Michelle Obama's Speech to the Democratic National Convention
Charlotte, N.C.
September 4, 2012
米歇尔·奥巴马在美国民主党全国大会上的演讲
夏洛特，北卡罗来纳
2012年9月4日
Thank you so much, Elaine. … We are so grateful for your family's service and sacrifice … and we will always have your back.
非常感谢，伊莱恩。非常感谢你和家人的工作与牺牲，你们总是我们的坚强后盾。
Over the past few years as First Lady, I have had the extraordinary privilege of traveling all across this country. And everywhere I've gone, in the people I've met, and the stories I've heard, I have seen the very best of the American spirit.
过去几年作为第一夫人，我有幸走遍了我们国家的众多地方。所到之处，所遇之人，以及从他们那里听到的故事，让我深深体会到了美国精神的精髓。
I have seen it in the incredible kindness and warmth that people have shown me and my family, especially our girls.
我的体会来自人们给予我和我的家人，尤其是我们的女儿的友好与温暖中。
I've seen it in teachers in a near-bankrupt school district who vowed to keep teaching without pay.
我的体会来自在一个濒临破产的学区，老师们发誓您可无偿上课也要让学校开下去。
I've seen it in people who become heroes at a moment's notice, diving into harm's way to save others … flying across the country to put out a fire … driving for hours to bail out a flooded town.
我的体会来自人们义无反顾地冒着危险去拯救他人...不远万里地去救火...驱车数小时地去拯救即将被洪水淹没的城镇。
And I've seen it in our men and women in uniform and our proud military families … in wounded warriors who tell me they're not just going to walk again, they're going to run, and they're going to run marathons … in the young man blinded by a bomb in Afghanistan who said, simply, "… I'd give my eyes 100 times again to have the chance to do what I have done and what I can still do."
我的体会来自我们的军人及引以为自豪的家人... 来自那些受伤的士兵口中所说：他们不仅要再次走起路来，更要跑起来，甚至要去跑马拉松... 来自一位在阿富汗被炸瞎眼睛的年轻士兵口中，“如果有机会让我做我所做过和能做的事情，我愿一百次牺牲我的双眼。”
Every day, the people I meet inspire me … every day, they make me proud … every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth.
每一天，我遇到的人们都激励着我;每一天，他们都让我感到骄傲...每一天，他们都提醒我生活在这个地球上最伟大国家是多么的幸福。
Serving as your first lady is an honor and a privilege … but back when we first came together four years ago, I still had some concerns about this journey we'd begun.
成为为第一夫人对我来说是一种无上的荣幸，但回想四年前我们第一次在这里相聚时，我仍然对前面的路有些许担心。
While I believed deeply in my husband's vision for this country, … and I was certain he would make an extraordinary president, … like any mother, I was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance.
虽然我深信我的丈夫对这个国家设计的愿景...我也确信他会成为一名杰出的总统...，但像任何一位母亲一样，我很担心如果他获得总统的机会的话，将对我们的女儿意味着什么。
How would we keep them grounded under the glare of the national spotlight?
我们该如何让她们适应在全国的聚光灯的强光之下呢?
How would they feel being uprooted from their school, their friends, and the only home they'd ever known?
让她们离开熟悉的学校、朋友和唯一成长的家园，她们会有什么感受呢?
Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys: … Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma's house … and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn't stay awake for both.
搬到华盛顿之前我们的生活充满了简单的快乐：星期六足球比赛，星期日在奶奶家，我和巴拉克的约会之夜要么是晚餐，要么是看场电影，因为作为一个辛苦的母亲，我无法保持二者兼顾。
And the truth is, I loved the life we had built for our girls. … I deeply loved the man I had built that life with, … and I didn't want that to change if he became president.
而事实是，我喜欢我们为女儿们创造的生活。...我深深爱着同我一起创造这个生活的我的男人... 我不想如果他成为总统这一切就要发生改变。
I loved Barack just the way he was.
我爱巴拉克原来的样子。
You see, even though back then Barack was a senator and a presidential candidate … to me, he was still the guy who'd picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door. … He was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he'd found in a Dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small.
你们看，即使当时巴拉克作为参议员和美国总统候选人，对于我来说，他仍然是那个愿意约会时开车来接我的人，那辆车已经生了很多绣，我甚至可以从侧门上的洞看到外面的路。他仍然是那个人，最为珍贵的东西，是在一个垃圾箱捡到的一张咖啡桌，唯一一双像样的鞋却小一半尺寸。
But when Barack started telling me about his family — that's when I knew I had found a kindred spirit, someone whose values and upbringing were so much like mine.
但当巴拉克和我讲述我他的家庭的时候 - 我知道我找到了一个知己，他的价值观和成长经历与我多么相似。
You see, Barack and I were both raised by families who didn't have much in the way of money or material possessions but who had given us something far more valuable: their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves.
我和巴拉克都是在没有很多金钱或物质财富的家庭中长大，但父母却给了我们更有价值的东西：他们无条件的爱，无所畏惧的付出，以及让我们取得他们不敢奢想的成功机会。
My father was a pump operator at the city water plant, and he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when my brother and I were young.
我的父亲是城市自来水厂的泵站操作员，我和哥哥小的时候，他被诊断出患有多发性硬化症。
And even as a kid, I knew there were plenty of days when he was in pain. … I knew there were plenty of mornings when it was a struggle for him to simply get out of bed.
即使还是个孩子，我也能体会到他每日的痛苦。我知道即使每天早晨简单地下床对他来说都是一种折磨。
But every morning, I watched my father wake up with a smile, grab his walker, prop himself up against the bathroom sink, and slowly shave and button his uniform.
但每天早上，我看到我的父亲醒来，面带微笑，抓住他的助行器，支撑起自己，顶着卫生局的水槽，慢慢地刮好胡子，系上制服扣子。
And when he returned home after a long day's work, my brother and I would stand at the top of the stairs to our little apartment, patiently waiting to greet him, … watching as he reached down to lift one leg, and then the other, to slowly climb his way into our arms.
当一整天的工作后他回到家，我和哥哥会站在公寓门口的楼梯顶，耐心地等待迎接他，...看着他一条腿一条腿地艰难抬起，慢慢地爬上楼走向我们的怀抱。
But despite these challenges, my dad hardly ever missed a day of work. … He and my mom were determined to give me and my brother the kind of education they could only dream of.
但是，尽管有这些挑战，我的爸爸几乎没有错过一天的工作。他和妈妈要给我和哥哥最理想的教育。
And when my brother and I finally made it to college, nearly all of our tuition came from student loans and grants.
而当我和哥哥终于上了大学，我们几乎所有的学费都是来自学生贷款和助学金。
But my dad still had to pay a tiny portion of that tuition himself.
但我的爸爸还是要支付学费的一小部分。
And every semester, he was determined to pay that bill right on time, even taking out loans when he fell short.
每学期，他都一定要按时要支付学费，哪怕在万分拮据时从别人那里借贷。
He was so proud to be sending his kids to college, … and he made sure we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late.
他很自豪能够送他的孩子们上大学，他还要确保我们不会因为晚交学费而错过报名截止日期。
You see, for my dad, that's what it meant to be a man.
对于我的父亲，这就是作为一个男人所要做的。
Like so many of us, that was the measure of his success in life — being able to earn a decent living that allowed him to support his family.
像我们中很多人一样，那是他在生活中取得成功的措施 - 能获得体面的生活，使他能够支持他的家人。
And as I got to know Barack, I realized that even though he'd grown up all the way across the country, he'd been brought up just like me.
当我与巴拉克相识的时候，我意识到，即使他成长在与我远隔千里的另一个角落，他的经历与我却那么的相似。
Barack was raised by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills, and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help.
巴拉克是由一个单身母亲抚养，她每日挣扎着为生活支付花销，在她需要帮助的时候，巴拉克的外祖母挺身而出。
Barack's grandmother started out as a secretary at a community bank, … and she moved quickly up the ranks. … But like so many women, she hit a glass ceiling.
巴拉克的外祖母起初在社区银行担任秘书，很快获得了升职。但是，同很多女性一样，她遭遇了很多障碍。
And for years, men no more qualified than she was — men she had actually trained — were promoted up the ladder ahead of her, earning more and more money while Barack's family continued to scrape by.
多年里，那些资格不如甚至是她亲自培养的男性员工，获得提拔超过了她，赢得越来越多的收入，而巴拉克的家人仍然只能继续勉强度日。
But day after day, she kept on waking up at dawn to catch the bus, … arriving at work before anyone else, … giving her best without complaint or regret.
但日复一日，她坚持黎明醒来就去赶公共汽车，在其他人之前到达工作岗位，无怨无悔地付出。
And she would often tell Barack, "So long as you kids do well, Bar, that's all that really matters."
她会经常告诉巴拉克，“只要你们孩子过的很好，巴拉克，这才是真正重要的。”
Like so many American families, our families weren't asking for much.
正如很多美国家庭一样，我们的家庭不奢望获得很多。
They didn't begrudge anyone else's success or care that others had much more than they did. … In fact, they admired it.
他们不会因别人的成功而心生嫉妒，或在意他人比自己拥有更多。事实上，他们对之表现的是敬佩。
They simply believed in that fundamental American promise that, even if you don't start out with much, if you work hard and do what you're supposed to do, then you should be able to build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and grandkids.
他们只是相信美国的最根本承诺：哪怕你开始时没有很多优势，如果你努力工作，做你应该做的，那么你就能够自己创造一个体面的生活，甚至为你的孩子和子孙们创造更好的生活。
That's how they raised us. … That's what we learned from their example.
这就是他们教育我们的方式。这就是我们从他们身上学到的。
We learned about dignity and decency, that how hard you work matters more than how much you make, … that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself.
我们学到了尊严和体面，你付出的努力要远比你能得到的重要，...帮助别人要比自己一个人走在前面意味着更多。
We learned about honesty and integrity. That the truth matters, … that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules. … And success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.
我们学到了诚实和正直。实事求是，不要走捷径或发挥自己的一套规则。成功只有在公平、公正的基础上获得才算真正的成功。
We learned about gratitude and humility. That so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean — … and we were taught to value everyone's contribution and treat everyone with respect.
我们学到了感恩和谦卑。很多人在我们的成功道路上提供了帮助，无论是激励我们学习的老师还是保持校园清洁的校工...我们被教导要珍视每个人的付出，尊重每个人。
Those are the values Barack and I — and so many of you — are trying to pass on to our own children.
这些都是我和巴拉克，以及你们所有人，试图要传承给我们自己孩子价值观。
That's who we are.
这就是我们。
And standing before you four years ago, I knew that I didn't want any of that to change if Barack became president.
四年前站在你面前，我知道，我不希望有任何的改变，如果奥巴马成为总统。
Well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways I never could have imagined, I have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are — it reveals who you are.
而今天，经过了这么多的斗争和胜利的时刻，在许多我永远无法想象的方式考验我的丈夫后，我已经亲眼见证，成为总统并没有改变你是谁 - 它展示了你是谁。
You see, I've gotten to see up close and personal what being president really looks like.
你们看，我已经近距离亲眼看到了当总统应该有的样子。
And I've seen how the issues that come across a President's desk are always the hard ones — the problems where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer. … The judgment calls where the stakes are so high, and there is no margin for error.
我见到总统的办公桌上摆着的各种问题永远是那么棘手 - 没有具体的数字能够将让你得到正确的答案。决断面临的利害关系和风险是如此之高，不容有任何差错。
And as president, you can get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people.
作为总统，你可以得到各种人的各种意见。
