总统约瑟夫·拜登就职演说
白宫
华盛顿哥伦比亚特区（Washington, D.C.）
2021年1月20日
美国国会大厦（United States Capitol）
美国东部标准时间上午11:52
首席大法官罗伯茨（Roberts）、副总统哈里斯（Harris）、议长佩罗西（Pelosi）、领袖舒默（Schumer）、领袖麦康奈尔（McConnell）、副总统彭斯（Pence）、尊敬的来宾、美国同胞们，这是美国值得庆贺的日子。这是民主的日子，具有历史意义和满怀希望的日子，重整旗鼓和竭精励志的日子。经过长期的考验，美国已焕然一新。美国踔厉奋发，迎接挑战。今天，我们庆祝胜利，不是为了某一位候选人，而是为了一项事业，民主事业的胜利。人民，人民表达的意愿声声入耳。人民坚守的意志深铭肺腑。
我们再次认识到民主的宝贵。民主不免脆弱。朋友们，此时此刻民主已获全胜。（掌声）
在这片神圣的土地上，仅在几天前还发生了妄图动摇国会大厦（Capitol）根基的暴力。现在，我们作为上帝庇护下的国度齐心合力，密不可分，遵循两个多世纪以来的传统进行权力和平转移。我们以我们美国独特的方式展望前景，坚持不懈，勇往直前，以乐观的态度，瞩望我们的国家实现我们认为能够完成和必须坚持的目标。
感谢两党前任诸位今天莅临会场。对他们表示我衷心的感谢。（掌声）我知道——（掌声）我知道我国宪法历久弥坚，我国的实力坚不可摧。昨晚卡特（Carter）总统与我通话时也谈到这一点。今天他不克出席，但我们向他毕生的服务表示敬意。
我刚刚宣读了他们每一位爱国者都曾宣读的神圣誓词。这份誓词由乔治·华盛顿（George Washington）第一次宣读。但美国的历程不能仅依靠我们中间的某一个人，也不能仅依靠我们中间的某些人，而需要依靠我们所有的人，依靠我们大家作为人民的一份子，努力实现更完美的联邦。这是一个伟大的国度，我们有优秀的人民。几个世纪以来，风潇雨晦，千难万险，不论和平与战争，我们已走到今天，但我们仍任重道远。
我们将以疾风迅雷之势和紧迫的心情勇往直前，因为我们在这个充满危险和重大机遇的严冬需要完成大量的工作。有众多的问题需要修补，有众多的状态需要恢复，有众多的伤口需要愈合，有众多的工程需要建设，还有众多的收获需要实现。与我们现在面临的情况相比，我国历史上很少有人经历了如此众多的挑战，也很少有人经历了如此严峻的艰难处境。
百年罕见的病毒悄悄地侵袭了全国。一年内美国的死亡人数达到第二次世界大战（World War II）期间美方人员的死亡总数。数百万个工作岗位消失。成千上万的工商企业关闭。近400年来争取种族正义的呼声激励了我们。实现正义的梦想不能再有任何延误。（掌声）
对生存的渴望来自星球本身。这个呼声无比紧迫，无比清晰。现在，政治极端主义、白人至上主义、国内恐怖主义甚嚣尘上，我们必须加以抗击，我们必将战无不胜。（掌声）
为了抗击这些挑战，为了恢复心灵，为了保障美国的未来，需要加倍努力，不能仅付诸于言辞。这需要实现民主政体最难以把握的问题，团结。团结。在那一年的1月，1863年的新年，亚伯拉罕·林肯（Abraham Lincoln）签署解放宣言。总统在他的笔触及这份文件之时说到，“如果我能够留名史册，必是因为这个动作，我为之付出了全部心血。”
“我为之付出了全部心血。”今天，在今年1月份，我付出的全部心血是：让美国团结起来，团结我们的人民，团结我们的国家。我吁请每一位美国人与我一起加入这个事业。（掌声）
团结一致打击我们面临的敌人，愤懑、怨艾和仇恨、极端主义、无法无天、暴力、疾病、缺乏工作和丧失希望。我们团结一致就可以完成伟大的使命，重要的使命。
我们能够纠正错误。我们能够让人们获得好工作。我们能够让子女在安全的学校受教育。我们能够战胜这个致命的病毒。我们能够奖励——奖励工作和重建中产阶级，使医疗护理保障所有人的健康。我们能够实现种族正义，我们能够使美国再次成为全世界首要的正义的力量。
我知道，谈到团结，某些人会感到如今这个话题似乎有些愚不可及。我知道，使我们分裂的力量根深蒂固，是很现实的存在。但是，我还知道，这并非新的现象。我们的历史经常面临两方面相持不下的争斗，一方面是我们关于人人生而平等的美国理念，另一方面是种族主义、本土主义、恐惧、妖魔化等使我们长期撕裂的冷酷丑陋的现实。
这场战役旷日持久，胜利从来无法获得担保。经历了南北战争、大萧条（Great Depression）、世界大战（World War）、9/11，通过斗争、牺牲和挫折，我们善良的天使永远百战百胜。在以往每一个时刻，我们都有足够的力量——我们有足够的力量——戮力同心，推动我们大家勇往直前。现在我们可以这样做了。
历史、信仰和理性指路，团结之路。我们能够将彼此不视为敌人，而是邻居。我们能够以尊严和尊重彼此相待。我们能够把力量联合在一起，停止叫喊，降低温度。因为没有团结，不会有和平，只会有怨恨和怒火。不会有进步，只会有令人精疲力竭的愤怒。不会有国家，只会有混乱国态。
这是我们面对危机与挑战的历史时刻，团结是前行之路。我们必须以美利坚合众国的姿态面对这一时刻。如果我们这样做，我向你们担保，我们不会失败。在美国，当我们共同行动时，绝对从来不曾失败过。
因此今天，此时此刻，在此地，让我们重新出发，我们所有人。让我们重新开始相互倾听。相互听到彼此。相互看到彼此。相互尊重彼此。政治不必是熊熊烈火，将所及之处化为灰烬。每一个分歧无需成为全面开战的理由。我们必须拒绝那种玩弄事实本身，甚至编造事实的文化。（掌声）
我的美国同胞们，我们必须与此不同。美国必须胜过那种状态，我相信美国比那种状态优胜得多。只要环视四周。我们站在这里，在国会穹顶的影子下，正如先前提到的，它在内战中落成，正值联邦本身名副其实地处于危机关头。然而，我们经受住了，我们胜利了。
我们站在这里，眺望着金博士(Dr. King)讲述他的梦想的大草坪。我们站在这里，它是108年前另一次就职仪式时，成千上万抗议者试图阻挡为争取投票权而勇敢游行的妇女的地方。今天，我们美国历史上首位女性民选国家领袖——副总统哈里斯（Kamala Harris）在这里宣誓就职。
不要告诉我情况不可改变！（掌声）
我们站在这里，面向波多马克河（Potomac）彼岸的阿灵顿公墓（Arlington Cemetery），那里永久安息着为国家奉献了全部最后力量的英雄们。我们站在这里，仅仅几天前，骚乱暴徒以为他们可以用武力窒息人民的意愿，停止我们民主的运作，把我们从这个神圣之地赶走。它没有得逞。它永远不会得逞。今天不会。明天不会。永远不会。永远不会。（欢呼声和掌声）
对所有支持我们竞选的人，我对你们给予我们的信任深感荣幸。对所有没有支持我们的人，让我这样说，请在我们前进中听我的话语。请对我和我的心做一估量。
如果你仍然有不同意见，没关系。这就是民主。这就是美国。有和平表达异议的权利。在我们共和国的保护栏中，这也许是这个国家最强有力之处。但是，请听清我的话，不同意见绝不能导致分裂。我向你们保证，我将是全体美国人的总统，全体美国人。（掌声）我向你们保证，我将为没有支持我的人同像为支持我的人一样努力搏斗。（掌声）
许多世纪以前，我教会中的一位圣贤圣奥古斯丁（St. Augustin）写道，一群人是由他们所共同热爱的目标界定的群体。由他们所共同热爱的目标界定。什么是我们美国人共同热爱的目标，能够界定我们是美国人？
我想我们知道。机会，安全，自由，尊严，尊重，信誉，还有的确，真实。（掌声）最近几周和几个月让我们得到了痛苦的教训。有真实，有谎言，为权和为利而散布的谎言。
我们每个人作为公民，作为美国人，都有职责和责任维护真实和击败谎言，特别是作为领袖，作为已经宣誓忠诚宪法和保护国家的领袖。（掌声）
请注意——（掌声）——我理解，我的许多美国同胞对未来怀着恐惧与不安。我理解，他们担心他们的工作。我理解，就像我父亲一样，他们夜晚躺在床上仰望天花板在想，我能不能保住我的健康保险，我能不能付得起按揭；在想着他们的家庭，下一步会怎样。我向你们保证，我明白这点。
但是，答案不是转向闭关自守，退缩到各种派别中，不信任外貌不一样——与你的外貌或祈祷方式不一样的人或者与你不是从同样来源获得新闻的人。我们必须结束这种不文明的交战，把红与蓝对立，乡村与——乡村与城市对立，保守与自由对立。如果我们敞开心胸而不是硬化心肠，我们能够做到。
如果我们能展现一些宽容和谦卑，如果我们愿意站到他人的位置上——就像我母亲说的那样——只是片刻时间，站到他们的位置上。因为生活就是这样：无法说命运将给你带来什么。
有些时候你需要一只援手。另一些时候我们被召唤伸出援手。生活就是这个样子。这就是我们如何相互关照。
如果我们是这样，我们的国家将会更强大、更繁荣、更能准备好迎接未来。而且我们仍能持不同意见。我的美国同胞们，在我们面前的工作中，我们将彼此需要。我们需要我们的全部力量来保持——来坚持度过这个黑暗的冬季。我们正在进入可能是最艰苦、最致命的这一病毒的疫情期。
我们必须搁置政治因素，最终能作为一个国家，一个国家，来面对这场疫情。而且我向你们做出这个承诺。正如《圣经》所言：“一宿虽然有哭泣，早晨便必欢呼。”我们将共同度过这个时期。共同度过。诸位，我曾在众议院和参议院共事过的在座的各位同仁，我们都知道，全世界正在注视着，今天正在注视着我们所有人。而这就是我要对那些我们的边境以外的人所说的话。
美国经受了考验，而且我们因此变得更加强大。我们将修复我们的联盟并再次同全世界交往。不仅要应对昨日的挑战，而且要应对今日和明日的挑战。（掌声）
我们将以我们的榜样为力量来引领，而不仅仅是以我们的力量为榜样。（掌声）我们将成为和平、进步和安全的一个强有力的、可信赖的伙伴。
你们都知道，我们这个国家已经经受了如此之多。我想请你们和我一起默祷片刻，以缅怀在过去一年中被疫情夺走的400,000名我们的美国同胞——母亲、父亲、丈夫、妻子、儿子、女儿、朋友、邻居和同事。我们将成为自己知道能够而且应当成为的人民和国家，以此来纪念他们。
因此，我请求你们，让我们为那些被夺去生命的人、为那些被留下来的人，并为我们的国家静默祈祷。
[静默片刻]
阿门。诸位，这是一个考验的时刻。我们面对着对我们的民主以及对真理的攻击。一种正在肆虐的病毒、日益加剧的不平等、系统性种族主义的刺痛，以及一场环境危机。还有美国在世界上的作用。其中任何一个都足以对我们构成深远挑战。但事实是，我们同时面对这所有一切。让这个国家面对我们所曾肩负过的最严峻的责任之一。现在我们将经受考验。
我们将会挺身而出吗，我们所有人？现在是拿出胆魄的时候了，因为要做的事如此之多。而且这是肯定的。我向你们保证，我们将接受评判，你和我，根据我们如何解决我们这个时代的这些连锁危机。我们是不是能挺身而出，这是问题所在。我们将能主宰这个罕见的艰难时刻吗？
我们将能履行我们的义务，为我们的子孙后代留下一个新的、更好的世界吗？我相信我们必须这么做。我确信你们也是如此。我相信我们将能这么做。当我们这么做的时候，我们将谱写美利坚合众国历史上的下一个伟大篇章，一个美国的历程，听起来好似对我而言意味深长的一首歌。这首歌名叫《美国赞歌》（American Anthem）。其中有一段歌词尤为醒目，至少于我而言。
这段歌词是：“几个世纪的努力和祈祷让我们走到了今天。我们的业绩将是什么？我们的子孙后代将如何评说？当我的日子逝去时，让我在心里知道。美国，美国，我把我最好的献给了你。”让我们来添加。让我们为我们的伟大国度正在展开的历程来添加我们自己的努力和祈祷。
如果我们这样做，那么当我们的日子逝去时，我们的子孙后代将会这样说我们：他们尽了最大努力，他们尽到了自己的义务，他们愈合了一片破碎的大地。我的美国同胞们，我在今天结束时重申开始时在上帝和你们所有人面前发出的神圣誓言。我向你们保证，我将始终对你们坦诚相待。我将捍卫宪法。我将捍卫我们的民主。我将捍卫美国。
而且我将给予所有，你们所有人，让你们——我所做的每件事都服务于你们，只考虑可能性而不考虑权势，只考虑公众福祉而不考虑个人损失。我们将共同谱写一个美国历程：充满希望而不是恐惧，团结而不是分裂，光明而不是黑暗。一个高尚且有尊严的、关爱且抚平创伤的、伟大且美好的历程。
让这一历程来指引我们，让这一历程来激励我们，让这一历程来告诉未来后世我们响应了历史的召唤，我们抓住了这个时刻。民主和希望、真理和正义没有在我们眼前消亡，而是欣欣向荣，美国在国内保障了自由并再一次成为世界的灯塔。这是我们对先辈、对彼此、对后代的承诺。
因此，怀着坚定的意志和决心，我们着手于我们这个时代的各项任务，在信仰的支撑下、在信念的驱使下，奉献于彼此以及我们全心热爱的这个国家。愿上帝保佑美国，愿上帝保护我们的军队。谢谢你，美国。
结束（东部标准时间中午12:13）

Inaugural Address by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
JANUARY 20, 2021 • SPEECHES AND REMARKS
The United States Capitol
11:52 AM EST
THE PRESIDENT: Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans.
This is America’s day.
This is democracy’s day.
A day of history and hope.
Of renewal and resolve.
Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.
Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy.
The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.
We have learned again that democracy is precious.
Democracy is fragile.
And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.
So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.
We look ahead in our uniquely American way – restless, bold, optimistic – and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be.
I thank my predecessors of both parties for their presence here.
I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
You know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength of our nation.
As does President Carter, who I spoke to last night but who cannot be with us today, but whom we salute for his lifetime of service.
I have just taken the sacred oath each of these patriots took — an oath first sworn by George Washington.
But the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us.
On “We the People” who seek a more perfect Union.
This is a great nation and we are a good people.
Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go.
We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility.
Much to repair.
Much to restore.
Much to heal.
Much to build.
And much to gain.
Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now.
A once-in-a-century virus silently stalks the country.
It’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II.
Millions of jobs have been lost.
Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed.
A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.
A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear.
And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.
To overcome these challenges – to restore the soul and to secure the future of America – requires more than words.
It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy:
Unity.
Unity.
In another January in Washington, on New Year’s Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
When he put pen to paper, the President said, “If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it.”
My whole soul is in it.
Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this:
Bringing America together.
Uniting our people.
And uniting our nation.
I ask every American to join me in this cause.
Uniting to fight the common foes we face:
Anger, resentment, hatred.
Extremism, lawlessness, violence.
Disease, joblessness, hopelessness.
With unity we can do great things. Important things.
We can right wrongs.
We can put people to work in good jobs.
We can teach our children in safe schools.
We can overcome this deadly virus.
We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health caresecure for all.
We can deliver racial justice.
We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world.
I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy.
I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real.
But I also know they are not new.
Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, and demonization have long torn us apart.
The battle is perennial.
Victory is never assured.
Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our “better angels” have always prevailed.
In each of these moments, enough of us came together to carry all of us forward.
And, we can do so now.
History, faith, and reason show the way, the way of unity.
We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors.
We can treat each other with dignity and respect.
We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature.
For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury.
No progress, only exhausting outrage.
No nation, only a state of chaos.
This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.
And, we must meet this moment as the United States of America.
If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail.
We have never, ever, ever failed in America when we have acted together.
And so today, at this time and in this place, let us start afresh.
All of us.
Let us listen to one another.
Hear one another.See one another.
Show respect to one another.
Politics need not be a raging fire destroying everything in its path.
Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war.
And, we must reject a culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.
My fellow Americans, we have to be different than this.
America has to be better than this.
And, I believe America is better than this.
Just look around.
Here we stand, in the shadow of a Capitol dome that was completed amid the Civil War, when the Union itself hung in the balance.
Yet we endured and we prevailed.
Here we stand looking out to the great Mall where Dr. King spoke of his dream.
Here we stand, where 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protestors tried to block brave women from marching for the right to vote.
Today, we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office – Vice President Kamala Harris.
Don’t tell me things can’t change.
Here we stand across the Potomac from Arlington National Cemetery, where heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion rest in eternal peace.
And here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, and to drive us from this sacred ground.
That did not happen.
It will never happen.
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Not ever.
To all those who supported our campaign I am humbled by the faith you have placed in us.
To all those who did not support us, let me say this: Hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart.
And if you still disagree, so be it.
That’s democracy. That’s America. The right to dissent peaceably, within the guardrails of our Republic, is perhaps our nation’s greatest strength.
Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion.
And I pledge this to you: I will be a President for all Americans.
I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.
Many centuries ago, Saint Augustine, a saint of my church, wrote that a people was a multitude defined by the common objects of their love.
What are the common objects we love that define us as Americans?
I think I know.
Opportunity.
Security.
Liberty.
Dignity.
Respect.
Honor.
And, yes, the truth.
Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson.
There is truth and there are lies.
Lies told for power and for profit.
And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders – leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation — to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.
I understand that many Americans view the future with some fear and trepidation.
I understand they worry about their jobs, about taking care of their families, about what comes next.
I get it.
But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do.
We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.
We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.
If we show a little tolerance and humility.
If we’re willing to stand in the other person’s shoes just for a moment.Because here is the thing about life: There is no accounting for what fate will deal you.
There are some days when we need a hand.
There are other days when we’re called on to lend one.
That is how we must be with one another.
And, if we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future.
My fellow Americans, in the work ahead of us, we will need each other.
We will need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter.
We are entering what may well be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus.
We must set aside the politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation.
I promise you this: as the Bible says weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.
We will get through this, together
The world is watching today.
So here is my message to those beyond our borders: America has been tested and we have come out stronger for it.
We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.
Not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s.
We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example.
We will be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress, and security.
We have been through so much in this nation.
And, in my first act as President, I would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent prayer to remember all those we lost this past year to the pandemic.
To those 400,000 fellow Americans – mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
We will honor them by becoming the people and nation we know we can and should be.
Let us say a silent prayer for those who lost their lives, for those they left behind, and for our country.
Amen.
This is a time of testing.
We face an attack on democracy and on truth.
A raging virus.
Growing inequity.
The sting of systemic racism.
A climate in crisis.
America’s role in the world.
Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways.
But the fact is we face them all at once, presenting this nation with the gravest of responsibilities.
Now we must step up.
All of us.
It is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do.
And, this is certain.
We will be judged, you and I, for how we resolve the cascading crises of our era.
Will we rise to the occasion?
Will we master this rare and difficult hour?
Will we meet our obligations and pass along a new and better world for our children?
I believe we must and I believe we will.
And when we do, we will write the next chapter in the American story.
It’s a story that might sound something like a song that means a lot to me.
It’s called “American Anthem” and there is one verse stands out for me:
“The work and prayersof centuries have brought us to this dayWhat shall be our legacy?What will our children say?…Let me know in my heartWhen my days are throughAmericaAmericaI gave my best to you.”
Let us add our own work and prayers to the unfolding story of our nation.
If we do this then when our days are through our children and our children’s children will say of us they gave their best.
They did their duty.
They healed a broken land.My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with a sacred oath.
Before God and all of you I give you my word.
I will always level with you.
I will defend the Constitution.
I will defend our democracy.
I will defend America.
I will give my all in your service thinking not of power, but of possibilities.
Not of personal interest, but of the public good.
And together, we shall write an American story of hope, not fear.
Of unity, not division.
Of light, not darkness.
An American story of decency and dignity.
Of love and of healing.
Of greatness and of goodness.
May this be the story that guides us.
The story that inspires us.
The story that tells ages yet to come that we answered the call of history.
We met the moment.
That democracy and hope, truth and justice, did not die on our watch but thrived.
That our America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world.
That is what we owe our forebearers, one another, and generations to follow.
So, with purpose and resolve we turn to the tasks of our time.
Sustained by faith.
Driven by conviction.
And, devoted to one another and to this country we love with all our hearts.
May God bless America and may God protect our troops.
Thank you, America.
END
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