奧巴馬在馬丁·路德金紀(jì)念碑落成典禮上的演講

1、2022 10 16 16 日親自為中國雕塑家雕塑的馬丁路德金紀(jì)念碑揭幕，并發(fā)表演講：“我們將超越！” 講話呼吁美國人“團結(jié)”，連續(xù)金心目中的夢想。他還有感而發(fā)，期望國人連續(xù)挑戰(zhàn)華爾街的過分做法，但不要妖魔化那里全部的工作人員。 馬丁路德金是美國歷史上有名的黑人民權(quán)首領(lǐng)，他為美國黑人追求公平權(quán)利獻(xiàn)出了生命。這也為日后奧巴馬成功入主白宮鋪平了道路，因此紀(jì)念馬丁路德金對黑人總統(tǒng)奧巴馬而言， 意義特別。52 2022 多位雕塑家900 多個方案中脫穎而出的。當(dāng)天，第一夫人米歇爾、副總統(tǒng)拜登及其夫人吉爾以及馬丁路德金的家人也參與了揭5 萬人參與了這次紀(jì)念活動。THE PRESIDENT: Thank

2、you very much. (Applause.) Thank you. (Applause.)Please be seated.An earthquake and a hurricane may have delayed this day, but this is aday that would not be denied.For this day, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s return to theNational Mall. In this place, he will stand for all time, among mo

3、numents to those who fathered this nation and those who defended it; a black preacher with no official rank or title who somehow gave voice to our deepest dreams and our most lasting ideals, a man who stirred our conscience and thereby helped make our union more perfect.And Dr. King would be the fir

4、st to remind us that this memorial is not forhimalone.The movementof whichhewas apart dependedon anentire generationofleaders.Manyareheretoday,andfortheirserviceandtheir sacrifice, we owe them our everlasting gratitude. This is a monument toyour collective achievement. (Applause.)Some giants of the

5、civil rights movement ?- like Rosa Parks and DorothyHeight, Benjamin Hooks, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth ?- theyve been takenfromusthesepastfewyears.Thismonumentatteststotheirstrength and their courage, and while we miss them dearly, we know they rest ina better place.Andfinally,therearethemultitudes

6、ofmenandwomenwhosenamesnever appear in the history books ?- those who marched and those who sang, thosewho sat in and those who stood firm, those who organized and those who mobilized?-allthosemenandwomenwhothroughcountlessactsofquiet heroism helped bring about changes few thought were even possible

7、. “Bythe thousands,” said Dr. King, “faceless, anonymous, relentless youngpeople, black and whitehave taken our whole nation back to those greatwells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in the formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.”tothosefootsoldie

8、rsforjustice,knowthatthismonument is yours, as well.NearlyhalfacenturyhaspassedsincethathistoricMarchonWashington,a day when thousands upon thousands gathered for jobs and for freedom.Thatiswhatour schoolchildren rememberbest whenthey thinkofDr. KingvoiceacrossthisMall,callingonAmericatomakefreedoma

9、 reality for all of Gods children, prophesizing of a day when the jangling discord of our nation would be transformed into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.Itisrightthatwehonorthatmarch,thatweliftupDr.Kings“IHaveaDream”speech?-forwithoutthatshiningmoment,withoutDr.Kingsglorious words, we might no

10、t have had the courage to come as far as wehave. Because of that hopeful vision, because of Dr. Kings moralimagination,barricadesbegantofallandbigotrybegantofade.Newdoors of opportunity swung open for an entire generation. Yes, laws changed,but hearts and minds changed, as well.Look at the faces her

11、e around you, and you see an America that is more fairandmorefreeandmorejustthantheoneDr.Kingaddressedthatday. savorthatslowbutcertainprogress -?progressthats expressed itself in a million ways, large and small, across this nationevery single day, as people of all colors and creeds live together, an

12、dwork together, and fight alongside one another, and learn together, andbuild together, and love one another.SoitisrightforustocelebratetodayDr.Kingsdreamandhisvisionof unity. And yet it is also important on this day to remind ourselvessuchprogressdidnotcomeeasily;thatDr.Kingsfaithwashard-won;that i

13、t sprung out of a harsh reality and some bitter disappointments.ItisrightforustocelebrateDr.Kingsmarvelousoratory,butitis worth remembering that progress did not come from words alone. Progresswashard.Progresswaspurchasedthroughenduringthesmackofbillyclubs and the blast of fire hoses. It was bought

14、with days in jail cells and nightsofbombthreats.Foreveryvictoryduringthe heightofthecivil rights movement, there were setbacks and there were defeats.We forget now, but during his life, Dr. King wasnt always considereda unifying figure. Even after rising to prominence, even after winning theNobelPea

15、cePrize,Dr.Kingwasvilifiedbymany,denouncedasarabble rouser and an agitator, a communist and a radical. He was even attackedbyhisownpeople,bythosewhofelthewasgoingtoofastorthosewhofelthewasgoingtooslow;bythosewhofeltheshouldntmeddleinissues liketheVietnamWarortherightsofunionworkers.Weknowfromhisown

16、testimonythedoubtsandthepainthiscausedhim,andthatthecontroversy that would swirl around his actions would last until the fateful day hedied.I raise all this because nearly 50 years after the March on Washington,ourwork,Dr.Kingswork,isnotyetcomplete.Wegatherhereatamoment of great challenge and great

17、change. In the first decade of this new century,wehavebeentestedbywarandbytragedy;byaneconomiccrisis anditsaftermaththathasleftmillionsoutofwork,andpovertyonthe rise, and millions more just struggling to get by. Indeed, even before this crisis struck, we had endured a decade of rising inequality and

18、 stagnant wages. In too many troubled neighborhoods across the country, the conditions of our poorest citizens appear little changed from what existed 50 years ago -? neighborhoods with underfunded schools and broken-down slums, inadequate health care, constant violence, neighborhoodsinwhichtoomanyy

19、oungpeoplegrowupwithlittlehopeand few prospects for the future.Ourworkisnotdone.Andsoonthisday,inwhichwecelebrateamananda movement that did so much for this country, let us draw strength fromthose earlier struggles. First and foremost, let usremember that change hasneverbeenquick.Changehasneverbeens

20、imple,orwithoutcontroversy. Change depends on persistence. Change requires determination. It took afulldecadebeforethemoralguidanceof Brownv.BoardofEducationwas translatedintotheenforcementmeasuresoftheCivilRightsActandthe VotingRightsAct,butthose10longyearsdidnotleadDr.Kingtogive up. He kept on pus

21、hing, he kept on speaking, he kept on marching until change finally came. (Applause.)Andthenwhen,evenaftertheCivilRightsActandtheVotingRightsAct passed, African Americans still found themselves trapped in pockets of povertyacrossthecountry,Dr.Kingdidntsaythoselawswereafailure; he didnt say this is t

22、oo hard; he didnt say, lets settle for whatwe got and go home. Instead he said, lets take those victories and broadenourmissiontoachievenotjustcivilandpoliticalequalitybut also economic justice; lets fight for a living wage and better schools and jobs for all who are willing to work. In other words,

23、 when met withhardship, when confronting disappointment, Dr. King refused to accept what he called the “isness” of today. He kept pushing towards the “oughtness” of tomorrow.And so, as we think about all the work that we must do ?- rebuilding aneconomythatcancompeteonaglobalstage,andfixingourschools

24、sothat every child - not just some, but every child - gets a world-class education,andmakingsurethatourhealthcaresystemisaffordableand accessibletoall,andthatoureconomicsystemisoneinwhicheverybody getsafairshakeandeverybodydoestheirfairshare,letusnotbetrapped by what is. (Applause.) We cant be disco

25、uraged by what is. Weve gotto keep pushing for what ought to be, the America we ought to leave to ourchildren,mindfulthatthehardshipswefacearenothingcomparedto those Dr. King and his fellow marchers faced 50 years ago, and that if wemaintainourfaith,inourselvesandinthepossibilitiesofthisnation,there

26、 is no challenge we cannot surmount.AndjustaswedrawstrengthfromDr.Kingsstruggles,somustwedraw inspirationfromhisconstantinsistenceontheonenessofman;thebelief in his words that “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tiedinasinglegarmentofdestiny.”Itwasthatinsistence,rootedin hisChrist

27、ianfaith,thatledhimtotellagroupofangryyoungprotesters,“I love you as I love my own children,” even as one threw a rock thatglanced off his neck.Itwasthatinsistence,thatbeliefthatGodresidesineachofus,from the high to the low, in the oppressor and the oppressed, that convincedhim that people and syste

28、ms could change. It fortified his belief in non-violence. It permitted him to place his faith in a government thathad fallen short of its ideals. It led him to see his charge not only asfreeing black America from the shackles of discrimination, but also freeing many Americans from their own prejudic

29、es, and freeing Americans of every color from the depredations of poverty.And so at this moment, when our politics appear so sharply polarized, and faith in our institutions so greatly diminished, we need more than evertotakeheedofDr.Kingsteachings.Hecallsonustostandintheother personsshoes;toseethro

30、ughtheireyes;tounderstandtheirpain.He tellsusthatwehaveadutytofightagainstpoverty,evenifwearewell off;tocareaboutthechildinthedecrepitschoolevenifourownchildren are doing fine; to show compassion toward the immigrant family, with the knowledgethatmostofusareonlyafewgenerationsremovedfromsimilar hard

31、ships. (Applause.)Tosaythatweareboundtogetherasonepeople,andmustconstantlystrive to see ourselves in one another, is not to argue for a false unity thatpapersoverourdifferencesandratifiesanunjuststatusquo.Aswastrue 50yearsago,ashasbeentruethroughouthumanhistory,thosewithpower and privilege will ofte

32、n decry any call for change as “divisive.”Theyll say any challenge to the existing arrangements are unwise anddestabilizing.Dr.Kingunderstoodthatpeacewithoutjusticewasnopeaceat all; that aligning our reality with our ideals often requires the speakingofuncomfortabletruthsandthecreativetensionofnon-v

33、iolentprotest.But he also understood that to bring about true and lasting change, there must be the possibility of reconciliation; that any social movement hasto channel this tension through the spirit of love and mutuality.Ifhewerealivetoday,Ibelievehewouldremindusthattheunemployed worker can right

34、ly challenge the excesses of Wall Street withoutdemonizing all who work there; that the businessman can enter tough negotiations with his companys union without vilifying the right to collectively bargain. He would want us to know we can argue fiercely aboutthepropersizeandroleofgovernmentwithoutque

35、stioningeachothers love for this country - (applause) - with the knowledge that in this democracy, government is no distant object but is rather an expression of our common commitments to one another. He would call on us to assumethe best in each other rather than the worst, and challenge one anothe

36、rin ways that ultimately heal rather than wound.In the end, thats what I hope my daughters take away from this monument.Iwantthemtocomeawayfromherewithafaithinwhattheycanaccomplish when they are determined and working for a righteous cause. I want themto come away from here with a faith in other peo

37、ple and a faith in a benevolentGod.Thissculpture,massiveandiconicasitis,willremind themofDr.Kingsstrength,buttoseehimonlyaslargerthanlifewould doadisservicetowhathetaughtusaboutourselves.Hewouldwantthem to know that he had setbacks, because they will have setbacks. He wouldwant them to know that he

38、had doubts, because they will have doubts. Hewouldwantthemtoknowthathewasflawed,becauseallofushaveflaws.It is precisely because Dr. King was a man of flesh and blood and not afigureofstonethatheinspiresusso.Hislife,hisstory,tellsusthat change can come if you dont give up. He would not give up, no ma

39、tter howlongittook,becauseinthesmallesthamletsandthedarkestslums, hehadwitnessedthehighestreachesofthehumanspirit;becauseinthose momentswhenthestruggleseemedmosthopeless,hehadseenmenandwomen andchildrenconquertheirfear;becausehehadseenhillsandmountains madelowandroughplacesmadeplain,andthecrookedplacesmadestraight and God make a way out of no way.Andthatiswhywehonorthisman?-becausehehadfaithin