小说园

第10章 在这个艰难的冬天 2（第1页）

therearesomewhoquestionthescaleofourambitions—whosuggestthatoursystemcannottoleratetoomanybiglans。Theirmemoriesareshort。Fortheyhaveforgottenwhatthiscountryhasalreadydone;whatfreemenandwomencanachievewhenimaginationisjoinedtocommonurose，andnecessitytocourage。

Whatthecynicsfailtounderstandisthatthegroundhasshiftedbeneaththem—thatthestaleoliticalargumentsthathaveconsumedusforsolongnolongeraly。Thequestionweasktodayisnotwhetherourgovernmentistoobigortoosmall，butwhetheritworks—whetherithelsfamiliesfindjobsatadecentwage，caretheycanafford，aretirementthatisdignified。Wheretheanswerisyes，weintendtomoveforward。Wheretheanswerisno，rogramswillend。Andthoseofuswhomanagetheublic’sdollarswillbeheldtoaccount—tosendwisely，reformbadhabitsanddoourbusinessinthelightofday—becauseonlythencanwerestorethevitaltrustbetweenaeoleandtheirgovernment。

Noristhequestionbeforeuswhetherthemarketisaforceforgoodorill。Itsowertogeneratewealthandexandfreedomisunmatched，butthiscrisishasremindedusthatwithoutawatchfuleye，themarketcansinoutofcontrol—thenationcannotroserlongwhenitfavorsonlytheroserous。ThesuccessofoureconomyhasalwaysdeendednotjustonthesizeofourGrossDomesticProduct，butonthereachofourroserity;ontheabilitytoextendoortunitytoeverywillingheart—notoutofcharity，butbecauseitisthesurestroutetoourcommongood。

Asforourcommondefense，werejectasfalsethechoicebetweenoursafetyandourideals。OurFoundingFathers，facedwitherilsthatwecanscarcelyimagine，draftedachartertoassuretheruleoflawandtherightsofman，acharterexandedbythebloodofgenerations。Thoseidealsstilllighttheworld，andwewillnotgivethemuforexedience’ssake。Andsotoalltheothereolesandgovernmentswhoarewatchingtoday，fromthegrandestcaitalstothesmallvillagewheremyfatherwasborn:knowthatAmericaisafriendofeachnationandeveryman，woman，andchildwhoseeksafutureofeaceanddignity，andwearereadytoleadoncemore。

Recallthatearliergenerationsfaceddownfascismandcommunismnotjustwithmissilesandtanks，butwiththesturdyalliancesandenduringconvictions。Theyunderstoodthatouroweralonecannotrotectus，nordoesitentitleustodoaswelease。Instead，theyknewthatourowergrowsthroughitsrudentuse;oursecurityemanatesfromthejustnessofourcause，theforceofourexamle，thetemeringqualitiesofhumilityandrestraint。

Wearethekeeersofthislegacy。Guidedbytheserincilesoncemore，wecanmeetthosenewthreatsthatdemandevengreatereffort—evengreatercooerationandunderstandingbetweennations。WewillbegintoresonsiblyleaveIraqtoitseole，andforgeahard-earnedeaceinAfghanistan。Witholdfriendsandformerfoes，wewillworktirelesslytolessenthenuclearthreat，androllbackthesecterofawarminglanet。

Forweknowthatouratchworkheritageisastrength，notaweakness。WeareanationofChristiansandMuslims，JewsandHindus—andnon-believers。Weareshaedbyeverylanguageandculture，drawnfromeveryendofthisEarth;andbecausewehavetastedthebitterswillofcivilwarandsegregation，andemergedfromthatdarkchaterstrongerandmoreunited，wecannothelbutbelievethattheoldhatredsshallsomedayass;thatthelinesoftribeshallsoondissolve;thatastheworldgrowssmaller，ourcommonhumanityshallrevealitself;andthatAmericamustlayitsroleinusheringinaneweraofeace。

TotheMuslimworld，weseekanewwayforward，basedonmutualinterestandmutualresect。Tothoseleadersaroundtheglobewhoseektosowconflict，orblametheirsociety’sillsontheWest—knowthatyoureolewilljudgeyouonwhatyoucanbuild，notwhatyoudestroy。Tothosewhoclingtoowerthroughcorrutionanddeceitandthesilencingofdissent，knowthatyouareonthewrongsideofhistory;butthatwewillextendahandifyouarewillingtounclenchyourfist。

Totheeoleofoornations，weledgetoworkalongsideyoutomakeyourfarmsflourishandletcleanwatersflow;tonourishstarvedbodiesandfeedhungryminds。Andtothosenationslikeoursthatenjoyrelativelenty，wesaywecannolongeraffordindifferencetothesufferingoutsideourborders;norcanweconsumetheworld’sresourceswithoutregardtoeffect。Fortheworldhaschanged，andwemustchangewithit。