our national power. It says America will always act, alone if necessary, to protect our people and our allies; but on issues of global concern, we will mobilize the world to work with us, and make sure other countries pull their own weight.
That’s our approach to conflicts like Syria, where we’re partnering with local forces and leading international efforts to help that broken society pursue a lasting peace.
That’s why we built a global coalition, with sanctions and principled diplomacy, to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. As we speak, Iran has rolled back its nuclear program, shipped out its uranium stockpile, and the world has avoided another war.
That’s how we stopped the spread of Ebola in West Africa. Our military, our doctors, and our development workers set up the platform that allowed other countries to join us in stamping out that epidemic.
That’s how we forged a Trans-Pacific Partnership to open markets, protect workers and the environment, and advance American leadership in Asia. It cuts 18,000 taxes on products Made in America, and supports more good jobs. With TPP, China doesn’t set the rules in that region, we do. You want to show our strength in this century? Approve this agreement. Give us the tools to enforce it.
Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America. That’s why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, and positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people. You want to consolidate our leadership and credibility in the hemisphere? Recognize that the Cold War is over. Lift the embargo.
American leadership in the 21st century is not a choice between ignoring the rest of the world?—?except when we kill terrorists; or occupying and rebuilding whatever society is unraveling. Leadership means a wise application of military power, and rallying the world behind causes that are right. It means seeing our foreign assistance as part of our national security, not charity. When we lead nearly 200 nations to the most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change?—?that helps vulnerable countries, but it also protects our children. When we help Ukraine defend its democracy, or Colombia resolve a decades-long war, that strengthens the international order we depend upon. When we help African countries feed their people and care for the sick, that prevents the next pandemic from reaching our shores. Right now, we are on track to end the scourge of HIV/AIDS, and we have the capacity to accomplish the same thing with malaria?—?something I’ll be pushing this Congress to fund this year.
That’s strength. That’s leadership. And that kind of leadership depends on the power of our example. That is why I will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo: it’s expensive, it’s unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies.
That’s why we need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith. His Holiness, Pope Francis, told this body from the very spot I stand tonight that “to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.” When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a country.
“We the People.”
Our Constitution begins with those three simple words, words we’ve come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together. That brings me to the fourth, and maybe the most important thing I want to say tonight.
The future we want?—?opportunity and security for our families; a rising standard of living and a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids?—?all that is within our reach. But it will only happen if we work together. It will only happen if we can have rational, constructive debates.
It will only happen if we fix our politics.
A better politics doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. This is a big country, with different regions and attitudes and interests. That’s one of our strengths, too. Our Founders distributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, just as they did, over the size and shape of government, over commerce and foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of security.
But democracy does require basic bonds of trust between its citizens. It doesn’t work if we think the people who disagree with us are all motivated by malice, or that our political opponents are unpatriotic. Democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise; or when even basic facts are contested, and we listen only to those who agree with us. Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get attention. Most of all, democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn’t matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow interest.
Too many Americans feel that way right now. It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency?—?that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office.
But, my fellow Americans, this cannot be my task?—?or any President’s?—?alone. There are a whole lot of folks in this chamber who would like to see more cooperation, a more elevated debate in Washington, but feel trapped by the demands of getting elected. I know; you’ve told me. And if we want a better politics, it’s not enough to just change a Congressman or a Senator or even a President; we have to change the system to reflect our better selves.
We have to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around. We have to reduce the influence of money in our politics, so that a handful of families and hidden interests can’t bankroll our elections?—?and if our existing approach to campaign finance can’t pass muster in the courts, we need to work together to find a real solution. We’ve got to make voting easier, not harder, and modernize it for the way we live now. And over the course of this year, I intend to travel the country to push for reforms that do.
But I can’t do these things on my own. Changes in our political process?—?in not just who gets elected but how they get elected?—?that will only happen when the American people demand it. It will depend on you. That’s what’s meant by a government of, by, and for the people.
What I’m asking for is hard. It’s easier to be cynical; to accept that change isn’t possible, and politics is hopeless, and to believe that our voices and actions don’t matter. But if we give up now, then we forsake a better future. Those with money and power will gain greater control over the decisions that could send a young soldier to war, or allow another economic disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting rights that generations of Americans have fought, even died, to secure. As frustration grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into tribes, to scapegoat fellow citizens who don’t look like us, or pray like us, or vote like we do, or share the same background.
We can’t afford to go down that path. It won’t deliver the economy we want, or the security we want, but most of all, it contradicts everything that makes us the envy of the world.
So, my fellow Americans, whatever you may believe, whether you prefer one party or no party, our collective future depends on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen. To vote. To speak out. To stand up for others, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us. To stay active in our public life so it reflects the goodness and decency and optimism that I see in the American people every single day.
It won’t be easy. Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen?—?inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far. Voices that help us see ourselves not first and foremost as black or white or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native born; not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first, bound by a common creed. Voices Dr. King believed would have the final word?—?voices of unarmed truth and unconditional love.
They’re out there, those voices. They don’t get a lot of attention, nor do they seek it, but they are busy doing the work this country needs doing. I see them everywhere I travel in this incredible country of ours. I see you. I know you’re there. You’re the reason why I have such incredible confidence in our future. Because I see your quiet, sturdy citizenship all the time.
I see it in the worker on the assembly line who clocked extra shifts to keep his company open, and the boss who pays him higher wages to keep him on board.
I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late to finish her science project, and the teacher who comes in early because he knows she might someday cure a disease.
I see it in the American who served his time, and dreams of starting over?—?and the business owner who gives him that second chance. The protester determined to prove that justice matters, and the young cop walking the beat, treating everybody with respect, doing the brave, quiet work of keeping us safe.
I see it in the soldier who gives almost everything to save his brothers, the nurse who tends to him ’til he can run a marathon, and the community that lines up to cheer him on.
It’s the son who finds the courage to come out as who he is, and the father whose love for that son overrides everything he’s been taught. I see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast her vote as long as she has to; the new citizen who casts his for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should count, because each of them in different ways know how much that precious right is worth.
That’s the America I know. That’s the country we love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. That’s what makes me so hopeful about our future. Because of you. I believe in you. That’s why I stand here confident that the State of our Union is strong.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. |
发表于 2016-1-12 21:26:57
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发表于 2016-1-12 21:48:31