美国演讲稿(15篇)

第1篇 美国对伊战争退伍老兵反战演讲稿英文

美国911事件之后服役的三分之一退伍军人认为伊拉克和阿富汗战争不值得打，今天小编给大家分享美国对伊战争退伍老兵反战英文演讲稿，希望对大家有所帮助。

美国对伊战争退伍老兵反战演讲稿英文

and i tried hard to be proud of my service but all i could feel was shame.

the racism could no longer mask the reality of the occupation. these were people, these were human beings. i’ve since been claimed by guilt anytime i see an elderly man like the one who couldn’t walk and we rolled out on a stretcher and told the iraqi police to take him away.

i feel guilt anytime i see a mother with her children like the one who cried hysterically and screamed that we were worst than saddam as we forced her from her home.

i feel guilt anytime i see a young girl, like the one i grabbed by the arm, and dragged into the street. we are told we are fighting terrorists; the real terrorist was me and the real terrorism is this occupation. racism within the military has long been an important tool to justify the destruction and occupation of another country.

it’s long been used to justify the killing, subjugation and torture of another people. racism is a vital weapon employed by this government. it’s a more important weapon than a rifle, a tank, a bomber or a battleship. it’s more destructive than an artillery shell or a bunker buster, or a tomahawk missile.

while those weapons are created and owned by this government, they are harmless without people willing to use them. those who send us to war do not have to pull a trigger or lob a mortar round. they do not have to fight the war, they merely have to sell the war.

they need a public who is willing to send their soldiers into harm’s way. they need soldiers who are willing to kill and be killed without question. they can spend millions on a single bomb, but that bomb only becomes a weapon when the ranks in the military are willing to follow orders to use it. they can send every last soldier anywhere on earth, but there’ll only be a war, if soldiers are willing to fight.

and the ruling class, the billionaires who profit from human suffering care only about e_pending their wealth, controlling the world economy. understand that their power lies only in their ability to convince us that war, oppression and e_ploitation is in our interest. they understand that their wealth is dependent on their ability to convince the working class to die to control the market of another country.

and, convincing us to kill and die is based on their ability to make us think that we are somehow superior. soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, have nothing to gain from this occupation. the vast majority of people living in the u.s. have nothing to gain from this occupation.

in fact, not only do we have nothing to gain, but we suffer more because of it. we lose limbs, endure trauma and give our lives. our families have to watch flag draped coffins roll into the earth. millions in this country without health care, jobs or access to education, just watch as this government squander over 450 million dollars a day on this occupation.

poor and working people in this country are sent to kill poor and working people in other country to make the rich richer. without racism soldiers would realize that they have more in common with the iraqi people than they do with the billionaires who send us to war.

i threw families onto the street in iraq only to come home and find families thrown onto the street in this country and this tragic, tragic and unnecessary foreclosure crisis. we need to wake up and realize that our real enemies are not in some distant land and not people whose names we don’t know and cultures we don’t understand. the enemy is people we know very well and people we can identify.

the enemy is a system that wages war when it’s profitable. the enemy is the ceos who lay us off our jobs when it’s profitable, is the insurance companies who deny us health care when it’s profitable, is the banks who take away our homes when it’s profitable.

our enemy is not five thousands miles away, they are right here at home. if we organize and fight with our sisters and brothers we can stop this war, we can stop this government and we can create a better world.

“if tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy… the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger real or imagined from abroad…”

第2篇 美国前总统宣布美国与古巴恢复外交关系英语演讲稿

good morning, everybody. please have a seat.

more than 54 years ago, at the height of the cold war, the united states closed its embassy inhavana. today, i can announce that the united states has agreed to formally re-establishdiplomatic relations with the republic of cuba, and re-open embassies in our respectivecountries. this is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the cubangovernment and people, and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the americas.

when the united states shuttered our embassy in 1961, i don't think anyone e_pected that itwould be more than half a century before it re-opened. after all, our nations are separated byonly 90 miles, and there are deep bonds of family and friendship between our people. but therehave been very real, profound differences between our governments, and sometimes we allowourselves to be trapped by a certain way of doing things.

for the united states, that meant clinging to a policy that was not working. instead ofsupporting democracy and opportunity for the cuban people, our efforts to isolate cubadespite good intentions increasingly had the opposite effect – cementing the status quo andisolating the united states from our neighbors in this hemisphere. the progress that we marktoday is yet another demonstration that we don't have to be imprisoned by the past. whensomething isn't working, we can – and will – change.

last december, i announced that the united states and cuba had decided to take steps tonormalize our relationship. as part of that effort, president raul castro and i directed our teamsto negotiate the re-establishment of embassies. since then, our state department has workedhard with their cuban counterparts to achieve that goal. and later this summer, secretarykerry will travel to havana formally to proudly raise the american flag over our embassy oncemore.

this is not merely symbolic. with this change, we will be able to substantially increase ourcontacts with the cuban people. we'll have more personnel at our embassy. and our diplomatswill have the ability to engage more broadly across the island. that will include the cubangovernment, civil society, and ordinary cubans who are reaching for a better life.

on issues of common interest – like counterterrorism, disaster response, and development –we will find new ways to cooperate with cuba. and i've been clear that we will also continue tohave some very serious differences. that will include america's enduring support for universalvalues, like freedom of speech and assembly, and the ability to access information. and we willnot hesitate to speak out when we see actions that contradict those values.

however, i strongly believe that the best way for america to support our values is throughengagement. that's why we've already taken steps to allow for greater travel, people-to-peopleand commercial ties between the united states and cuba. and we will continue to do so goingforward.

since december, we've already seen enormous enthusiasm for this new approach. leadersacross the americas have e_pressed support for our change in policy; you heard thate_pressed by president dilma rousseff of brazil yesterday. public opinion surveys in both ourcountries show broad support for this engagement. one cuban said, 'i have prepared for thisall my life.' another said that that, 'this is like a shot of o_ygen.' one cuban teacher put itsimply: 'we are neighbors. now we can be friends.'

here in the united states, we've seen that same enthusiasm. there are americans who wantto travel to cuba and american businesses who want to invest in cuba. american colleges anduniversities that want to partner with cuba. above all, americans who want to get to knowtheir neighbors to the south. and through that engagement, we can also help the cubanpeople improve their own lives. one cuban american looked forward to 'reuniting families andopening lines of communications.' another put it bluntly: 'you can't hold the future of cubahostage to what happened in the past.'

and that's what this is about: a choice between the future and the past.

americans and cubans alike are ready to move forward. i believe it's time for congress to dothe same. i've called on congress to take steps to lift the embargo that prevents americansfrom travelling or doing business in cuba. we've already seen members from both parties beginthat work. after all, why should washington stand in the way of our own people?

yes, there are those who want to turn back the clock and double down on a policy of isolation.but it's long past time for us to realize that this approach doesn't work. it hasn't worked for 50years. it shuts america out of cuba's future, and it only makes life worse for the cuban people.

so i'd ask congress to listen to the cuban people. listen to the american people. listen to thewords of a proud cuban american, carlos gutierrez, who recently came out against the policy ofthe past, saying, 'i wonder if the cubans who have to stand in line for the most basicnecessities for hours in the hot havana sun feel that this approach is helpful to them.'

of course, nobody e_pects cuba to be transformed overnight. but i believe that americanengagement – through our embassy, our businesses, and most of all, through our people – isthe best way to advance our interests and support for democracy and human rights. time andagain, america has demonstrated that part of our leadership in the world is our capacity tochange. it's what inspires the world to reach for something better.

a year ago, it might have seemed impossible that the united states would once again beraising our flag, the stars and stripes, over an embassy in havana. this is what change lookslike.

in january of 1961, the year i was born, when president eisenhower announced thetermination of our relations with cuba, he said: it is my hope and my conviction that it is 'inthe not-too-distant future it will be possible for the historic friendship between us once again tofind its reflection in normal relations of every sort.' well, it took a while, but i believe thattime has come. and a better future lies ahead.

thank you very much. and i want to thank some of my team who worked diligently to makethis happen. they're here. they don't always get acknowledged. we're really proud of them.good work.

第3篇 美国前总统布什的演讲稿

fellow citizens: for eight years, it has been my honor to serve as your president. the first decade of this new century has been a period of consequence - a time set apart. tonight, with a thankful heart, i have asked for a final opportunity to share some thoughts on the journey we have traveled together and the future of our nation.

八年的总统生涯，是美国人民赋予我的荣耀！21世纪的前10年是一个并不寻常的时期。今晚，我带着一颗感恩的心来到这里，并且我希望你们能给我最后一次机会，因为我想和你们分享我对过去八总统生涯的想法，以及我对国家未来的展望。

five days from now, the world will witness the vitality of american democracy. in a tradition dating back to our founding, the presidency will pass to a successor chosen by you, the american people. standing on the steps of the capitol will be a man whose story reflects the enduring promise of our land. this is a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation. and i join all americans in offering best wishes to president-elect obama, his wife michelle, and their two beautiful girls.

5 天以后，全世界就将会看到美国民主的活力。我即将把我的工作交由你们心目中的理想总统，奥巴马！能够接受全美人民崇敬的人，必须能够为你们，为这片土地带来希望。对于我们的国家来说，这是一个充满希望和自豪的时刻。并且，我渴望与美国人民一道为奥巴马，他的妻子和两个漂亮的女儿送去美好的祝愿。

tonight i am filled with gratitude - to vice president cheney and members of the administration; to laura, who brought joy to this house and love to my life; to our wonderful daughters, barbara and jenna; to my parents, whose e_amples have provided strength for a lifetime. and above all, i thank the american people for the trust you have given me. i thank you for the prayers that have lifted my spirits. and i thank you for the countless acts of courage, generosity, and grace that i have witnessed these past eight years.

今 天，我满怀感激之情，感谢我的副总统切尼以及我所有的政府成员。我还要感谢我的妻子劳拉和我的女儿芭芭拉，詹娜，是她们给我的生活带来了无尽的快乐和爱意。我感谢我的父母，是他们给予了我前进的动力。最重要的是，我感谢美国人民给予我的信任，我感谢你们给予我的勇气、宽容。

今 晚，我的思绪回到了2001年的9月11日。当天早晨，恐怖分子带走了近3000人的生命。自珍珠港事件后，恐怖分子制造了美国历史上最严重的一次恐怖袭击。我想起了3天后我站在世贸中心废墟前的情景，那时，我诚挚地与那些夜以继日抢救伤者的救援工人们交谈，他们不顾自己的危险，在浓烟滚滚的五角大楼的走廊里抓紧工作。同时，我也为不幸遇难的人感到痛心，他们是我们的英雄！我想起了阿琳-霍华德，他当时把他死去儿子的警察盾牌交给了我，以表达对逝者的思念之情。而现在，我仍然珍藏着他的徽章。

as the years passed, most americans were able to return to life much as it had been before nine-eleven. but i never did. every morning, i received a briefing on the threats to our nation. and i vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe.

随着时间的推移，大部分的美国人民能够从悲痛中解脱出来，并重归“9.11”之前正常的生活。然而，我还没有解脱。每天清晨，我都会收到简报，获知是什么还在威胁着我们国家的安全，并且我发誓一定会竭尽全力来维护你们的安全。

over the past seven years, a new department of homeland security has been created. the military, the intelligence community, and the fbi have been transformed. our nation is equipped with new tools to monitor the terrorists' movements, freeze their finances, and break up their plots. and with strong allies at our side, we have taken the fight to the terrorists and those who support them. afghanistan has gone from a nation where the taliban harbored al qaeda and stoned women in the streets to a young democracy that is fighting terror and encouraging girls to go to school. iraq has gone from a brutal dictatorship and a sworn enemy of america to an arab democracy at the heart of the middle east and a friend of the united states.

在 过去的7年中，我们成立了新的国土安全部。我们的军队，军事情报部门，以及fbi都进行了改革。为了监视恐怖分子的行动，我们已经做了充分的准备，我们冻 结了恐怖分子的账户，并屡屡打破了他们的图谋。我们身边也有强大的同盟国，并且我们携起手来共同打击恐怖分子以及那些支持恐怖分子的人。在我们的帮助下，阿富汗已经由恐怖主义的天堂转变成了一个尚未成熟的民主国家，那里的人们正和恐怖主义战斗。此外，女孩子上学也得到了应有的尊重。伊拉克也已经摆脱了萨达 姆的残酷统治，并且其不再是美国人民的敌人。相反，伊拉克已经成为了中东地区阿拉伯民主的核心和美国的朋友。

there is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. but there can be little debate about the results. america has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil. this is a tribute to those who toil day and night to keep us safe - law enforcement officers, intelligence analysts, homeland security and diplomatic personnel, and the men and women of the united states armed forces.

针对我的许多决策，有人对其合法性表示出怀疑。但是，当我们看到结果时这些人就不会再发出疑问了。在过去的七年多来，美国本土再也没有遭受过恐怖袭击。这要归功于那些日夜辛劳保护我们安全的人们：执法人员、情报分析员、国土安全人员、外交人员、以及美军的士兵们。

our nation is blessed to have citizens who volunteer to defend us in this time of danger. i have cherished meeting these selfless patriots and their families. america owes you a debt of gratitude. and to all our men and women in uniform listening tonight: there has been no higher honor than serving as your commander in chief.

受上帝的恩典，美国有这些愿意在国家危难之际挺身保护他人的公民。我非常珍惜美国可以拥有这些无私的爱国者及其家庭。美国感激你们。对于那些正在收听的演讲的美军士兵们来说，没有什么荣誉要比让你当上总司令还要崇高。

the battles waged by our troops are part of a broader struggle between two dramatically different systems. under one, a small band of fanatics demands total obedience to an oppressive ideology, condemns women to subservience, and marks unbelievers for murder. the other system is based on the conviction that freedom is the universal gift of almighty god and that liberty and justice light the path to peace.

美 军正在从事的战争从属于两种系统之间的冲突，而这两种系统又有天壤之别。在其中的一种系统中，一小撮狂热分子要求所有人都服从于他们所制定的暴虐的意识形态，这些人让妇女屈从，而对那些不相信他们暴政的人进行谋杀。而另一种系统则相信自由是上帝给予全世界的礼物，自由与正义是通往和平的道路。

this is the belief that gave birth to our nation. and in the long run, advancing this belief is the only practical way to protect our citizens. when people live in freedom, they do not willingly choose leaders who pursue campaigns of terror. when people have hope in the future, they will not cede their lives to violence and e_tremism. so around the world, america is promoting human liberty, human rights, and human dignity. we are standing with dissidents and young democracies, providing aids medicine to bring dying patients back to life, and sparing mothers and babies from malaria. and this great republic born alone in liberty is leading the world toward a new age when freedom belongs to all nations.

美 国，正是基于这样的信念诞生的。从长远来看，推广这种理念是保护我们公民的唯一选择。当人们生活在自由之中时，他们就不愿再去选择那些追求恐怖活动的领导者。当人们对未来怀有希望时，他们就不会将自己的生命交给暴力和极端主义。环视全球，美国正在推动人类自由、人权及人的尊严的发展。我们同持有不同政见者 以及年轻的民主国家同在，我们为挽救生命而提供治疗艾滋病的药物，我们避免母亲和自己的孩子染上疟疾。自由是美国成立的唯一基石，并且领导世界向一个自由普照全球的时代发展。

for eight years, we have also strived to e_pand opportunity and hope here at home. across our country, students are rising to meet higher standards in public schools. a new medicare prescription drug benefit is bringing peace of mind to seniors and the disabled. every ta_payer pays lower income ta_es. the addicted and suffering are finding new hope through faith-based programs. vulnerable human life is better protected. funding for our veterans has nearly doubled. america's air, water, and lands are measurably cleaner. and the federal bench includes wise new members like justice sam alito and chief justice john roberts.

过 去的八年，我们努力扩大美国人民所拥有的机会与希望。在美国，学生不断上进，以求符合公立学校更高的标准。对于老人和残疾人来说，一种新的医疗处方药福利令他们颇感舒心。每个纳税人缴纳了更少的税款。通过以信仰为基础的治疗项目，那些瘾君子和痛苦的人们找到了新希望。过去八年来的工作更好地保护了人脆弱的 生命。对于退伍老兵的补助几乎增加了一倍。美国的一山一水都真切地变得更为干净。睿智的山姆-阿力拓、首席法官约翰-罗伯茨加入到联邦法院中。

when challenges to our prosperity emerged, we rose to meet them. facing the prospect of a financial collapse, we took decisive measures to safeguard our economy. these are very tough times for hardworking families, but the toll would be far worse if we had not acted. all americans are in this together. and together, with determination and hard work, we will restore our economy to the path of growth. we will show the world once again the resilience of america's free enterprise system.

当 美国的繁荣遇到挑战时，我们勇敢地去面对。当金融危机发生时，我们采取果断措施来保护我们的经济。对于那些辛勤工作的家庭来说，这些都是十分艰难的时期。但是如果我们不采取行动的话，结果将会更为糟糕。所有的美国人都站在了一起。凭借着我们的决心和辛勤工作，我们将美国经济重新拉回到增长的车道上。我们将 向世界再次展现美国自由企业制度的复兴。

like all who have held this office before me, i have e_perienced setbacks. there are things i would do differently if given the chance. yet i have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. i have followed my conscience and done what i thought was right. you may not agree with some tough decisions i have made. but i hope you can agree that i was willing to make the tough decisions.

正如所有前任总统一样，我也曾经历过挫折。如果可能的话，我会采取不一样的方式来应对这些措施。但是，我总是为国家利益的最大化来行动。你也许会不同意我所做出的一些决定，但我希望你能理解我是愿意采取这些措施的。

the decades ahead will bring more hard choices for our country, and there are some guiding principles that should shape our course.

未来的几十年，美国将面对更多的艰难抉择，而有一些指导性原则可以塑造我们的道路。

while our nation is safer than it was seven years ago, the gravest threat to our people remains another terrorist attack. our enemies are patient and determined to strike again. america did nothing to seek or deserve this conflict. but we have been given solemn responsibilities, and we must meet them. we must resist complacency. we must keep our resolve. and we must never let down our guard.

尽管我们的国家要比7年前更为安全，但目前美国最严峻的威胁仍然是另一场恐怖袭击。我们的敌人十分耐心，并且决心要再次发动袭击。美国没有故意挑起冲突。但是我们肩负着庄严的责任，必须同恐怖主义作斗争。我们不能骄傲自满，我们要坚定决心，我们绝不能放松警惕。

at the same time, we must continue to engage the world with confidence and clear purpose. in the face of threats from abroad, it can be tempting to seek comfort by turning inward. but we must reject isolationism and its companion, protectionism. retreating behind our borders would only invite danger. in the 21st century, security and prosperity at home depend on the e_pansion of liberty abroad. if america does not lead the cause of freedom, that cause will not be led.

与 此同时，我们必须带着信心和清晰的目标参与世界事务。面对来自海外的威胁，在国内寻求安慰是一种诱人的举措。但是我们必须拒绝孤立主义与保护主义。退缩只会找来危险。在21世纪，国内的安全和繁荣需要依靠国外自由的扩展。如果美国不领导自由事业，那么自由事业就将无所适从。

as we address these challenges - and others we cannot foresee tonight - america must maintain our moral clarity. i have often spoken to you about good and evil. this has made some uncomfortable. but good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise. murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right. this nation must continue to speak out for justice and truth. we must always be willing to act in their defense and to advance the cause of peace.

一方面我们在处理这些眼前和未来的挑战，另一方面美国必须保持自己在道义上的明确性。我经常谈及 善恶问题，这令一些人颇感不适。但是目前这个世界确实存在着善恶双方，而且双方之间无法达成妥协。通过谋杀无辜来宣扬某种意识形态无论在何时何地都是错误的。将人们从压迫与绝望中解救出来是永远正确的。美国必须坚持为正义与真理而呼喊，我们必须保护正义与真理，并且推动和平事业的发展。

president thomas jefferson once wrote, 'i like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.' as i leave the house he occupied two centuries ago, i share that optimism. america is a young country, full of vitality, constantly growing and renewing itself. and even in the toughest times, we lift our eyes to the broad horizon ahead.

托马斯-杰斐逊曾写到：“相比于过去的历史，我更喜欢未来的梦想。”随着我马上要离开白宫，我赞同杰斐逊这样的乐观精神。美国是一个年轻的国家，充满了活力，不断发展与更新。即便在最艰难的时候，美国仍然没有放弃对未来的梦想。

i have confidence in the promise of america because i know the character of our people. this is a nation that inspires immigrants to risk everything for the dream of freedom. this is a nation where citizens show calm in times of danger and compassion in the face of suffering. we see e_amples of america's character all around us. and laura and i have invited some of them to join us in the white house this evening.

我 了解我们民族的特质，因此我也相信美国的明天会更美好。这是一个鼓励移民们为自由的梦想而去尝试一切事情的国家，这是一个在面对危险使仍然镇定的国家，这是一个面对苦难仍抱有同情心的国家。我们在身边的每一个人身上都可以看到美国的特征。今晚，受我和夫人劳拉的邀请，一切代表也来到了白宫。

we see america's character in dr. tony recasner, a principal who opened a new charter school from the ruins of hurricane katrina. we see it in julio medina, a former inmate who leads a faith-based program to help prisoners returning to society. we see it in staff sergeant aubrey mcdade, who charged into an ambush in iraq and rescued three of his fellow marines.

我们看到里卡斯钠博士的美国特质，这位校长在卡特里娜飓风的废墟中开办一所新的特许学校。我们看到麦地那身上的美 国特质，这位前囚犯带领一个以信仰为基础的项目，帮助囚犯重回社会。我们在上士麦达德身上的美国特质，他负责伊拉克的一次埋伏并拯救了三名同伴的海军陆战队队员。

we see america's character in bill krissoff, a surgeon from california. his son nathan, a marine, gave his life in iraq. when i met dr. krissoff and his family, he delivered some surprising news: he told me he wanted to join the navy medical corps in honor of his son. this good man was 60 years old – 18 years above the age limit. but his petition for a waiver was granted, and for the past year he has trained in battlefield medicine. lieutenant commander krissoff could not be here tonight, because he will soon deploy to iraq, where he will help save america's wounded warriors and uphold the legacy of his fallen son.

我 在外科医生克里索夫身上看到了美国人民的伟大个性。克里索夫的儿子，一名海军，在伊拉克光荣地献出了自己的生命。当我见到克里索夫和他家人的时候，他告诉了我一个惊人的消息：他告诉我，为了缅怀儿子，他希望加入美国海军医疗团。克里索夫已经60岁了，超过了年龄限制，但是他的申请得到了批准。在过去的一年中，克里索夫接受了良好的训练，但已经荣升少校的他今晚不能来到这里，他很快就会前往伊拉克，在那里他可以救助我们受伤的勇士并继续他儿子为完成的事业。

in citizens like these, we see the best of our country – resilient and hopeful, caring and strong. these virtues give me an unshakable faith in america. we have faced danger and trial, and there is more ahead. but with the courage of our people and confidence in our ideals, this great nation will never tire … never falter … and never fail.

同时，从美国公民身上，我看到了我们国家优秀的一面-我们的国家充满关怀和希望，这样的优点令我对国家有着坚贞的信念。我们面临着危险和审判，而且在未来我们仍将需要应对更多的挑战。然而，依靠你们的勇气和信心，伟大的美国永远会稳如磐石，从来不会走向没落。

it has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as your president. there have been good days and tough days. but every day i have been inspired by the greatness of our country and uplifted by the goodness of our people. i have been blessed to represent this nation we love. and i will always be honored to carry a title that means more to me than any other: citizen of the united states of america.

对我来说，能够担任你们的总统，是我一生的荣耀。我有过欢乐也有过困苦。但是，每天我都会受到伟大祖国的鼓舞，并且我也一直在为我们的国家祈祷。在以后的时光里，我会永远珍视这样一段话：美利坚合众国的公民。

and so, my fellow americans, for the final time: good night. may god bless this house and our ne_t president. and may god bless you and our wonderful country.

我亲爱的同胞们，我的演说就到这里了，晚安！愿上帝保佑奥巴马！愿上帝保佑你和我们美好的国家！

第4篇 美国总统感恩节英语演讲稿（中英文）

【2022年感恩节英语演讲稿】

hi, everybody. on behalf of all the obamas – michelle, malia, sasha, bo, and the newest member of our family, sunny – i want to wish you a happy and healthy thanksgiving.

大家好!我代表我们家所有人——米歇尔、玛利亚、萨莎、波尔以及新添成员桑尼，祝愿大家有一个快乐舒适的感恩节。

we’ll be spending today just like many of you – sitting down with family and friends to eat some good food, tell stories, watch a little football, and most importantly, count our blessings.

我们今天会和家人朋友一起享用美味的食物、讲故事、看点足球比赛，最重要的是，感恩——就像你们大多数人一样。

and as americans, we have so much to be thankful for.

作为美国人，我们有那么多值得感恩的东西。

we give thanks for the men and women who set sail for this land nearly four centuries ago, risking everything for the chance at a better life – and the people who were already here, our native american brothers and sisters, for their generosity during that first thanksgiving.

我们对近42022年前航行到这片土地的人们表达感谢，因为他们为了寻求更好的生活，甘冒一切风险。我们还要感激已经在这片土地上的，我们的原住民印第安兄弟姐妹们，感激他们在第一次感恩节上的慷慨大度。

we give thanks for the generations who followed – people of all races and religions, who arrived here from every country on earth and worked to build something better for themselves and for us.

我们对相继而来的世世代代的人们表达感激。来自世界各国的人们——来自不同民族并有着不同宗教信仰，齐心协力为他们自己和我们建筑起更美好的将来。

we give thanks for all our men and women in uniform – and for their families, who are surely missing them very much today. we’re grateful for their sacrifice too.

我们对穿制服为我们服务的人们表达谢意，对今天必定无比想念他们的亲人表达谢意。我们感激他们的牺牲。

we give thanks for the freedoms they defend – the freedom to think what we want and say what we think, to worship according to our own beliefs, to choose our leaders and, yes, criticize them without punishment. people around the world are fighting and even dying for their chance at these freedoms. we stand with them in that struggle, and we give thanks for being free.

我们感恩他们所捍卫的自由——让我们敢想敢说的自由、让我们选择信仰的自由、让我们选择自己的领导人的自由，以及，不受惩罚地批评领导人的自由。世界各国人民都在为有这些自由而奋斗甚至牺牲。我们和他们站在同一战线上，我们为自由而感恩。

and we give thanks to everyone who’s doing their part to make the united states a better, more compassionate nation – who spend their thanksgiving volunteering at a soup kitchen, or joining a service project, or bringing food and cheer to a lonely neighbor. that big-hearted generosity is a central part of our american character. we believe in lending a hand to folks who need it. we believe in pitching in to solve problems even if they aren’t our problems. and that’s not a one-day-a-year belief. it’s part of the fabric of our nation.

而且，我们感恩所有让美国成为更强大并且更富同情心的国家而尽责职守的人们——那些感恩节在救济所参加志愿服务的人，或者参加服务项目的人，或者给孤单的邻居送去食物和鼓励的人。这样的大度慷慨是我们美国人性格中的核心部分。我们愿意给需要的人以援手，我们愿意路见不平拔刀相助。这些不是一年一次的想法，这是我们国家的构成。

and we remember that many americans need that helping hand right now. americans who’ve lost their jobs and can’t get a new one through no fault of their own. americans who’ve been trapped in poverty and just need that helping hand to climb out. citizens whose prayers and hopes move us to act.

我们牢记着许多美国人现在需要帮助。那些失去工作而且没有丝毫过错却找不到新工作的美国人，那些深陷贫困而且急需救援之手的美国人。正是这些公民的祈祷和希望促使我们行动。

we are a people who are greater together than we are on our own. that’s what today is about. that’s what every day should be about. no matter our differences, we’re all part of one american family. we are each other’s keeper. we are one nation, under god. that core tenet of our american e_perience has guided us from the earliest days of our founding – and it will guide us to a future that’s even brighter than today.

我们是一个团结胜过单独行动的国家。今天如此，每天都如此。不管我们多么不同，我们都是美国大家庭的一份子。我们是彼此的守护者。我们是上帝庇佑的一个国家。我们美国历史实践出的这个核心信条将带领我们走向比今天更辉煌的未来，从建国初期到将来都是如此。

thank you, god bless you, and from my family to yours, happy thanksgiving.

谢谢，上帝保佑你。还有我们全家想对大家表示感恩节快乐。

第5篇 关于美国前总统布什感恩节演讲稿

美国前总统布什感恩节演讲稿(2009)

good morning. this week, americans gather with loved ones to celebrate thanksgiving. this holiday season is a time of fellowship and peace. and it is a time to give thanks for our many blessings.

during this holiday season, we give thanks for generations of americans who overcame hardships to create and sustain a free nation. when the pilgrims celebrated their first thanksgiving nearly four centuries ago, they had already suffered through a harsh and bitter winter. but they were willing to endure that adversity to live in a land where they could worship the almighty without persecution. when president abraham lincoln proclaimed thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, the united states was in the midst of a terrible civil war. but in that hour of trial he gave thanks -- because he believed america would weather the storm and emerge into a new era of liberty.

during this holiday season, we give thanks for those who defend our freedom. america's men and women in uniform deserve our highest respect -- and so do the families who love and support them. lately, i have been asked what i will miss about the presidency. and my answer is that i will miss being the commander-in-chief of these brave warriors. in this special time of year, when many of them are serving in distant lands, they are in the thoughts and prayers of all americans.

during this holiday season, we give thanks for the kindness of citizens throughout our nation. it is a testament to the goodness of our people that on thanksgiving, millions of americans reach out to those who have little. the true spirit of the holidays can be seen in the generous volunteers who bring comfort to the poor and the sick and the elderly. these men and women are selfless members of our nation's armies of compassion -- and they make our country a better place, one heart and one soul at a time.

finally, i have a special note of thanks to the american people. on this, my last thanksgiving as your president, i am thankful for the good will, kind words, and heartfelt prayers that so many of you have offered me during the past eight years. i have been blessed to represent such decent, brave, and caring people. for that, i will always be grateful, and i will always be honored. thank you for listening.

第6篇 肯尼迪就职美国总统英语演讲稿

肯尼迪就职演讲稿(英文版)

vice president johnson, mr. speaker, mr. chief justice, president eisenhower, vice president ni_on, president truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens:

we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom -- symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning -- signifying renewal, as well as change. for i have sworn before you and almighty god the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

the world is very different now. for man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. and yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of god.

we dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

this much we pledge -- and more.

to those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. united there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. divided there is little we can do -- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

to those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. we shall not always e_pect to find them supporting our view. but we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom -- and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

to those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required -- not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

to our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds, in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. but this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the americas. and let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

to that world assembly of sovereign states, the united nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support -- to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.

finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.

we dare not tempt them with weakness. for only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

but neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course -- both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

so let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

let both sides e_plore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.

let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. together let us e_plore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.

let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of isaiah -- to 'undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free.'¹

and, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor -- not a new balance of power, but a new world of law -- where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.

all this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in the life of this administration; nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. but let us begin.

in your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. since this country was founded, each generation of americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. the graves of young americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, 'rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation,'² a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, north and south, east and west, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? will you join in that historic effort?

in the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of ma_imum danger. i do not shrink from this responsibility -- i welcome it. i do not believe that any of us would e_change places with any other people or any other generation. the energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

and so, my fellow americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

my fellow citizens of the world, ask not what america will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

finally, whether you are citizens of america or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. with a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth god's work must truly be our own.

肯尼迪就职演讲稿(中文版)

我们今天庆祝的并不是一次政党的胜利，而是一次自由的庆典;它象征着结束，也象征着开始;意味着更新，也意味着变革。因为我已在你们和全能的上帝面前，作了跟我们祖先将近一又四分之三世纪以前所拟定的相同的庄严誓言。

现今世界已经很不同了，因为人在自己血肉之躯的手中握有足以消灭一切形式的人类贫困和一切形式的人类生命的力量。可是我们祖先奋斗不息所维护的革命信念，在世界各地仍处于争论之中。那信念就是注定人权并非来自政府的慷慨施与，而是上帝所赐。

我们今天不敢忘记我们是那第一次革命的继承人，让我从此时此地告诉我们的朋友，并且也告诉我们的敌人，这支火炬已传交新一代的美国人，他们出生在本世纪，经历过战争的锻炼，受过严酷而艰苦的和平的熏陶，以我们的古代传统自豪，而且不愿目睹或容许人权逐步被褫夺。对于这些人权我国一向坚贞不移，当前在国内和全世界我们也是对此力加维护的。

让每一个国家知道，不管它盼我们好或盼我们坏，我们将付出任何代价，忍受任何重负，应付任何艰辛，支持任何朋友，反对任何敌人，以确保自由的存在与实现。

这是我们矢志不移的事--而且还不止此。

对于那些和我们拥有共同文化和精神传统的老盟邦，我们保证以挚友之诚相待。只要团结，则在许多合作事业中几乎没有什么是办不到的。倘若分裂，我们则无可作为，因为我们在意见分歧、各行其是的情况下，是不敢应付强大挑战的。

对于那些我们欢迎其参与自由国家行列的新国家，我们要提出保证，绝不让一种形成的殖民统治消失后，却代之以另一种远为残酷的暴政。我们不能老是期望他们会支持我们的观点，但我们却一直希望他们能坚决维护他们自身的自由，并应记取，在过去，那些愚蠢得要骑在虎背上以壮声势的人，结果却被虎所吞噬。

对于那些住在布满半个地球的茅舍和乡村中、力求打破普遍贫困的桎梏的人们，我们保证尽最大努力助其自救，不管需要多长时间。这并非因为共产党会那样做，也不是由于我们要求他们的选票，而是由于那样做是正确的。自由社会若不能帮助众多的穷人，也就不能保全那少数的富人。

对于我国边界以内的各姐妹共和国，我们提出一项特殊的保证：要把我们的美好诺言化作善行，在争取进步的新联盟中援助自由人和自由政府来摆脱贫困的枷锁。但这种为实现本身愿望而进行的和平革命不应成为不怀好意的国家的俎上肉。让我们所有的邻邦都知道，我们将与他们联合抵御对美洲任何地区的侵略或颠覆。让其它国家都知道，西半球的事西半球自己会管。

至于联合国这个各主权国家的世界性议会，在今天这个战争工具的发展速度超过和平工具的时代中，它是我们最后的、最美好的希望。我们愿重申我们的支持诺言;不让它变成仅供谩骂的讲坛，加强其对于新国弱国的保护，并扩大其权力所能运用的领域。

最后，对于那些与我们为敌的国家，我们所要提供的不是保证，而是要求：双方重新着手寻求和平，不要等到科学所释出的危险破坏力量在有意或无意中使全人类沦于自我毁灭。

我们不敢以示弱去诱惑他们。因为只有当我们的武力无可置疑地壮大时，我们才能毫无疑问地确信永远不会使用武力。

可是这两个强有力的国家集团，谁也不能对当前的趋势放心--双方都因现代武器的代价而感到不胜负担，双方都对于致命的原子力量不断发展而产生应有的惊骇，可是双方都在竞谋改变那不稳定的恐怖均衡，而此种均衡却可以暂时阻止人类最后从事战争。

因此让我们重新开始，双方都应记住，谦恭并非懦弱的征象，而诚意则永远须要验证。让我们永不因畏惧而谈判。但让我们永不要畏惧谈判。

让双方探究能使我们团结在一起的是什么问题，而不要虚耗心力于使我们分裂的问题。

让双方首次制订有关视察和管制武器的真诚而确切的建议，并且把那足以毁灭其它国家的漫无限制的力量置于所有国家的绝对管制之下。

让双方都谋求激发科学的神奇力量而不是科学的恐怖因素。让我们联合起来去探索星球，治理沙漠，消除疾病，开发海洋深处，并鼓励艺术和商务。

让双方携手在世界各个角落遵循以赛亚的命令，去“卸下沉重的负担……(并)让被压迫者得自由。”

如果建立合作的滩头堡能够遏制重重猜疑，那么，让双方联合作一次新的努力吧，这不是追求新的权力均衡，而是建立一个新的法治世界，在那世界上强者公正，弱者安全，和平在握。

凡此种种不会在最初的一百天中完成，不会在最初的一千天中完成，不会在本政府任期中完成，甚或也不能在我们活在地球上的毕生期间完成。但让我们开始。

同胞们，我们事业的最后成效，主要不是掌握在我手里，而是操在你们手中。自从我国建立以来，每一代的美国人都曾应召以验证其对国家的忠诚。响应此项召唤而服军役的美国青年人的坟墓遍布全球各处。

现在那号角又再度召唤我们--不是号召我们肩起武器，虽然武器是我们所需要的;不是号召我们去作战，虽然我们准备应战;那是号召我们年复一年肩负起持久和胜败未分的斗争，“在希望中欢乐，在患难中忍耐”;这是一场对抗人类公敌--暴政、贫困、疾病以及战争本身--的斗争。

我们能否结成一个遍及东西南北的全球性伟大联盟来对付这些敌人，来确保全人类享有更为富裕的生活?你们是否愿意参与这历史性的努力?

在世界的悠久历史中，只有很少几个世代的人赋有这种在自由遭遇最大危机时保卫自由的任务。我决不在这责任之前退缩;我欢迎它。我不相信我们中间会有人愿意跟别人及别的世代交换地位。我们在这场努力中所献出的精力、信念与虔诚、将照亮我们的国家以及所有为国家服务的人，而从这一火焰所聚出的光辉必能照明全世界。

所以，同胞们：不要问你们的国家能为你们做些什么，而要问你们能为国家做些什么。

全世界的公民：不要问美国愿为你们做些什么，而应问我们在一起能为人类的自由做些什么。

最后，不管你是美国的公民或世界它国的公民，请将我们所要求于你们的有关力量与牺牲的高标准拿来要求我们。我们唯一可靠的报酬是问心无愧，我们行为的最后裁判者是历史，让我们向前引导我们所挚爱的国土，企求上帝的保佑与扶携，但我们知道，在这个世界上，上帝的任务肯定就是我们自己所应肩负的任务。

第7篇 奥巴马总统就美国经济和外交政策发布会演讲稿

good afternoon, everybody. happy friday. i thought i’d take somequestions, but first, let me say a few words about the economy.

this morning, we learned that our economy created over 200,000 new jobs in july. that’s ontop of about 300,000 new jobs in june. so we are now in a si_-month streak with at least200,000 new jobs each month. that’s the first time that has happened since 1997. over thepast year, we’ve added more jobs than any year since 2022. and all told, our businesses havecreated 9.9 million new jobs over the past 53 months. that’s the longest streak of privatesector job creation in our history.

and as we saw on wednesday, the economy grew at a strong pace in the spring. companies areinvesting. consumers are spending. american manufacturing, energy, technology, autos -- allare booming. and thanks to the decisions that we’ve made, and the grit and resilience of theamerican people, we’ve recovered faster and come farther from the recession than almost anyother advanced country on earth.

so the good news is the economy clearly is getting stronger. things are getting better. ourengines are revving a little bit louder. and the decisions that we make right now can sustainand keep that growth and momentum going.

unfortunately, there are a series of steps that we could be taking to maintain momentum, andperhaps even accelerate it; there are steps that we could be taking that would result in morejob growth, higher wages, higher incomes, more relief for middle-class families. and so far, atleast, in congress, we have not seen them willing or able to take those steps.

i’ve been pushing for common-sense ideas like rebuilding our infrastructure in ways that aresustained over many years and support millions of good jobs and help businesses compete.i’ve been advocating on behalf of raising the minimum wage, making it easier for working folksto pay off their student loans; fair pay, paid leave. all these policies have two things incommon: all of them would help working families feel more stable and secure, and all of themso far have been blocked or ignored by republicans in congress. that’s why myadministration keeps taking whatever actions we can take on our own to help working families.

now, it’s good that congress was able to pass legislation to strengthen the va. and i want tothank the chairmen and ranking members who were involved in that. it’s good that congresswas able to at least fund transportation projects for a few more months before leaving town --although it falls far short of the kind of infrastructure effort that we need that would actuallyaccelerate the economy. but for the most part, the big-ticket items, the things that wouldreally make a difference in the lives of middle-class families, those things just are not gettingdone.

let’s just take a recent e_ample: immigration. we all agree that there’s a problem that needsto be solved in a portion of our southern border. and we even agree on most of the solutions.but instead of working together -- instead of focusing on the 80 percent where there isagreement between democrats and republicans, between the administration and congress --house republicans, as we speak, are trying to pass the most e_treme and unworkable versionsof a bill that they already know is going nowhere, that can’t pass the senate and that if it wereto pass the senate i would veto. they know it.

they’re not even trying to actually solve the problem. this is a message bill that they couldn’tquite pull off yesterday, so they made it a little more e_treme so maybe they can pass it today-- just so they can check a bo_ before they’re leaving town for a month. and this is on an issuethat they all insisted had to be a top priority.

now, our efforts administratively so far have helped to slow the tide of child migrants trying tocome to our country. but without additional resources and help from congress, we’re just notgoing to have the resources we need to fully solve the problem. that means while they’re outon vacation i’m going to have to make some tough choices to meet the challenge -- with orwithout congress.

and yesterday, even though they’ve been sitting on a bipartisan immigration bill for over ayear, house republicans suggested that since they don’t e_pect to actually pass a bill that i cansign, that i actually should go ahead and act on my own to solve the problem. keep in mindthat just a few days earlier, they voted to sue me for acting on my own. and then when theycouldn’t pass a bill yesterday, they put out a statement suggesting i should act on my ownbecause they couldn’t pass a bill.

第8篇 美国国务卿约翰·克里在东西方中心关于美国亚太政策英语演讲稿

mr. morrison: well, thank you. aloha. i want to welcome everyone. and for our onlineaudience, and also for the secretary, i’d like to describe who is here in our audience. we havethe mayor of honolulu, mayor caldwell. we have our senator, mazie hirono. we have ourformer governor, george ariyoshi, and our other former governor, john waihee. we have manymembers of the business and intellectual and public affairs community here in honolulu. wehave members of the diplomatic corps. we have members of our men and women in uniform.we have the members of the board of governors of the east-west center. we have the staff ofthe east-west center. we have friends of the east-west center. and most importantly, we havefuture leaders of the asia pacific region. and i was just telling the secretary, i think yesterdaywe welcomed 130 new participants from the united states and 40 other countries. they’re hereon a unique program to prepare them for being future regional and global leaders.

now, how do you introduce a man who is so well-known for his own leadership and --

secretary kerry: first thing, you can just tell everybody to sit down.

mr. morrison: oh. (laughter.) please sit down, yes. (laughter.) thank you, mr. secretary.anyway, as you know, he has served in war and peace. he was a senator for 28 years; 59million americans voted for him for president, including 54 percent of the voters of hawaii. (laughter and applause.) but as a former senate staff person, i thought the way to reallycheck him out was to see how his confirmation hearing went. now, the issues werecontroversial but the nominee was not controversial, and what his former colleagues saidabout him, republicans and democrats, i think give the essence of the man: e_tremely wellprepared, born in a foreign service family, served all 28 years on the senate foreign relationscommittee, four years as the chairman of that committee. he knows the languages – severalforeign languages, countries, leaders, and issues. he is a man of incredible moral andintellectual integrity. he brings conviction and compassion to his job and great energy. hehas been, i think, on his seventh trip to asia, coming back and so we want to welcome him backto the united states. we want to welcome him to our most asia pacific state, and we want towelcome him to the east-west center, an institution that’s building community with thisvast region which is so systemically important to the future of the united states.

mr. secretary of state. (applause.)

secretary kerry: thank you. well, good afternoon, everybody. aloha. it’s wonderful to behere in hawaii, and man, i can’t tell you how i wish i was as rela_ed as some of you in yourbeautiful shirts. (laughter.) here i am in my – whatever you call it – uniform. uniform, somewould say. but it is such a pleasure to be here. mr. mayor, it’s great to be here with you. andmazie, thank you. it’s wonderful to see you, senator. i’m very happy to see you. thanks forbeing here. and governors, thank you for being here very much.

ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests all, it’s a great, great pleasure for me to be ableto be here. and president morrison, thank you very much for that generous introduction. iappreciate it very much.

charles was way ahead of the curve, folks, in seeing the trend towards regionalism in the asiapacific in the early 1990s. and he was calling for community-building within east asia wellbefore it became a standard topic of discussion on the think tank circuit. so clearly, and toeveryone’s benefit, he’s had an ability to focus on the long game. and that is a talent that heactually shares with one of the founding fathers of this institution, a former colleague,beloved to all of you, who became a great friend to me, and that’s senator dan inouye. duringmy sort of latter years, i actually moved up to about seventh in seniority or something in theunited states senate, and had i not been appointed to this job, with all of the retirements thatare taking place, i don’t know, i might have been third or fourth or something, which is kind ofintimidating. but as a result of that, i got to sit beside the great dan inouye for four or fiveyears in the senate. our desks were beside each other, and we became very good friends. hewas one of the early supporters of mine when i decided to run for president in ’04, ’03. butmost importantly, dan inouye, as all of you know, was a patriot above all who commandedremarkable respect and affection of all of his colleagues. and hawaii was so wise to keep himin office for so many years.

having just visited yesterday guadalcanal, having stood up on what was called bloody ridge,edson’s ridge, and walked into one of the still remaining bunkers that marines were dug in onagainst 3,000-plus japanese who kept coming at them wave after wave in the evening, it’s – itwas a remarkable sense of the battle that turned the war. and no place knows the meaning ofall of that better than here in hawaii.

yesterday commemorated really one of the great battles of the second world war, and so itgave me a chance to reflect with special pride and with humility about dan’s service to ourcountry. he was a hero in the war, against difficult circumstances which we all understand toowell. but he became the first japanese american to serve in the house of representatives andthe united states senate, against all the odds of what was still a prevailing sense in ourcountry of misunderstanding between people. and he just never let that get in the way. heshared a very personal commitment to strengthening ties between the united states and theasia pacific. and that’s why he championed the east-west center for decades, and i want you toknow that president obama and i strongly support your mission of bringing people together tothink creatively about the future of our role in the region and how we overcome the kinds ofinherent, visceral differences that sometimes are allowed to get in the way of relationships, andfrankly, in the way of common sense.

we remember too well in america that slavery was written into our constitution long before itwas written out of it. and we all know the struggle that it took – e_cuse me – to write it out. soas we look at the world today – complicated, difficult, tumultuous, volatile – for so many ofus who have spent decades working on issues central to the asia pacific, there’s actuallysomething particularly e_citing about this moment. it’s almost e_hilarating when you look atasia’s transformation. and like dan inouye, i have had the privilege, as many of you havehere i can see, you’ve lived a lot of that transformation firsthand.

a number of my – (coughing) – e_cuse me, it’s the virtue of many hours in an airplane. anumber of my ancestors from boston and from massachusetts were merchants whose shipsdropped anchor in hong kong as they plied the lonely trade routes to china. my grandfather,actually, was born in shanghai and was a businessman who had a partnership with a chinesebusinessman. so in our family and in massachusetts, we’ve had a long sense of the possibilitiesand of this relationship. today, east asia is one of the largest, fastest growing, most dynamicregions in the entire world. and when the trans-pacific partnership negotiations are complete,about 40 percent of global gdp will be linked by a high-standard trade agreement, a tradeagreement that creates a race to the top, not a race to the bottom, where people understandthe rules of engagement and there’s accountability and transparency, and business andcapital know e_actly what the rules of the road will be so they’re attracted to invest each in eachother’s countries.

after college, i had the privilege of serving in the united states navy. and i went throughpearl harbor. i had a remarkable several days here as a young officer on a frigate before weset sail to cross the pacific. and i drove all over the island everywhere, in places i probablywasn’t supposed to. but i loved it and then spent a second tour in the rivers of vietnam. andback then, the word vietnam – just saying vietnam – carried with it an ominous meaning. itmeant war. it meant huge dissent in america, families torn apart. but today, vietnam, whenyou say it, has a whole different meaning to most people. it’s now a dynamic country filledwith economic opportunity. it’s a market for our businesses and our investors. it’s a classroomfor our children. it has one of the largest fulbright programs in the world. and it’s a partner intackling regional economic and security challenges.

such e_traordinary transformations have actually become almost the norm in this region. i’llnever forget, 15 years ago, i visited in then burma – no confusion with myanmar but nowpeople choose what they want to call it. but i visited with daw aung sung sui kyi in the veryhome in which she was imprisoned for nearly two decades. and this week, i had the privilegeof again going back to the very same house – it hadn’t changed, looked the same. she, by theway, 20 years later looks the same. and she is now free to speak her mind as a member ofparliament.

it’s remarkable. it doesn’t mean all the president are solved. but these transformations arejust some of what makes asia the most e_citing and promising places on the planet.

i am returning, as president morrison has said, from actually my si_th trip to the asia pacific in18 months as secretary of state. and later today, i’ll be meeting with our outstandingcommander of united states forces in the pacific to review a range of america’s formidablemilitary presence issues. i have we know that america’s security and prosperity are closely and increasingly linked to the asiapacific. and that’s why president obama began what is known as the rebalance to asia in 2022.that’s why he’s asked me to redouble my own efforts in the region over the ne_t two and halfyears. and that’s why i want to talk to you today about four specific opportunities: creatingsustainable economic growth, powering a clean energy revolution, promoting regionalcooperation, and empowering people.

now, these important opportunities can and should be realized through a rules-based regionalorder, a stable regional order on common rules and norms of behavior that are reinforced byinstitutions. and that’s what holds the greatest potential for all of us for making progress. wesupport this approach, frankly, because it encourages cooperative behavior. it fostersregional integration. it ensures that all countries, big and small – and the small part is reallyimportant – that they have a say in how we work together on shared challenges. i want you toknow that the united states is deeply committed to realizing this vision. president obama ise_cited about it. he wants us all to be committed to fostering it and also to understanding whywe’re doing it. and frankly, it is this vision that is the underlying reason that so manycountries in asia choose to work with the united states.

you hear some people today talking about the united states retrenching or disengaging.nothing could be further from the truth. i think we’re more engaged and more active in morecountries and more parts of the world than any time in american history. and i can tell you thatbecause just driving over here i was on the phone to people in the middle east, talking about aceasefire which is now going to be in place in the ne_t days; talking about the road ahead. justcame back from afghanistan, where we’re working on the transition to the people ofafghanistan, to their future. we’re engaged with iran, working on the nuclear program; withthe dprk, with china, and sudan, and central africa. we just had 50-plus african leaders towashington to talk about the future of american engagement there. we are deeply engagedin a very, very comple_ world.

but this speech and this moment here at the university and at the center, and the trip that ijust made to asia, are meant to underscore that even as we focus on those crises that i’ve justlisted and on conflicts that dominate the headlines on a daily basis and demand our leadership– even as we do that, we will never forget the long-term strategic imperatives for americaninterests. as secretary of state, my job isn’t just to respond to crises. it’s also about definingand seizing the long-term opportunities for the united states. and having just traveled toburma, australia, and the solomon islands, i can tell you that nowhere are those strategicopportunities clearer or more compelling than in the asia pacific.

that’s why we are currently negotiating a comprehensive and ambitious trans-pacificpartnership agreement that will create thousands of new jobs here in america as well as inother countries, and it will spur this race to the top, not to the bottom. it raises the standardsby which we do business. that’s why we’re elevating our engagement in multilateralinstitutions, from the asean regional forum to the east asia summit. and that’s why we arerevitalizing our security partnerships with our treaty allies: japan, australia, south korea, andthe philippines. and that’s why we are standing up for the human rights and the fundamentalfreedoms that people in asia cherish as much as any people in the world.

i have no illusions about the challenges, and nor does president obama. they are comple_ inthis 21st century, in many ways far more comple_ than the bipolar, east-west, soviet union-versus-west world – the cold war that many of us grew up in. this is far more complicated.it’s far more, in many ways, like 19th century and 18th century diplomacy, with statesasserting their interests in different ways and with more economic players in the planet thanwe had in the 20th century with power and with a sense of independence. but what i want toemphasize to you all today is there is a way forward. this is not so daunting that it’sindescribable as to what we can do.

so how do we make our shared vision a reality for the region and ensure that asia contributesto global peace and prosperity? first, we need to turn today’s economic nationalism andfragmentation into tomorrow’s sustainable growth. i say it all the time: foreign policy iseconomic policy, and economic policy is foreign policy. they are one and the same. there’s nodenying that particularly in asia pacific. asia pacific is an engine of global economic growth, butwe can’t take that growth for granted.

because what we face something that is really a common challenge. across the world, we haveseen a staggering growth in youth populations. at the africa summit it was just underscored tous there are 700 million people under the age of 30. we’ve seen staggering growth in theseyouth populations. and guess what. in the 21st century, in 2022 when everybody’s runningaround with a mobile device and everybody’s in touch with everybody every day all the time,all of these people are demanding an opportunity. they’re demanding dignity. andju_taposed to their hopes, a cadre of e_tremists, of resisters, of naysayers are waiting to seducemany of those young people into accepting a dead end. and let me tell you, when people don’thave a job, when they can’t get an education, when they can’t aspire to a better future forthemselves and for their families, when their voices are silenced by draconian laws or violenceand oppression, we have all witnessed the instability that follows.

now happily, many, if not most governments, in asia are working to present booming youthpopulations with an alternative, with a quality education, with skills for the modern world,with jobs that allow them to build a life and a confidence in their countries. that is part of thereason why the young people in asia are joining the ranks of the middle class, not the ranks ofviolent e_tremists. and the fact is that too many countries around the world are struggling toprovide those opportunities. there’s a lack of governance, and we ignore the importance of thiscollective challenge to address the question of failed and failing states in other parts of theworld.

in the 21st century, a nation’s interests and the well-being of its people are advanced not justby troops or diplomats, but they’re advanced by entrepreneurs, by chief e_ecutives ofcompanies, by the businesses that are good corporate citizens, by the workers that theyemploy, by the students that they train, and the shared prosperity that they create. that iswhy we are working with partners across the asia pacific to maintain and raise standards as wee_pand trade and investment by pursuing a comprehensive trans-pacific partnershipagreement.

now, the tpp represents really an e_citing new chapter in the long history of america’s mutuallybeneficial trade partnerships with the countries of the asia pacific. it is a state-of-the-art, 21stcentury trade agreement, and it is consistent not just with our shared economic interests, butalso with our shared values. it’s about generating growth for our economies and jobs for ourpeople by unleashing a wave of trade, investment, and entrepreneurship. it’s about standing upfor our workers, or protecting the environment, and promoting innovation. and it’s aboutreaching for high standards to guide the growth of this dynamic regional economy. and all ofthat is just plain good for businesses, it’s good for workers, it’s good for our economies. andthat’s why we must get this done.returned again and again to this region – i can’t tell you howmany times i went, mazie, as a senator to the region. and we are now – we take our enduringinterests there, obviously, very, very seriously.

now, every time i travel to asia, i have the privilege of meeting with young entrepreneurs andbusiness leaders. in fact, at the africa summit the other day we had this wonderful group ofyoung african leaders – all entrepreneurs, all these young kids in their 20s doinge_traordinary things. it’s call the young african leaders initiative, which president obamastarted.

in hanoi last december, i launched the governance for inclusive growth program to supportvietnam’s transition to a market-based economy. i’ve met with entrepreneurs in seoul andmanila to talk about how we can drive innovation. on saturday, i discussed with my aseancounterparts the framework for creating business opportunities and jobs that we calle_panded economic engagement, or e3. and just yesterday, i met with business leaders insydney, australia to e_plore ways to reduce the barriers to trade and investment.

to broaden the base of support for this strategy, we need to focus not only on rapid growth,but we also need to focus on sustainability. and that means making the best use of regionalinstitutions. president obama will join apec economic leaders in beijing this fall to focus onpromoting clean and renewable fuels and supporting small businesses and women’sparticipation in the economy and e_panding educational e_changes. and just a few days ago,i met with ministers from the lower mekong initiative countries to deepen our partnership andhelp them wrestle with the challenges of food and water and energy security on the mekongriver.

ultimately, the true measure of our success will not be just whether our economies continue togrow, but how they continue to grow. and that brings me to our second challenge: we need toturn today’s climate crisis into tomorrow’s clean energy revolution. now, all of this – all of usin this room understand climate change is not a crisis of the future. climate change is herenow. it’s happening, happening all over the world. it’s not a challenge that’s somehow remoteand that people can’t grab onto.

but here’s the key: it’s happening at a rate that should be alarming to all of us becauseeverything the scientists predicted – and i’ll tell you a little addendum. al gore – i had theprivilege of working with al gore and tim worth and a group of senators – jack heinz – backin the 1980s when we held the first hearing on climate change in 1988. that’s when jimhansen from nasa came forward and said it’s happening. it’s happening now in 1988. in 1992we had a forum down in brazil, rio, the earth summit. george herbert walker bushparticipated. we came up with a voluntary framework to deal with climate change, butvoluntary didn’t work. and for 20 years nothing much happened. then we went to kyoto. wewent to all these places to try to do something, and here we are in 2022 with a chance ne_tyear in 2022 to do it.

and what’s happening is the science is screaming at us. ask any kid in school. theyunderstand what a greenhouse is, how it works, why we call it the greenhouse effect. theyget it. and here’s what – if you accept the science, if you accept that the science is causingclimate to change, you have to heed what those same scientists are telling us about how youprevent the inevitable consequences and impacts. you can’t – that’s why president obamahas made climate change a top priority. he’s doing by e_ecutive authority what we’re notable to get the congress to do. and we’re working very hard to implement the climate actionplan and lead by e_ample. we’re doubling the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks on america’sroads. we’ve developed new standards that ensure that e_isting power plants are as clean aspossible and as efficient as possible. and we’re committed to reducing greenhouse gasesand emissions in the range of about 17 percent below 2022 levels by 2022.

so we’re heading in the right direction. but make no mistake about it: our response has tobe all hands on deck. by definition, rescuing the planet’s climate is a global challenge thatrequires a global solution. and nowhere is all of this more evident than in the asia pacific.and no two nations can have a greater impact or influence on this debate or this challengethan china and the united states.

during the strategic and economic dialogue last month, secretary of treasury jack lew and iwere in beijing for two days. and we and china together sent a clear message: the world’s twolargest greenhouse gas emitters, the united states and china, are committed to advancing alow-carbon economic growth pattern and significantly reduce our countries’ greenhouse gases.and we’re working together to launch demonstration projects on carbon capture, utilization,and storage. we’re adopting stronger fuel efficiency standards for heavy- and light-dutyvehicles. we’re advancing a new initiative on climate change and forests, because we knowthat the threat of deforestation and its implications of a changing climate are real and they’regrave and they’re growing. and i’ll just say to you this is not an issue on which you can be halfpregnant. no such issue. if you accept the science, you have to accept that you have to dothese things about it.

now, the united states and china have a special role to play in reducing emissions anddeveloping a clean energy future. but everybody – every nation – has a stake in getting itright. i just came from the solomon islands yesterday, a thousand islands, some of which couldbe wiped out if we don’t make the right choices. the pacific islands across the entire pacific arevulnerable to climate change. and just yesterday, i saw with my own eyes what sea level risewould do to parts of it: it would be devastating – entire habitats destroyed, entire populationsdisplaced from their homes, in some cases entire cultures wiped out. they just had flashflooding in guadalcanal – unprecedented amounts of rainfall. and that’s what’s happened withclimate change – unprecedented storms, unprecedented typhoons, unprecedentedhurricanes, unprecedented droughts, unprecedented fires, major damage, billions andbillions of dollars of damage being done that we’re paying for instead of investing those billionsof dollars in avoiding this in the first place.

that’s why we are deepening our partnerships with the pacific island nations and others to meetimmediate threats and long-term development challenges. and we’re working through usaidand other multilateral institutions to increase the resilience of communities. and we’reelevating our engagement through the pacific islands forum. and we’ve signed maritimeboundaries, new maritime boundaries with kiribati and the federated states of micronesia inorder to promote good governance of the pacific ocean and peaceful relations among islandnations. and we’re also working on a pacific pathway of marine protected areas that includespresident obama’s commitment to e_plore a protected area of more than a million squaremiles in size in the u.s. remote pacific.

we just held a conference on the oceans in washington the other day with nations all over theworld came to it – unbelievably productive. we produced $1.8 billion of commitments to helpwith fisheries enforcement, anti-pollution, dealing with acidification, and to protect theseareas as marine sanctuaries.

the good news is in the end – and this really – it really is good news. sometimes you have anissue – mr. mayor, i know you know this. governors, you know this. you’re looking at an issueand, man, you scratch your head and you’re not quite sure what the solution is, right? andyou work through it. well, the good news is the biggest challenge of all that we face right now,which is climate change in terms of international global effect, is an opportunity. it’s actuallyan e_traordinary opportunity because it’s not a problem without a solution. the solutionto climate change is simple. it’s called energy policy. energy policy. make the right choicesabout how you produce your energy – without emissions, without coal-fired power plants thatdon’t have carbon capture and storage or aren’t burning clean – then you can begin toproduce clean energy.

and the new energy market that we’re looking at is the biggest market the world has ever seen.think about that for a moment. the wealth that was generated in the 1990s – i don’t know ifyou know this, but most people think that america got the richest during the 1920s when youhad the so-called, even in the late 1800s, robber baron years, and then you had the greatnames of wealth – carnegie, mellon, frick, rockefeller, and so forth. and no income ta_ – wow,gonna make a lot of money.

guess what. america made more wealth and more money for more people in the 1990s than atany other time in our history. and what it came from, the wealth that was generated then, wasthe high-tech computer revolution of the 1990s, and guess what. it came from a $1 trillionmarket with 1 billion users, 1 for 1. the energy market that we’re looking at in the world todayis si_ times bigger, by far more important. it’s a $6 trillion market today with 4 to 5 billionusers today, and it will go up to 7 to 9 billion users in the ne_t 30 years. the fastest segmentby far of growth in that market is clean energy.

we need to build a grid in america. we need to – we could use solar thermal to produce heatin massachusetts, in minnesota, take wind power from our states, sell it somewhere else. wecan’t even do that because we don’t have that grid in place.

so i want to emphasize to all of you: we’re not going to find a sustainable energy mi_ in the19th century or 20th century solutions. those are the problems. we need a formula for 21stcentury that will sustainably power us into the 22nd century. and i believe that, workingtogether, the united states and countries across the asia pacific can make this leap. that’s ane_citing opportunity and that’s what we’re working on with china today.

the bottom line is we don’t have time to waste. if we’re going to power a clean energyrevolution, we have to work together to dampen security competition and rivalry in theasia pacific and focus on these other constructive efforts. and so our third challenge is clear:we need to turn maritime conflicts into regional cooperation.

all of us in this room understand that these disputes in the south china sea and elsewhere,they’re really about more than claims to islands and reefs and rocks and the economic intereststhat flow from them. they’re about whether might makes right or whether global rules andnorms and rule of law and international law will prevail. i want to be absolutely clear: theunited states of america takes no position on questions of sovereignty in the south and eastchina sea, but we do care about how those questions are resolved. we care about behavior. wefirmly oppose the use of intimidation and coercion or force to assert a territorial claim byanyone in the region. and we firmly oppose any suggestion that freedom of navigation andoverflight and other lawful uses of the sea and airspace are privileges granted by a big state toa small one. all claimants must work together to solve the claims through peaceful means, bigor small. and these principles bind all nations equally, and all nations have a responsibility touphold them.

now, i just participated in the asean regional forum, and we were encouraged there to – weencouraged the claimants there to defuse these tensions and to create the political space forresolution. we urged the claimants to voluntarily freeze steps that threatened to escalatethe disputes and to cause instability. and frankly, i think that’s common sense and i suspectyou share that. i’m pleased to say that asean agreed that the time has come to seekconsensus on what some of those actions to be avoided might be, based on the commitmentsthat they’ve already made in the 2022 declaration on conduct.

now, we cannot impose solutions on the claimants in the region, and we’re not seeking to dothat. but the recent settlement between indonesia and the philippines is an e_ample of howthese disputes could be resolved through good-faith negotiations. japan and taiwan, likewise,showed last year that it’s possible to promote regional stability despite conflicting claims. andwe support the philippines’ taking steps to resolve its maritime dispute with china peacefully,including through the right to pursue arbitration under the un convention on the law of thesea. and while we already live by its principles, the united states needs to finish the job andpass that treaty once and for all.

now, one thing that i know will contribute to maintaining regional peace and stability is aconstructive relationship between the united states and china. president obama has made itclear that the united states welcomes the rise of a peaceful, prosperous, and stable china –one that plays a responsible role in asia and the world and supports rules and norms oneconomic and security issues. the president has been clear, as have i, that we are committedto avoiding the trap of strategic rivalry and intent on forging a relationship in which we canbroaden our cooperation on common interests and constructively manage our differences anddisagreements.

but make no mistake: this constructive relationship, this “new model” relationship of greatpowers, is not going to happen simply by talking about it. it’s not going to happen byengaging in a slogan or pursuing a sphere of influence. it will be defined by more and bettercooperation on shared challenges. and it will be defined by a mutual embrace of the rules,the norms, and institutions that have served both of our nations and the region so well. i amvery pleased that china and the united states are cooperating effectively on the iran nucleartalks and we’ve increased our dialogue on the dprk. we’re also cooperating significantly onclimate change possibilities, counter-piracy operations, and south sudan.

so we are busy trying to define a great power relationship by the places where we can findmutual agreement and cooperation. we’ve seen the benefits of partnerships based oncommon values and common approaches to regional and global security. secretary of defensechuck hagel and i met with our australian counterparts in sydney earlier this week and wereviewed the u.s.-australian alliance from all sides. and though we live in very differenthemispheres, obviously, and at opposite ends of the globe, the united states and australia aretoday as close as nations can get. our time-honored alliance has helped both of our countries toachieve important goals: standing with the people of ukraine, supporting long-term progress inafghanistan, promoting shared prosperity in the asia pacific, and collaborating on the unitednations security council. and we also agreed to e_pand our trilateral cooperation with japan,and that will allow us to further modernize the u.s.-japan alliance as we address a broaderarray of security challenges. similarly, with our ally south korea, our partnership on agrowing range of regional and global challenges has brought much greater security to asiaand beyond.

history shows us that countries whose policies respect and reflect universal human rights andfundamental freedoms are likely to be peaceful and prosperous, far more effective attapping the talents of their people, and far better partners in the long term.

that is why our fourth and final challenge is so important: we need to turn human rightsproblems into opportunities for human empowerment. across the region, there are bright spots.but we also see backsliding, such as the setback to democracy in thailand.

we all know that some countries in the region hold different views on democratic governanceand the protection of human rights. but though we may sometimes disagree on these issueswith the governments, i don’t think we have any fundamental disagreement with theirpeople.

given a choice, i don’t think too many young people in china would choose to have less accessto uncensored information, rather than more. i don’t think too many people in vietnam wouldsay: “i’d rather not be allowed to organize and speak out for better working conditions or ahealthy environment.” and i can’t imagine that anyone in asia would watch more than a 130million people go to the polls in indonesia to choose a president after a healthy, vigorous, andpeaceful debate and then say: “i don’t want that right for myself.” i also think most peoplewould agree that freedom of speech and the press is essential to checking corruption, and itis essential that rule of law is needed to protect innovation and to enable businesses tothrive. that’s why support for these values is both universal and pragmatic.

i visited indonesia in february, and i saw the promise of a democratic future. the world’sthird largest democracy sets a terrific e_ample for the world. and the united states is deeplycommitted to our comprehensive partnership. indonesia is not just an e_pression of differentcultures and languages and faiths. by deepening its democracy, and preserving its traditionsof tolerance, it can be a model for how asian values and democratic principles inform andstrengthen one another.

in thailand, a close friend and ally, we’re very disturbed by the setback to democracy andwe hope it is a temporary bump in the road. we call on the thai authorities to lift restrictionson political activity and speech, to return – to restore civilian rule, and return quickly todemocracy through free and fair elections.

in burma last week, i saw firsthand the initial progress the people and the government havemade. and i’m proud of the role – and you should be too – that the united states has playedfor a quarter of a century in encouraging that progress.

but burma still has a long way to go, and those leading its democratic transformation areonly now addressing the deepest challenges: defining a new role for the military; reformingthe constitution and supporting free and fair elections; ending a decades-long civil war; andguaranteeing in law the human rights that burma’s people have been promised in name. all ofthis while trying to attract more investment, combating corruption, protecting the country’sforests and other resources. these are the great tests of burma’s transition. and we intend totry to help, but in the end the leadership will have to make the critical choices.

the united states is going to do everything we can to help the reformers in burma, especiallyby supporting nationwide elections ne_t year. and we will keep urging the government – as idid last week – to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in rakhine state, and push backagainst hate speech and religious violence, implement constitutional reform, and protectfreedom of assembly and e_pression. the government owes it to the people of those – of thatmovement to do those things.

and so, my friends, in the great tradition of our country, we will continue to promote humanrights and democracy in asia, without arrogance but also without apology.

elsewhere in asia, north korea’s proliferation activities pose a very serious threat to the unitedstates, the region, and the world. and we are taking steps to deter and defend against northkorea’s pursuit of a nuclear-armed ballistic missile capability. but make no mistake: we arealso speaking out about the horrific human rights situation. we strongly supported thee_traordinary united nations investigation this year that revealed the utter, grotesquecruelty of north korea’s system of labor camps and e_ecutions. such deprivation of humandignity just has no place in the 21st century. north korea’s gulags should be shut down – nottomorrow, not ne_t week, but now. and we will continue to speak out on this topic.

so you’ve heard me for longer than you might have wanted to – (laughter) – describing apretty ambitious agenda. and you’re right; it’s a big deal. we are super engaged. we areambitious for this process: completing the tpp negotiations, creating sustainable growth,powering a clean energy revolution, managing regional rivalries by promoting cooperation,and empowering people from all walks of life – that’s how we’re going to realize the promise ofthe asia pacific. and this is a region whose countries can and should come together, becausethere is much more that unites us than divides us. this is a region that can and should meetdanger and difficulty with courage and collaboration. and we are determined to deliver onthe strategic and historic opportunities that we can create together.

that’s why, together with our asian partners, we’re developing modern rules for a changingworld – rules that help economies grow strong and fair and just, with protections for theenvironment, safeguards for the people who have both too often been left behind.

that’s why we’re building a region where asia’s major cities are no longer clouded with smogand smoke, and where people can depend on safe food and water, and clean oceans, clean air,and shared resources from its rivers and its oceans, and with a sense of responsibility onegeneration passes on to the ne_t to preserve all of that for the future.

that’s why we’re building a region where countries peacefully resolve their differences overislands, reefs, rocks by finding the common ground on the basis of international law.

and that’s why we’re building a region that protects the universal human rights andfundamental freedoms that make all nations stronger.

there is still a long road ahead. but nothing gives me more hope in the ne_t miles of thejourney than the courage of those who have reached a different and more hopeful kind offuture. and that is the story that i want to leave you with today.

when i became a senator, getting increasingly more and more involved in the region as ayoung member of the committee and then later as chairman of the subcommittee on asian andpacific affairs, the first trip i took in 1986 was to the philippines. strongman ferdinand marcoshad called a sham “snap” election to fake everybody to prove how in charge he was, topreserve his grasp on power. president reagan asked senator richard lugar and me to be partof a delegation to observe those elections.

and i will never forget arriving in manila and seeing this unbelievable flood of people in thestreets all decked out in their canary yellow shirts and banners of pro-democracy protest.some of us knew at that time there were allegations of fraud. i was sent down initially tomindanao to observe the morning votes and then came back to manila, and was sitting in thehotel there when a woman came up to me crying and said, “senator, you must come with me tothe cathedral. there are women there who fear for their lives.”

and i left my dinner and i ran down to the cathedral. i came in to the sacristi of thecathedral and talked with these 13 women who were crying and huddled together, intimidatedfor their lives. and i listened to their story about how they were counting the raw tally of thevotes that was coming in from all across the nation, but the raw tally of votes they werecounting was not showing up on the computer tote board recording the votes. they blew thewhistle on a dictator. we held an international press conference right there in the cathedralright in front of the alter, and they spoke out, and that was the signal to marcos it was over.their courage and the courage of the filipino people lit a spark that traveled throughout theworld, inspiring not just a freshman senator from massachusetts, but popular movementsfrom eastern europe to burma.

now, i think about that moment even today, about the power of people to make their voicesfelt. i think about how cory aquino rose to the presidency atop a wave of people power whenfew believed that she could. i think about how her husband fought for democracy, even at thecost of his own life. and i think about how, decades later, their son would rise to the presidencyin democratic elections. in his inaugural address, president benigno aquino said: “myparents sought nothing less, died for nothing less, than democracy and peace. i am blessed bythis legacy. i shall carry the torch forward.”

my friends, today we must all summon up some of that courage, we must all carry that torchforward. the cause of democracy and peace, and the prosperity that they bring, can bringour legacy in the asian pacific, it can define it. our commitment to that future, believe me itis strong. our principles are just. and we are in this for the long haul – clear-eyed about thechallenges ahead.

thank you. (applause.)

第9篇 美国总统罗斯福就职英语演讲稿

美国总统罗斯福就职演讲稿(英文版)

president hoover, mr. chief justice, my friends:

this is a day of national consecration. and i am certain that on this day my fellow americans e_pect that on my induction into the presidency, i will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impels.

this is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. this great nation will endure, as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.

so, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. in every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. and i am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

in such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. they concern, thank god, only material things. values have shrunk to fantastic levels; ta_es have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of e_change are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; and the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. more important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of e_istence, and an equally great number toil with little return. only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.

and yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. we are stricken by no plague of locusts. compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered, because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply.

primarily, this is because the rulers of the e_change of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and have abdicated. practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

true, they have tried. but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. faced by failure of credit, they have proposed only the lending of more money. stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to e_hortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. they only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers. they have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. we may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. the measure of that restoration lies in the e_tent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. the joy, the moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. these dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men.

recognition of that falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, and on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.

restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. this nation is asking for action, and action now.

our greatest primary task is to put people to work. this is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. it can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing great -- greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our great natural resources.

hand in hand with that we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land.

yes, the task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products, and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. it can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. it can be helped by insistence that the federal, the state, and the local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. it can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, unequal. it can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities that have a definitely public character. there are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped by merely talking about it.

we must act. we must act quickly.

and finally, in our progress towards a resumption of work, we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order. there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments. there must be an end to speculation with other people's money. and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.

these, my friends, are the lines of attack. i shall presently urge upon a new congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and i shall seek the immediate assistance of the 48 states.

through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time, and necessity, secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. i favor, as a practical policy, the putting of first things first. i shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment; but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.

the basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not nationally -- narrowly nationalistic. it is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in and parts of the united states of america -- a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the american spirit of the pioneer. it is the way to recovery. it is the immediate way. it is the strongest assurance that recovery will endure.

in the field of world policy, i would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor: the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others; the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.

if i read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize, as we have never realized before, our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take, but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress can be made, no leadership becomes effective.

we are, i know, ready and willing to submit our lives and our property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at the larger good. this, i propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us, bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in times of armed strife.

with this pledge taken, i assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.

action in this image, action to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. our constitution is so simple, so practical that it is possible always to meet e_traordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. that is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has ever seen.

it has met every stress of vast e_pansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations. and it is to be hoped that the normal balance of e_ecutive and legislative authority may be wholly equal, wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. but it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.

i am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. these measures, or such other measures as the congress may build out of its e_perience and wisdom, i shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.

but, in the event that the congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, in the event that the national emergency is still critical, i shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. i shall ask the congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis -- broad e_ecutive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.

for the trust reposed in me, i will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. i can do no less.

we face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. we aim at the assurance of a rounded, a permanent national life.

we do not distrust the -- the future of essential democracy. the people of the united states have not failed. in their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. they have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. they have made me the present instrument of their wishes. in the spirit of the gift i take it.

in this dedication -- in this dedication of a nation, we humbly ask the blessing of god.

may he protect each and every one of us.

may he guide me in the days to come.

美国总统罗斯福就职演讲稿(中文版)

胡佛总统，首席法官先生，朋友们：

今天，对我们的国家来说，是一个神圣的日子。我肯定，同胞们都期待我在就任总统时，会像我国目前形势所要求的那样，坦率而果断地向他们讲话。现在正是坦白、勇敢地说出实话，说出全部实话的最好时刻。我们不必畏首畏尾，不老老实实面对我国今天的情况。这个伟大的国家会一如既往地坚持下去，它会复兴和繁荣起来。因此，让我首先表明我的坚定信念：我们唯一不得不害怕的就是害怕本身--一种莫名其妙、丧失理智的、毫无根据的恐惧，它把人转退为进所需的种种努力化为泡影。凡在我国生活阴云密布的时刻，坦率而有活力的领导都得到过人民的理解和支持，从而为胜利准备了必不可少的条件。我相信，在目前危急时刻，大家会再次给予同样的支持。

我和你们都要以这种精神，来面对我们共同的困难。感谢上帝，这些困难只是物质方面的。价值难以想象地贬缩了;课税增加了;我们的支付能力下降了;各级政府面临着严重的收入短缺;交换手段在贸易过程中遭到了冻结;工业企业枯萎的落叶到处可见;农场主的产品找不到销路;千家万户多年的积蓄付之东流。

更重要的是，大批失业公民正面临严峻的生存问题，还有大批公民正以艰辛的劳动换取微薄的报酬。只有愚蠢的乐天派会否认当前这些阴暗的现实。

但是，我们的苦恼决不是因为缺乏物资。我们没有遭到什么蝗虫的灾害。我们的先辈曾以信念和无畏一次次转危为安，比起他们经历过的险阻，我们仍大可感到欣慰。大自然仍在给予我们恩惠，人类的努力已使之倍增。富足的情景近在咫尺，但就在我们见到这种 情景的时候，宽裕的生活却悄然离去。这主要是因为主宰人类物资交换的统治者们失败了，他们固执己见而又无能为力，因而已经认定失败了，并撒手不管了。贪得无厌的货币兑换商的种种行径。将受到舆论法庭的起诉，将受到人类心灵理智的唾弃。

是的，他们是努力过，然而他们用的是一种完全过时的方法。面对信贷的失败，他们只是提议借出更多的钱。没有了当诱饵引诱 人民追随他们的错误领导的金钱，他们只得求助于讲道，含泪祈求人民重新给予他们信心。他们只知自我追求者们的处世规则。他们没有眼光，而没有眼光的人是要灭亡的。

如今，货币兑换商已从我们文明庙宇的高处落荒而逃。我们要以千古不变的真理来重建这座庙宇。衡量这重建的尺度是我们体现比金钱利益更高尚的社会价值的程度。

幸福并不在于单纯地占有金钱;幸福还在于取得成就后的喜悦，在于创造努力时的激情。务必不能再忘记劳动带来的喜悦和激励，而去疯狂地追逐那转瞬即逝的利润。如果这些暗淡的时日能使我们认识到，我们真正的天命不是要别人侍奉，而是为自己和同胞们服务，那么，我们付出的代价就完全是值得的。

认识到把物质财富当作成功的标准是错误的，我们就会抛弃以地位尊严和个人收益为唯一标准，来衡量公职和高级政治地位的错误信念;我们必须制止银行界和企业界的一种行为，它常常使神圣的委托混同于无情和自私的不正当行为。难怪信心在减弱，信心，只有靠诚实、信誉、忠心维护和无私履行职责。而没有这些，就不可能有信心。

但是，复兴不仅仅只要改变伦理观念。这个国家要求行动起来，现在就行动起来。

我们最大、最基本的任务是让人民投入工作。只要我信行之以智慧和勇气，这个问题就可以解决。这可以部分由政府直接征募完成，就象对待临战的紧要关头一样，但同时，在有了人手的情况下，我们还急需能刺激并重组巨大自然资源的工程。

我们齐心协力，但必须坦白地承认工业中心的人口失衡，我们必须在全国范围内重新分配，使土地在最适合的人手中发表挥更大作用。

明确地为提高农产品价值并以此购买城市产品所做的努力，会有助于任务的完成。避免许多小家庭业、农场业被取消赎取抵押品的权利的悲剧也有助于任务的完成。联邦、州、各地政府立即行动回应要求降价的呼声，有助于任务的完成。将现在常常是分散不经济、不平等的救济活动统一起来有助于任务的完成。对所有公共交通运输，通讯及其他涉及公众生活的设施作全国性的计划及监督有助于任务的完成。许多事情都有助于任务完成，但这些决不包括空谈。我们必须行动，立即行动。

最后，为了重新开始工作，我们需要两手防御，来抗御旧秩序恶魔卷土从来;一定要有严格监督银行业、信贷及投资的机制：一定要杜绝投机;一定要有充足而健康的货币供应。

以上这些，朋友们，就是施政方针。我要在特别会议上敦促新国会给予详细实施方案，并且，我要向18个州请求立即的援助。

通过行动，我们将予以我们自己一个有秩序的国家大厦，使收入大于支出。我们的国际贸易，虽然很重要，但现在在时间和必要性上，次于对本国健康经济的建立。我建议，作为可行的策略、首要事务先行。虽然我将不遗余力通过国际经济重新协调所来恢复国际贸易，但我认为国内的紧急情况无法等待这重新协调的完成。

指导这一特别的全国性复苏的基本思想并非狭隘的国家主义。我首先考虑的是坚持美国这一整体中各部分的相互依赖性--这是对美国式的开拓精神的古老而永恒的证明的体现。这才是复苏之路，是即时之路，是保证复苏功效持久之路。

在国际政策方面，我将使美国采取睦邻友好的政策。做一个决心自重，因此而尊重邻国的国家。做一个履行义务，尊重与他国协约的国家。

如果我对人民的心情的了解正确的话，我想我们已认识到了我们从未认识的问题，我们是互相依存的，我们不可以只索取，我们还必须奉献。我们前进时，必须象一支训练有素的忠诚的军队，愿意为共同的原则而献身，因为，没有这些原则，就无法取得进步，领导就不可能得力。我们都已做好准备，并愿意为此原则献出生命和财产，因为这将使志在建设更美好社会的领导成为可能。我倡议，为了更伟大的目标，我们所有的人，以一致的职责紧紧团结起来。这是神圣的义务，非战乱，不停止。

有了这样的誓言，我将毫不犹豫地承担领导伟大人民大军的任务，致力于对我们普遍问题的强攻。这样的行动，这样的目标，在我们从祖先手中接过的政府中是可行的。我们的宪法如此简单，实在。它随时可以应付特殊情况，只需对重点和安排加以修改而不丧失中心思想，正因为如此，我们的宪法体制已自证为是最有适应性的政治体制。它已应付过巨大的国土扩张、外战、内乱及国际关系所带来的压力。

而我们还希望行使法律的人士做到充分的平等，能充分地担负前所未有的任务。但现在前所未有的对紧急行动的需要要求国民暂时丢弃平常生活节奏，紧迫起来。

让我们正视面前的严峻岁月，怀着举国一致给我们带来的热情和勇气，怀着寻求传统的、珍贵的道德观念的明确意识，怀着老老少少都能通过克尽职守而得到的问心无愧的满足。我们的目标是要保证国民生活的圆满和长治久安。

我们并不怀疑基本民主制度的未来。合众国人民并没有失败。他们在困难中表达了自己的委托，即要求采取直接而有力的行动。他们要求有领导的纪律和方向。他们现在选择了我作为实现他们的愿望的工具。我接受这份厚赠。

在此举国奉献之际，我们谦卑地请求上帝赐福。愿上帝保信我们大家和每一个人，愿上帝在未来的日子里指引我。

第10篇 美国总统悼念爱德华·肯尼迪英语演讲稿

one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy

remarks by the president

on the passing of senator edward m. kennedy

blue heron farm

chilmark, massachusetts

9:57 a.m. edt

the president: i wanted to say a few words this morning about the passing of an e_traordinary leader, senator edward kennedy.

over the past several years, i've had the honor to call teddy a colleague, a counselor, and a friend. and even though we have known this day was coming for some time now, we awaited it with no small amount of dread.

since teddy's diagnosis last year, we've seen the courage with which he battled his illness. and while these months have no doubt been difficult for him, they've also let him hear from people in every corner of our nation and from around the world just how much he meant to all of us. his fight has given us the opportunity we were denied when his brothers john and robert were taken from us: the blessing of time to say thank you -- and goodbye.

the outpouring of love, gratitude, and fond memories to which we've all borne witness is a testament to the way this singular figure in american history touched so many lives. his ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives -- in seniors who know new dignity, in families that know new opportunity, in children who know education's promise, and in all who can pursue their dream in an america that is more equal and more just -- including myself.

the kennedy name is synonymous with the democratic party. and at times, ted was the target of partisan campaign attacks. but in the united states senate, i can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle. his seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth, and good cheer. he could passionately battle others and do so peerlessly on the senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintain warm friendships across party lines.

and that's one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy.

his e_traordinary life on this earth has come to an end. and the e_traordinary good that he did lives on. for his family, he was a guardian. for america, he was the defender of a dream.

i spoke earlier this morning to senator kennedy's beloved wife, vicki, who was to the end such a wonderful source of encouragement and strength. our thoughts and prayers are with her, his children kara, edward, and patrick; his stepchildren curran and caroline; the entire kennedy family; decades' worth of his staff; the people of massachusetts; and all americans who, like us, loved ted kennedy.

end

10:00 a.m. edt

第11篇 心存感恩发现身边的美国旗下演讲稿范文

亲爱的同学们，敬爱的老师们：

大家好，我是四三班的赵__，生活在四三班这个温暖的大家庭里，我感受着老师的关爱，品尝着友谊的香甜，也汲取着知识的营养，今天在这里，我要和大家分享的是我和王浩宇关于“诚信”的故事。

就在上周四的晚上，我们班的王__告诉我明天走的时候要和我打乒乓球，我欣然答应。周五要离校了，王__的家人早早地就来接他了，他给我打了声招呼就跟着家人走了，一句话也没说，我以为他直接回家了，把我们相约打乒乓球的事儿给忘了，我有点失落、也有点生气。过了一会儿，我妈妈也来接我了，没有了玩伴，我也老老实实地跟妈妈回家。谁知，走到楼下的时候，我看到乒乓球台旁边有一个熟悉的身影，我仔细一看，原来是和我相约玩耍的王__……当时，我非常激动，我没有想到他会在这么冷的天里等我，还等了这么长时间，而通过这件事，我们两个的友情更加深厚了，我也明白了，做人要诚信，也只有讲诚信，你才能得到别人的认可。我希望大家也能做一个讲诚信的孩子。

大家好，我是四三班的王__，今天，我想夸夸我们班的刘__。那是我上二年级的时候，由于自己玩耍时不小心把手摔骨折了，导致生活中有些事情不能自理，老师就发动大家来帮助我，一日三餐找人给我送，当时，我们班的刘__给了我最大的帮助。每一天，每一次开饭，他总是先去餐厅把饭给我送到教室，然后再去餐厅就餐，等他吃完了饭，又到教室把我的餐具送到餐厅，一天、两天……一下子坚持了有一个多月，有时在宿舍还帮我叠被子，在我生病的期间，有许多老师和同学帮助过我，以前，我很害羞，感谢的话不好意思说出口，但今天，我想借此机会，给刘__，给曾经和现在帮助过我的老师和同学说一声：谢谢！

亲爱的同学们，我相信，你的身边肯定也有许许多多像王浩宇、刘欣远这样讲诚信、助人为乐的孩子，只要我们用心发现，用心体会，你也能感受到来自他们的爱，同时，也希望大家都能做一个会爱、会感恩的孩子！

第12篇 希拉里·克林顿在2022年美国市长会议英语演讲稿

thank you! thank you all so much.

it's great to be here with all of you. i'm looking out at the audience and seeing so many familiarfaces, as well as those here up on the dais.

i want to thank kevin for his introduction and his leadership of this organization.

mayor lee, thanks for having us in your beautiful city.

it is for me a great treat to come back to address a group that, as you just heard, i spent a lotof time as senator working with – in great measure because of the need for buttressinghomeland security, as well as other challenges within our cities during the eight years i servedin the senate.

and it was always refreshing to come here because despite whatever was going on in congressor washington with respect to partisanship, a conference of mayors was truly like an oasis inthe desert. i could come here and be reminded of what mayor laguardia said, 'there's norepublican or democratic way to pick up the garbage. you pick it up, or you don't pick it up.'and i loved being with people who understood that.

i've learned over the years how important it is to work with city hall, to try to make sure we areconnected up as partners and to get whatever the priorities of your people happen to beaccomplished.

so it pays. it pays to work with you, and i am grateful to have this opportunity to come backand see you.

when i was senator from new york, i not only worked with the mayor of new york city, ofcourse, i worked with creative and committed mayors from buffalo to rochester to syracuseto albany and so many other places.

and i was particularly happy to do so because they were always full of ideas and eager to worktogether to attract more high-paying jobs, to revitalize downtowns, to support our firstresponders, to try to close that skills gap.

and i want you to be sure of this, whether you are a democrat, a republican or anindependent: if i am president, america's mayors will always have a friend in the white house.

now, as i was preparing to come here, i couldn't help but think of some of those who aren'twith us today.

tom menino was a dear friend to me, and to many in this room, and i certainly feel his loss.

today, our thoughts are also with our friend joe riley and the people of charleston. joe's a goodman and a great mayor, and his leadership has been a bright light during such a dark time.

you know, the passing of days has not dulled the pain or the shock of this crime. indeed, as wehave gotten to know the faces and names and stories of the victims, the pain has onlydeepened.

nine faithful women and men, with families and passions and so much left to do.

as a mother, a grandmother, a fellow human being, my heart is bursting for them. for thesevictims and their families. for a wounded community and a wounded church. for our countrystruggling once again to make sense of violence that is fundamentally senseless, and historywe desperately want to leave behind.

yesterday was juneteenth, a day of liberation and deliverance. one-hundred and fifty years ago,as news of president lincoln's emancipation proclamation spread from town to town across thesouth, free men and women lifted their voices in song and prayer.

congregations long forced to worship underground, like the first christians, joyfullyresurrected their churches.

in charleston, the african methodist episcopal church took a new name: emanuel. 'god is withus.'

faith has always seen this community through, and i know it will again.

just as earlier generations threw off the chains of slavery and then segregation and jim crow,this generation will not be shackled by fear and hate.

on friday, one by one, grieving parents and siblings stood up in court and looked at that youngman, who had taken so much from them, and said: 'i forgive you.'

in its way, their act of mercy was more stunning than his act of cruelty.

it reminded me of watching nelson mandela embrace his former jailers because, he said, hedidn't want to be imprisoned twice, once by steel and concrete, once by anger and bitterness.

in these moments of tragedy, many of us struggle with how to process the rush of emotions.

i'd been in charleston that day. i'd gone to a technical school, trident tech. i had seen thejoy, the confidence and optimism of young people who were now serving apprenticeships withlocal businesses, black, white, hispanic, asian, every background. i listened to their stories, ishook their hands, i saw the hope and the pride.

and then by the time i got to las vegas, i read the news.

like many of you, i was so overcome: how to turn grief, confusion into purpose and action?but that's what we have to do.

for me and many others, one immediate response was to ask how it could be possible that weas a nation still allow guns to fall into the hands of people whose hearts are filled with hate.

you can't watch massacre after massacre and not come to the conclusion that, as presidentobama said, we must tackle this challenge with urgency and conviction.

now, i lived in arkansas and i represented upstate new york. i know that gun ownership ispart of the fabric of a lot of law-abiding communities.

but i also know that we can have commonsense gun reforms that keep weapons out of thehands of criminals and the violently unstable, while respecting responsible gun owners.

what i hope with all of my heart is that we work together to make this debate less polarized,less inflamed by ideology, more informed by evidence, so we can sit down across the table,across the aisle from one another, and find ways to keep our communities safe while protectingconstitutional rights.

it makes no sense that bipartisan legislation to require universal background checks wouldfail in congress, despite overwhelming public support.

it makes no sense that we wouldn't come together to keep guns out of the hands of domesticabusers, or people suffering from mental illnesses, even people on the terrorist watch list. thatdoesn't make sense, and it is a rebuke to this nation we love and care about.

the president is right: the politics on this issue have been poisoned. but we can't give up. thestakes are too high. the costs are too dear.

and i am not and will not be afraid to keep fighting for commonsense reforms, and along withyou, achieve those on behalf of all who have been lost because of this senseless gun violencein our country.

but today, i stand before you because i know and you know there is a deeper challenge weface.

i had the great privilege of representing america around the world. i was so proud to shareour e_ample, our diversity, our openness, our devotion to human rights and freedom. thesequalities have drawn generations of immigrants to our shores, and they inspire people still. ihave seen it with my own eyes.

and yet, bodies are once again being carried out of a black church.

once again, racist rhetoric has metastasized into racist violence.

now, it's tempting, it is tempting to dismiss a tragedy like this as an isolated incident, tobelieve that in today's america, bigotry is largely behind us, that institutionalized racism nolonger e_ists.

but despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, america's long struggle with race is far fromfinished.

i know this is a difficult topic to talk about. i know that so many of us hoped by electing ourfirst black president, we had turned the page on this chapter in our history.

i know there are truths we don't like to say out loud or discuss with our children. but we haveto. that's the only way we can possibly move forward together.

race remains a deep fault line in america. millions of people of color still e_perience racism intheir everyday lives.

here are some facts.

in america today, blacks are nearly three times as likely as whites to be denied a mortgage.

in 2022, the median wealth of black families was around $11,000. for white families, it wasmore than $134,000.

nearly half of all black families have lived in poor neighborhoods for at least two generations,compared to just 7 percent of white families.

african american men are far more likely to be stopped and searched by police, charged withcrimes, and sentenced to longer prison terms than white men, 10 percent longer for the samecrimes in the federal system.

in america today, our schools are more segregated than they were in the 1960s.

how can any of that be true? how can it be true that black children are 500 percent more likelyto die from asthma than white kids? five hundred percent!

more than a half century after dr. king marched and rosa parks sat and john lewis bled, afterthe civil rights act and the voting rights act and so much else, how can any of these things betrue? but they are.

and our problem is not all kooks and klansman. it's also in the cruel joke that goesunchallenged. it's in the off-hand comments about not wanting 'those people' in theneighborhood.

let's be honest: for a lot of well-meaning, open-minded white people, the sight of a youngblack man in a hoodie still evokes a twinge of fear. and news reports about poverty and crimeand discrimination evoke sympathy, even empathy, but too rarely do they spur us to actionor prompt us to question our own assumptions and privilege.

we can't hide from any of these hard truths about race and justice in america. we have toname them and own them and then change them.

you may have heard about a woman in north carolina named debbie dills. she's the one whospotted dylann roof's car on the highway. she could have gone on about her business. shecould have looked to her own safety. but that's not what she did. she called the police and thenshe followed that car for more than 30 miles.

as congressman jim clyburn said the other day, 'there may be a lot of dylann roofs in theworld, but there are a lot of debbie dills too. she didn't remain silent.'

well, neither can we. we all have a role to play in building a more tolerant, inclusive society,what i once called 'a village,' where there is a place for everyone.

you know, we americans may differ and bicker and stumble and fall, but we are at our bestwhen we pick each other up, when we have each other's back.

like any family, our american family is strongest when we cherish what we have in common,and fight back against those who would drive us apart.

mayors are on the front lines in so many ways. we look to you for leadership in time of crisis.we look to you every day to bring people together to build stronger communities.

many mayors are part of the u.s. coalition of cities against racism and discrimination,launched by this conference in 2022. i know you're making reforms in your own communities,promoting tolerance in schools, smoothing the integration of immigrants, creating economicopportunities.

mayors across the country also are doing all they can to prevent gun violence and keep ourstreets and neighborhoods safe.

and that's not all. across our country, there is so much that is working. it's easy to forget thatwhen you watch or read the news. in cities and towns from coast to coast, we are seeingincredible innovation. mayors are delivering results with what franklin roosevelt called boldand persistent e_perimentation.

here in san francisco, mayor lee is e_panding a workforce training program for residents ofpublic housing, helping people find jobs who might have spent time in prison or lost theirdriver's license or fallen behind in child support payments.

south of here in los angeles and north in seattle, city governments are raising the minimumwage so more people who work hard can get ahead and support their families.

in philadelphia, mayor nutter is pioneering a new approach to community policing to rebuildtrust and respect between law enforcement and communities of color.

in houston, louisville and chicago, the mayors are finding new ways to help workers train andcompete for jobs in advanced industries.

cities like cleveland and le_ington are linking up their universities and their factories to spur arevival of manufacturing.

in denver and detroit, city leaders are getting creative about how they raise funds forbuilding and repairing mass transit.

providence is helping parents learn how to become their children's first teachers, and spendmore time reading, talking, and singing to their babies at critical stages of early braindevelopment.

kevin johnson, who has led both sacramento and this conference so ably, calls thisrenaissance of urban innovation 'cities 3.0,' and talks about 'open-source leadership' andmayors as pragmatic problem-solvers.

that's what we need more of in america.

and kevin is right, we need to reimagine the relationship between the federal government andour metropolitan areas. top-down, one-size-fits-all solutions rarely work.

we need what i'll call a new fle_ible federalism that empowers and connects communities,leverages their unique advantages, adapts to changing circumstances. and i look forward toworking with all of you to turn this vision into a reality.

i've put four fights at the center of my campaign:

first, to build an economy for tomorrow not yesterday;

second, to strengthen america's families, the foundation of everything we are;

third, to harness all of our power, our smarts, and our values to continue to lead the world;

and fourth, to revitalize our democracy back here at home.

mayors are vital for all four of these efforts. you know what it takes to make governmentactually work, and you know it can make a real difference in people's lives.

but you also know that government alone does not have the answers we seek. if we are going tore-stitch the fraying fabric of our communities, all americans are going to have to step up.there are laws we should pass and programs we should fund and fights we should wage andwin.

but so much of the real work is going to come around kitchen tables and over bedtime stories,around office watercoolers and in factory break rooms, at quiet moments in school and at work,in honest conversations between parents and children, between friends and neighbors.

because fundamentally, this is about the habits of our hearts, how we treat each other, how welearn to see the humanity in those around us, no matter what they look like, how theyworship, or who they love. most of all, it's about how we teach our children to see thathumanity too.

andy young is here, and i want to tell a story about him because i think it's as timely today asit was all those years ago.

you know, at the end of the 1950s the south was beginning to find its way into the moderneconomy. it wasn't easy. there were determined leaders in both government and businessthat wanted to raise the standard of living and recruit businesses, make life better.

when the closing of central high school in little rock happened, and president eisenhower hadto send in federal troops to keep peace, that sent a message of urgency but also opportunity.

i remember andy coming to little rock some years later, and saying that in atlanta when folkssaw what was going on in little rock and saw some of the continuing resistance to enforcingcivil rights laws, opening up closed doors, creating the chance for blacks and whites to studytogether, to work together, to live together, atlanta made a different decision.

the leadership of atlanta came together, looked out across the south and said, 'some place inthe south is really going to make it big. we need to be that place.' and they adopted a slogan, 'the city too busy to hate.'

well, we need to be cities, states and a country too busy to hate. we need to get about thework of tearing down the barriers and the obstacles, roll up our sleeves together, look at what'sworking across our country, and then share it and scale it.

as all of us reeled from the news in charleston this past week, a friend of mine shared thisobservation with a number of us. think about the hearts and values of those men and womenof mother emanuel, he said.

'a dozen people gathered to pray. they're in their most intimate of communities and astranger who doesn't look or dress like them joins in. they don't judge. they don't question.they don't reject. they just welcome. if he's there, he must need something: prayer, love,community, something. during their last hour, nine people of faith welcomed a stranger inprayer and fellowship.'

for those of us who are christians, we remember the words of the scripture: 'i was hungry andyou gave me food. i was thirsty and you gave me drink. i was a stranger and you welcomedme.'

that's humanity at its best. that's also america at its best. and that's the spirit we need tonurture our lives and our families and our communities.

i know it's not usual for somebody running for president to say what we need more of in thiscountry is love and kindness. but that's e_actly what we need more of.

we need to be not only too busy to hate but too caring, too loving to ignore, to walk away, togive up.

part of the reason i'm running for president is i love this country. i am so grateful for each andevery blessing and opportunity i've been given.

i did not pick my parents. i did not decide before i arrived that i would live in a middle classfamily in the middle of america, be given the opportunity to go to good public schools withdedicated teachers and a community that supported me and all of the other kids.

i came of age at a time when barriers were falling for women, another benefit.

i came of age as the civil rights movement was beginning to not only change laws but changehearts.

i've seen the e_pansion of not just rights but opportunities to so many of our fellow men andwomen who had been left out and left behind.

but we have unfinished business. and i am absolutely confident and optimistic we can getthat done.

i stand here ready to work with each and every one of you to support your efforts, to stand withyou, to put the task of moving beyond the past at the head of our national agenda. i'm e_citedabout what we can accomplish together.

i thank you for what you've already done and i look forward to all that you will be doing in thefuture.

thank you. god bless you, and god bless america.

第13篇 美国国务卿克里在美国-东盟部长级会议英语演讲稿

well, everybody, my apologies for being delayed, and i thank everybodyfor their patience and look forward to a very interesting and comprehensive discussion thisevening. i want to begin by thanking foreign minister lwin and the government of myanmar,which has done a very solid job of leading asean as chair this year. and i also want torecognize our new ambassador to asean nina hachigian, who was confirmed just in time tobe here today. (laughter and applause.) we’re delighted to have nina on board, and i know allof you will really enjoy working with her.

the united states remains deeply committed to engaging the asia pacific region. i thinkyou’ve heard us talking about our rebalanced asia and the deep involvement that we havethere, working for the trade agreement, working with respect to security issues and globalclimate change – particularly important. i had occasion to be in the philippines and see theimpact directly of typhoon haiyan. and so we have a lot of work to do, and we are deeplycommitted. president obama has reinforced again and again his intention to keep the unitedstates front and center in the region. i’ve already traveled there – i think it’s five or si_ timesin a year and a half. the president’s been there several times. we’re looking forward to beingback there shortly for the meetings in october, november, and there’s obviously a lot tocontinue to work on.

asean and its centrality is essential to upholding the rules-based system throughout the asiapacific, and it is the best way to ensure that all countries big and small have a voice as we worktogether to address the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities. that’s why theunited states continues to invest so much in the relationship. it’s why we’re deepening our tiesamong our people-to-people programs, like president obama’s young southeast asian leadersinitiative and the u.s.-asean fulbright program. and it’s why we fully support the formationof the asean economic community in 2022.

president obama and i are very much looking forward to being at the east asia summit, but inthe meantime we’re happy to discuss a few of the challenges that we’ve partnered on, includingour maritime security and the global threat of climate change. i hope we can discuss thisevening how best to work on some of the other global issues that we also face today – fore_ample, the growing numbers of foreign fighters from all over the world who have chosen to goto isil and join in their activities and present a danger and risk to all of us. we also obviouslyface the challenge of ebola in west africa, and we need everybody to be involved in the effortto contain it.

so i thank you all for carving out time in what has been an e_traordinarily busy week here innew york. we’ve got some very important conversations to have, but before we turn to that, iwant to recognize foreign minister lwin for his opening comments.

foreign minister lwin: thank you very much, mr. secretary. e_cellencies, at the outset letme e_press my sincere thanks to secretary kerry and the government of the united states ofamerica for hosting this important meeting, taking the opportunity of all our aseancolleagues’ presence here in new york as we are attending the 69th general assembly of theunited nations.

i am delighted to see the progress in asean-u.s. dialogue relations that encompasses all threepillars of the asean community. we appreciate u.s. role in maintaining peace and securityin the region, as well as providing technical assistance for socio-economic and socio-culturaldevelopment in asean member-states.

we are confident that asean and the u.s. can further strengthen cooperation through theeffective implementation of the plan of action to implement the joint vision statement ofasean-u.s. enhanced partnership.

asean-u.s. economic ministers meeting was held on 28 august overseeing the progress ofasean-u.s. economic cooperation and finding ways to move forward on the outstandingaspects of e3 initiative, particularly on nonbinding shared principles of asean-u.s. investment.i hope we could be able to see progress on those matters during the upcoming second asean-u.s. summit in november.

the asean-u.s. business summit was successfully convened in naypyidaw on 28 august,providing opportunities for our business people to interact and build networks. i look forward toseeing increased business activities between asean and the united states. socio-culture andpeople-to-people ties are also the areas that we should focus to promote better understandingbetween the peoples of asean and u.s.

the u.s. supports on the citylinks pilot partnership, which provide capacity building andtechnical (inaudible) programs on climate change adaptation among cities, is timely andeffective as we urgently need to tackle the negative effects of climate change. in this respect,we’ll work with the u.s. for the asean-u.s. joint climate change statement to be issued atthe second asean-u.s. summit.

i look forward to have a fruitful discussion today to further address asean-u.s. engagementin a more comprehensive way. thank you, mr. secretary.

第14篇 奥巴马在菲尼克斯市发表关于美国住房融资体系改革英语演讲稿

the president: hey! hello, phoeni_! (applause.) hello, arizona! (applause.) it is --

audience member: we love you, obama!

the president: i love you back. it is good to be here. (applause.)

i want to say thank you to the thunder for hosting us here today. (applause.) well, we are soglad to be here. i want you to give it up for somebody who's been fighting for homeowners andworking families every single day, who's with me today -- secretary shaun donovan, secretaryof hud. there he is right there. give him a big round of applause. (applause.) we've gotcongressman ed pastor who's here as well. (applause.) we've got your mayor, greg stanton,here. (applause.) doing an outstanding job. and to all the mayors and state legislators andtribal leaders who are here today, thank you. (applause.)

give jorge a big round of applause for his introduction. (applause.) to your superintendent,dr. kenneth baca. (applause.) your principal, dr. anna battle. (applause.) and i appreciateeverybody at desert vista for having me here today. (applause.) it is good to see the studentsare pretty enthusiastic about being back in school. (laughter.) i'm not sure i would have beenthat enthusiastic starting on the 6th. (laughter.)

and i know this isn't your typical school -- second day of school. so i want to give a specialshout-out to the new seniors, class of 2022. (applause.) you are aware that you're not finishedyet. (laughter.) senior year, that's sometimes tempting. i want you all to stay focused.

over the past couple weeks, i have been --

audience member: happy birthday, mr. president!

the president: thank you very much. thank you. (applause.) it was my birthday two daysago. (laughter.) got some singers here.

audience: happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, mr. president. (applause.)

the president: thank you. thank you. thank you. (applause.) i am now 52, and michellesays that i don't look a day over 51. (laughter.)

so over the last few weeks, i've been visiting towns all across the country, talking about whatwe need to do to secure a better bargain for the middle class -- a national strategy to makesure that everybody who works hard has a chance to succeed in the 21st century economy.

and i think people in arizona especially understand the challenges that are out there, becausefor the past four and a half years, together, we fought our way back from a devastatingrecession that cost millions of jobs for americans. a lot of folks lost their homes; a lot of folkslost their savings. and what the recession showed was the long erosion of middle-classsecurity that had been taking place for decades.

but we fought back. we took on a broken health care system. we took on a housing market thatwas in free fall. we invested in new technologies to reverse our addiction to foreign oil. wechanged a ta_ code that had become tilted a little bit too much in favor of the wealthiestamericans at the e_pense of working families. (applause.) we saved the auto industry. we'venow got gm that plans to hire a thousand new workers right ne_t door in chandler to make surewe're building some of the best cars in the world right here in the united states of america. (applause.)

our businesses have created 7.3 million new jobs over the past 41 months. we now sell moreproducts made in america to the rest of the world than ever before. our e_ports are way up. weproduce more renewable energy than ever before, more natural gas than anybody else. healthcare costs have been growing at the slowest rate in 50 years. and our deficits are coming downat the fastest rate in 60 years. so we're making progress. (applause.)

so thanks to the efforts of a lot of people like you, we've cleared away the rubble of the financialcrisis. we're starting to lay the foundation for more stable, more durable economic growth.but as any middle-class family will tell you, we're not yet where we need to be. because evenbefore the crisis hit, we had lived through a decade where a few at the top were doing betterand better, but most families were working harder and harder just to get by.

and reversing this trend should be -- must be -- washington's highest priority. it's myhighest priority. (applause.) i want to make sure that in america, it doesn't matter what youlook like, where you come from, who you love -- you should be able to make it when you try.you should be able to make it. (applause.)

now, unfortunately, for the last year or so, we've had an endless parade of distractions andpolitical posturing and phony scandals that shift focus away from what do we need to do toshore up middle-class families and create ladders of opportunity for folks to get into themiddle class. and as washington heads towards another budget debate, the stakes could notbe higher.

and that's why i'm traveling around, laying out my ideas for how we have to build thecornerstones of what it means to be middle class: a good job with good wages; a home to callyour own; a good education; affordable health care that's there for you when you get sick; asecure retirement even if you're not rich; the opportunity -- the ladders of opportunity forpeople to earn their way into the middle class, to work their way out of poverty. those are theelements that i think all of us believe in, but right now we're not delivering as much as weshould on those promises.

now, last tuesday, i went to tennessee to talk about the first cornerstone, which is how do wemake sure that we're creating good middle-class jobs here in the united states of america.today i've come to phoeni_ to talk about the second component, which is the most tangiblecornerstone that lies at the heart of the american dream, at the heart of middle-class life -- andthat's the chance to own your own home. (applause.) the chance to own your own home.

we've got a lot of young people here who are thinking about college, they're going to get ahigher education, they're going to find a job, they're going to find somebody they love, they'regoing to want to own a home. and the reason they will is because a home is the ultimateevidence that here in america, hard work pays off, that responsibility is rewarded.

i think about my grandparents' generation. when my grandfather served in world war ii, hefought in patton's army -- when he got back, this country gave him a chance to go to college onthe g.i. bill, but it also gave him the chance to buy his first home with a loan from the fha. tohim, and to generations of americans before and since, a home was more than just a house. itwas a source of pride and a source of security. it was a place to raise kids, to put downroots; a place where you could build up savings for college, or to start a business, or to retirewith some security.

and buying a home required responsibility on everybody's part. you had to save up to buy ahome. and then banks were supposed to give you a fair deal, with terms you couldunderstand, and buyers were supposed to live within their means and make sure that theycould make their payments. so in that earlier generation, houses weren't for flipping around,they weren't for speculation -- houses were to live in, and to build a life with.

and unfortunately, over time, responsibility too often gave way to recklessness. you hadreckless lenders who sold loans to people they knew couldn't afford them. and let's face it, wealso had some reckless buyers who knew they couldn't afford them and still took out loans.and all this created a housing bubble. and especially in some places like arizona, it wasdevastating when that bubble finally burst -- triggered a recession. millions of americans whohad done everything right were hurt badly by the actions of other people. housing pricesplummeted.

by the time i took office, home values had fallen almost 20 percent from the year before. newhousing starts had fallen nearly 80 percent from their peak. hundreds of thousands ofconstruction workers had lost their jobs. a record number of people were behind on theirmortgage payments. and a lot of people here in phoeni_, they saw that devastation. this waspart of ground zero for the housing bubble bursting.

so less than a month after i took office, i came here to arizona and i laid out steps to stabilizethe housing market and help responsible homeowners get back on their feet. and the truth isit's been a long, slow process. the housing market is so big that it was going to take some timeto heal when it got hurt that badly. it's taken longer than any of us would like. but during thattime, we helped millions of americans save an average of $3,000 each year by refinancing atlower rates. we helped millions of responsible homeowners stay in their homes, which was goodfor their neighbors because you don't want a bunch of foreclosure signs in your neighborhood.

where congress wouldn't act, we went ahead and acted, so over the past few years, we had thedepartment of justice stand up for buyers who had been discriminated against or conned bypredatory lending. and we won a settlement that gave more money to victims ofdiscrimination in one year than in the previous 23 years combined. (applause.)

we worked with states to force big banks to repay more than $50 billion to more than 1.5million families -- largest lending settlement in history. (applause.) we e_tended the time thatfolks who had lost their jobs could delay their payment on their mortgages while they keptlooking for work. we cracked down on the bad practices that led to the crisis in the first place. imean, you had some loans back there in the bubble that were called “liar's loan.” now,something that's called a liar's loan is probably a bad idea. (laughter.)

so because of all these actions we've been taking, our housing market is beginning to heal.home prices are rising at the fastest pace in seven years. sales are up nearly 50 percent.construction is up nearly 75 percent. new foreclosures are down by nearly two-thirds. millions offamilies have been able to come up for air -- they're no longer underwater on their mortgages. (applause.)

and just like the crisis hit phoeni_ very hard, thanks to some great leadership here locally,phoeni_ has also led one of the biggest comebacks in the country. (applause.) so you should beproud of what you've done here. home prices in phoeni_ have risen by nearly 20 percent overthe last year. new home sales are up by more than 25 percent.

this morning, right before i came here, i visited erickson construction -- (applause.) we'vegot some erickson folks here. and they were e_plaining how right when the bubble hit,erickson shrank to less than a hundred workers. today they're employing 580 people -- andthey're hiring even more people -- (applause) -- because the housing market is bouncing back.

so that's one of the things about housing. it's not just important for the person who owns thehouse; our economy is so impacted by everything that happens in housing. consumers feelbetter when their home values are in a better place, so they're more willing to spend. a lot ofpeople who want to start a business, their savings may be locked up in their house.construction workers, contractors, suppliers, carpet makers, all these folks are impacted by thehousing industry.

so we've made progress, and that's helped to move the economy forward. but we've got tobuild on this progress. we're not where we need to be yet. we've got to give more hardworkingamericans the chance to buy their first home. (applause.) we have to help more responsiblehomeowners refinance their mortgages, because a lot of them still have a spread between therates they're paying right now on their mortgage and what they could be getting if they wereable to refinance.

and we've got to turn the page on this kind of bubble-and-bust mentality that helped tocreate this mess in the first place. (applause.) we got to build a housing system that isdurable and fair and rewards responsibility for generations to come. that's what we've got todo. (applause.)

so i've already put forward a bunch of ideas that will help accomplish that. and, look, the factof the matter is congress hasn't enacted all of them, so i'd like you to encourage members ofcongress to take some of these actions. (applause.)

but like the other actions that we've taken, these will not help the neighbors down the streetwho bought a house that they couldn't afford, and then walked away from it and left aforeclosed home behind. we don't want to help speculators who bought multiple homes just tomake a quick buck.

what we want to do is put forward ideas that will help millions of responsible, middle-classhomeowners who still need relief. and we want to help hardworking americans who dream ofowning their own home fair and square, have a down payment, are willing to make thosepayments, understand that owning a home requires responsibility. and there are someimmediate actions we could take right now that would help on that front, that would make adifference. so let me just list a couple of them.

number one: congress should pass a good, bipartisan idea to allow every homeowner thechance to save thousands of dollars a year by refinancing their mortgage at today's rates. (applause.) we need to get that done. we've been talking about it for a year and a half, twoyears, three years. there's no reason not to do it. (applause.)

step number two: now that we've made it harder for reckless buyers to buy homes that theycan't afford, let's make it a little bit easier for qualified buyers to buy the homes that they canafford. (applause.) so shaun donovan has been working with the finance industry to make surewe're simplifying overlapping regulations; we're cutting red tape for responsible families whowant to get a mortgage but keep getting rejected by the banks. we need to give well-qualified americans who lost their jobs during the crisis a fair chance to get a loan if they'veworked hard to repair their credit.

and step three is something that you don't always hear about when it comes to the housingmarket, and that is fi_ing our broken immigration system. it would actually help our housingmarket. (applause.)

it's pretty simple: when more people buy homes and play by the rules, home values go up foreverybody. and according to one recent study, the average homeowner has already seen thevalue of their home boosted by thousands of dollars just because of immigration. and the goodnews is, with the help of your senators, john mccain and jeff flake, the senate has alreadypassed a bipartisan immigration bill. it's got the support of ceos and labor and lawenforcement. (applause.) this could help homeownership here.

so i want you to encourage republicans in the house of representatives to stop draggingtheir feet. let's go ahead and get this done.

step number four: we should address the uneven recovery by rebuilding the communities hitthe hardest by the housing crisis, including many right here in arizona. let's put constructionback -- construction workers back to work repairing rundown homes, tearing down vacantproperties so that the value of homes in those surrounding areas start picking up. we can putpeople to work right now and improve the remaining housing stock that's out there. (applause.) places that are facing a longer road back from the crisis should have their country'shelp to get back on their feet.

step five: we should make sure families that don't want to buy a home or can't yet afford tobuy one still have a decent place to rent. (applause.) it's important for us to encouragehomeownership, but a lot of people rent and there's nothing wrong with renting. and we got tomake sure that we are creating affordable opportunities when it comes to rental properties.

in the run-up to the crisis, banks and governments too often made everybody feel like they hadto own a home, even if they weren't ready and didn't have the payments. that's a mistake weshould not repeat. instead, let's invest in affordable rental housing. let's bring together citiesand states to address local barriers that drive up rents for working families. (applause.)

so if we help more americans refinance their homes, if we help qualified families get amortgage, we reform our immigration system, we rebuild the hardest-hit communities, wemake sure that folks have a decent place to rent if they're not yet able to buy -- all these stepswill give more middle-class families the chance to either buy their own home now or eventuallybuy their own home. it's going to give more relief to responsible homeowners. it gives moreoptions to families who aren't yet ready to buy. all that is going to improve the housing marketand will improve the economy.

but -- and this is the last key point i want to make -- as home prices rise, we can't just re-inflate another housing bubble. i hope everybody here in arizona learned some hard lessonsfrom what happened. housing prices generally don't just keep on going up forever at the kindof pace it was going up. it was crazy. so what we want to do is something stable and steady.and that's why i want to lay a rock-solid foundation to make sure the kind of crisis we wentthrough never happens again. we've got to make sure it doesn't happen again. (applause.)

and one of the key things to make sure it doesn't happen again is to wind down thesecompanies that are not really government, but not really private sector -- they're known asfreddie mac and fannie mae. for too long, these companies were allowed to make huge profitsbuying mortgages, knowing that if their bets went bad, ta_payers would be left holding thebag. it was “heads we win, tails you lose.” and it was wrong. and along with what happened onwall street, it helped to inflate this bubble in a way that ultimately killed main street.

so the good news is, right now there's a bipartisan group of senators working to end fannie andfreddie as we know them. and i support these kinds of reform efforts. and they're followingfour core principles for what i believe this reform should look like.

first, private capital should take a bigger role in the mortgage market. i know that soundsconfusing to folks who call me a socialist -- i think i saw some posters there on the way in. (laughter.) but i actually believe in the free market. and just like the health care law that weput in place, obamacare -- (applause) -- which, by the way, if you don't have healthinsurance or you're buying it at e_orbitant rates on the individual market, starting on october1st, you can join a marketplace and be part of a pool that gives you much lower premiums,saves you a lot of money. (applause.)

but in the same way that what we did with health care was to set up clear rules for insurancecompanies to protect consumers, make it more affordable, but still built on the privatemarketplace, i believe that our housing system should operate where there's a limitedgovernment role and private lending should be the backbone of the housing market. and thatincludes, by the way, community-based lenders who view their borrowers not as a number, butas a neighbor. so that's one principle.

a second principle is we can't leave ta_payers on the hook for irresponsibility or baddecisions by some of these lenders or fannie mae or freddie mac. (applause.) we've got toencourage the pursuit of profit, but the era of e_pecting a bailout after you pursue your profitand you don't manage your risk well -- well, that puts the whole country at risk. and we'reending those days. we're not going to do that anymore. (applause.)

the third principle is we should preserve access to safe and simple mortgage products likethe 30-year, fi_ed-rate mortgage. that's something families should be able to rely on whenthey're making the most important purchase of their lives. (applause.)

number four, we've got to keep housing affordable for first-time homebuyers -- like all theseyoung people. when they're ready to buy a house, we've got to make sure it's affordable.families who are working to climb their way into the middle class, we've got to do what we canto make housing affordable. and that means we've got to strengthen the fha so it givestoday's families the same kind of chance it gave my grandparents to buy a home, and itpreserves those rungs on the ladder of opportunity.

and we've got to support, as i said, affordable rental housing. and, by the way, we've also gotto keep up our fight against homelessness. (applause.) the mayor of phoeni_ has been doing agreat job here in phoeni_ on that front. we've got to continue to improve it. (applause.)

since i took office, we helped bring one in four homeless veterans off the streets. (applause.)we should be proud of that. here in phoeni_, thanks to the hard work of everyone from mayorstanton to the local united way to us airways, you're on track to end chronic homelessnessfor veterans, period, by 2022. (applause.)

but we've got to keep going, because nobody in america, and certainly no veteran, should beleft to live on the streets. (applause.)

so here's the bottom line: put all these principles together, that's going to protect our entireeconomy and it will improve the housing market not just here in phoeni_, but throughout thestate and throughout the country.

we're also going to need to make sure, though, that we're protecting individual homeowners.we've got to give them the tools that they can protect themselves. so we've got a consumerfinance protection bureau that we created. (applause.) and it's laying down new rules of theroad that everybody can count on when they're shopping for a mortgage. they're designing anew, simple mortgage form that will be in plain english, so you can actually read it without alawyer -- (applause) -- although, you may still want a lawyer obviously. i'm not saying youdon't. i'm just saying you'll be able to read it. (laughter.) there won't be a lot of fine print.that way you know before you owe. (laughter and applause.)

and the senate finally confirmed richard cordray as the head of this -- head watchdog for thecfpb. (applause.) so he's out there aggressively protecting consumers and homeowners.

when it comes to some of the other leaders we need to look out for the american people, thesenate still has a job to do. months ago, i nominated a man named mel watt to be our nation'stop housing regulator. he is an outstanding member of congress. and during that time, hewas on the housing committee -- worked with banks, worked with borrowers to protectconsumers, to help responsible lenders provide credit. he is the right person for the job.congress and the senate should give his nomination an up or down vote without any moreobstruction or delay. we don't have time for those kinds of games. (applause.)

so i want to be honest with you. no program or policy is going to solve all the problems in amulti-trillion dollar housing market. the housing bubble went up so high, the heights itreached before it burst were so unsustainable, that we knew it was going to take some time forus to fully recover. but if we take the steps that i talked about today, then i know we willrestore not just our home values, but also our common values. we'll make owning a home asymbol of responsibility, not speculation -- a source of security for generations to come,just like it was for my grandparents. i want it to be just like that for all the young people whoare here today and their children and their grandchildren. (applause.)

and if we stay focused on middle-class security and opportunities to get into the middle class,if we take the strategy that i'm laying out for the entire economy -- for jobs and housing andeducation, health care, retirement, creating ladders of opportunity -- then we will secure thatbetter bargain for all americans, where hard work is once again rewarded with a shot at amiddle-class life, which means more americans will know the pride of that first paycheck. moreamericans will know the satisfaction of flipping the sign to “open” on their own business. moreamericans will know the joy of scratching the child's height on the door of their new home --with pencil, of course. (laughter.)

we can do all this if we work together. and it won't be easy. but if we take just a few boldsteps -- and if washington will just end the gridlock, set aside the slash-and-burn partisanship-- (applause) -- actually try to solve problems instead of scoring political points, our economywill grow stronger a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now. (applause.)

and as long as i've got the privilege to serve as your president, that's what i'm going to befighting for.

thank you very much, everybody. god bless you. (applause.)

第15篇 国务卿克里对美国硅谷demo fall 2022大会英语演讲稿

i’d like to say hello to everyoneparticipating in demo fall in silicon valley! it’s really aprivilege for me to share some thoughts with so manytalented young leaders.

demo showcases the best of thebest when it comes to innovation around the world. andthat’s why demo has brought togetherentrepreneurs and innovators from sub-saharan africaand southeast asia, frombrazil, china, and beyond.

during my travels as secretary ofstate, i’ve seen firsthand the amazing transformationtaking place in many ofyour countries. and what’s driving thattransformation is really whatmakes it so e_citing – it’s young entrepreneursand innovators, all with a bold new idea and thedrive to take that idea andmake it a reality.

i am especially pleased that demois promoting entrepreneurs from sub-saharan africa andsoutheast asia, where irecently spent a couple of weeks. thestate department is very proud tobe a partner in these efforts, because weknow that the best ideas are simply never bound byborders.

that’s why we’re working hand inhand with the private sector, ngos, universities, andgovernments. and that’s why our office of global partnershipshas launched “lions africa”and “tigers at mekong,” two e_citing public-privatepartnerships that strengthenentrepreneurship in africa and the lower mekongsub-region in southeast asia.

as you know, the work you’redoing isn’t just about making money – it’s about makingpeople’s livesbetter. and when you succeed, you fueltechnological innovation and createeconomic opportunity and jobs not just foryour own people, but for people around the globe.

i’m confident that in this roomis the ne_t big idea, the ne_t start-up of tomorrow – it’s inyour labs, it’sin your imaginations. so take advantageof this opportunity to network, makegreat connections, and find novel ideas tostand behind and support. you’ll have my support andthe support of the statedepartment in that effort, i promise you.

all of you are risk-takers anddreamers. you’re not just the leaders of tomorrow – you’reactually leadingtoday. and that makes all thedifference. you’re changing the world evenas wespeak. and when i think of yourtalent and drive – your passion and creativity – i reallycouldn’t be moreoptimistic about the future that we can build together. so thank you for allthat you do, and i hopeyou enjoy the rest of your visit.