奥巴马最后的国情咨文：美国不要害怕！

In State of the Union, Obama Confronts Americans’ Fears
奥巴马最后的国情咨文：美国不要害怕！

WASHINGTON ―President Obama on Tuesday tried to reconcile his optimistic assessment of the nation’s progress with the anxieties he conceded have gripped Americans during his tenure, using his final State of the Union address to try to burnish his record and frame the campaign to succeed him.

华盛顿――本周二，奥巴马总统试图调和自己对美国取得进展的乐观评估与他承认的美国民众在他任期当中陷入的焦虑情绪。他希望利用自己最后一次国情咨文演讲，突出执政功绩，并试图为继任者的竞选定下基调。

In a prime-time speech that was more a broad statement of his vision rather than a policy prescription, Mr. Obama sought to paint a hopeful portrait of the nation after seven years in office, with a resurgent economy and better standing in the world despite ongoing challenges of inequality at home and terrorism abroad.

此次黄金时间的演讲更像是奥巴马对愿景的概述，而非开出政策处方。他尝试描绘出一幅自己执政七年之后美国前途一片光明的画卷：尽管依然对内面临贫富差距的挑战、对外要应付恐怖主义的威胁，但美国经济复苏，并在世界上占据了更有利的地位。

But he acknowledged that many Americans felt frightened and shut out of a political and economic system they view as rigged against their interests, even as he offered an implicit rebuke of Republicans who are playing on those insecurities in the presidential race.

不过，奥巴马承认，不少美国人忧心忡忡，感到被他们眼中不顾及民众利益的受到操控的政治经济体制排除在外，尽管他也间接驳斥了在总统竞选中利用这些不安情绪的共和党人。

“As frustration grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into tribes, to scapegoat fellow citizens who don’t look like us, or pray like us, or vote like we do, or share the same background,” Mr. Obama said. “We can’t afford to go down that path. It won’t deliver the economy we want, or the security we want, but most of all, it contradicts everything that makes us the envy of the world.”

“当不满滋生的时候，会有声音敦促我们回到小团体中，将那些与我们外形有别、祈祷方式有异、投票意向不同、或背景有差别的同胞视作替罪羊，”奥巴马说。“我们不能走那样的道路。这不会带给我们期望的繁荣经济、安全环境，但最重要的是，这与那些让我们受全世界艳羡的观念背道而驰。”

Mr. Obama sought to contrast Republicans’ bleak appraisals of the state of the nation with his own upbeat argument. He defended decisions and accomplishments that have become flash points for a partisan divide that has grown deeper during his time in office.

奥巴马试图将共和党人对国情的惨淡描绘与自己的乐观基调进行对比。在他任职期间，党派分歧进一步加剧。对于那些引爆这类分歧的决定与成果，奥巴马予以辩护。

And he appealed to Americans to reject the politics of fear and the polarization that has led to gridlock throughout his presidency. He argued that the country can confront the challenges of the future only if people embrace change.

他请求美国民众排斥玩弄担忧情绪和分化对立的政治把戏，也正是这种政治常态令他的总统任期不时遭遇僵局。他提出，只有民众接纳变革，美国才能应对未来的种种挑战。

“America has been through big changes before ― wars and depression, the influx of immigrants, workers fighting for a fair deal, and movements to expand civil rights,” Mr. Obama said. “Each time, there have been those who told us to fear the future; who claimed we could slam the brakes on change, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening America under control.”

“美国以前经历过许多重大变革――战争、经济萧条、移民潮、劳动者为公平所做的抗争，还有为扩大民权进行的运动，”奥巴马说。“每一次，都有人告诉我们要惧怕未来；他们宣称我们可以在风云变幻之时猛地踩下刹车，承诺恢复往日的荣光，只要我们控制住威胁美国的某些团体或理念。”

In the past, the president said, “We overcame those fears. We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the ‘dogmas of the quiet past.’ Instead we thought anew, and acted anew.”

总统表示，过去那些时刻，“我们克服了这种恐惧。按照林肯的话说，我们没有囿于‘平静的过去时代的信条’，而是接纳了新的思维，采取了新的行动。”

America should harness innovation, Mr. Obama said, not be intimidated by it. He called for a “moonshot” effort to cure cancer, to be led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who lost his son to the disease last year.

奥巴马称，美国应当驾驭创新，而非害怕创新。他提出，要展开攻克癌症的“登月”计划，并由去年因癌症而痛失爱子的副总统小约瑟夫・R・拜登(Joseph R. Biden Jr.)牵头。

Without naming him, Mr. Obama also seemed to single out Donald J. Trump, who is leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination, for particularly strong criticism, saying that Americans must resist calls to stigmatize all Muslims because of the threat posed by the extremist group the Islamic State.

尽管没有点名，但奥巴马似乎针对在角逐共和党总统提名的竞争中领先的唐纳德・J・特朗普(Donald J. Trump)进行了尤其强烈的批评。奥巴马说，对于因为极端组织伊斯兰国的威胁而指责全体穆斯林的声音，美国人必须加以抵制。

“Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people?” Mr. Obama asked. “Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?”

“面对时代的变迁，我们的回应究竟是恐惧，让整个国家目光向内，让民众相互为敌呢；还是自信地面对未来，展现我们的本色、我们的立场、我们团结一致可以取得的卓越成就？”奥巴马问道。

The remarks in front of a joint session of Congress departed from the list of legislative proposals usually contained in such speeches, and even from Mr. Obama’s own past practice of outlining executive actions intended to sidestep gridlock in Washington.

此次面向国会两院的国情咨文演讲，没有遵循提出立法建议清单的惯例，甚至也没有重复奥巴马过去的做法，列举意在绕开华盛顿政坛僵局的行政手段。

Instead, Mr. Obama sought to pose and answer the four central questions his aides said were driving the debate about America’s future, including how to ensure opportunity for everyone, how to harness technological change, how to keep the country safe and how to fix the nation’s broken politics.

取而代之的是，奥巴马试图提出并解答四个核心问题：如何确保人人机会均等、如何利用技术变革、如何保障美国的安全，以及如何修复美国支离破碎的政治体系。他的幕僚表示，这些问题在左右着有关美国未来的辩论。

“The future we want ― opportunity and security for our families, a rising standard of living and a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids ― all that is within our reach,” Mr. Obama said. “But it will only happen if we work together. It will only happen if we can have rational, constructive debates. It will only happen if we fix our politics.”

“我们期望达到的未来――家人享有机会和安全、生活水平不断提高、子孙后代生活在一个可持续的和平星球上――所有这些，我们都可以实现，”奥巴马说。“然而，只有我们齐心协力，它才会成为现实；只有我们进行建设性的合理辩论，它才会成为现实；只有修复我们的政治体系，它才会成为现实。”

Mr. Obama, who campaigned for president promising hope and change and vowed when he took office to transform Washington and politics itself, accepted some degree of responsibility for falling short of that goal. He said that one of the few regrets of his presidency was that average people still feel that their voices do not matter and the system is “rigged” against them.

奥巴马当初竞选总统基于的便是希望与变革，并曾在就职时发誓要转变华盛顿与政治本身的气象。对于未能实现这一目标，他此次承认自己要担上部分责任。他表示，自己任期内的几个遗憾之一就是，普通民众仍然感觉自己的声音无足轻重，体制“受到操控”，与他们作对。

He called for an end to gerrymandering ― the gaming of political districts to ensure one party’s advantage ― reducing the influence of secretive campaign contributions and making voting easier. Mr. Obama also called on Americans to get involved in politics and participate, a theme of his first campaign and of his presidency.

他呼吁停止操纵选区划分的做法――也就是为了保障一党的优势而玩弄政治区划的把戏――减少秘密竞选献金的影响，并且简化投票程序。奥巴马还提出，美国民众应涉足政治，参与到其中。这是他第一次竞选总统时的一个主题，也贯穿了他的两届任期。

The prime-time speech was one of Mr. Obama’s few remaining opportunities to shape the public conversation before the nation’s attention shifts to the campaign to replace him. Except for a final address at the Democratic convention this summer, Tuesday night may be Mr. Obama’s last big speech.

这次的黄金时间演讲是奥巴马所剩无几的塑造公众对话的机会之一，接下来，全美的关注点将转向争夺其继任者位置的竞选。除了今夏在民主党大会上的最终演讲，周二晚上很可能就是奥巴马最后一次重大讲话。

Mr. Obama also laid out his vision for America’s role in the world at a time of terrorist threats and rising discord in places like the Middle East, North Korea, Ukraine and China. He argued that the country’s most acute challenges emanate not from the strength of adversaries ― a primary criticism of Republicans who portray the president as feckless in the face of mounting threats ― but from their weakness.

奥巴马还对美国在当今世界中应扮演的角色提出了自己的愿景。眼下，世界面临着恐怖主义的威胁和不断升级的纷争，比如在中东、朝鲜、乌克兰和中国等地。他认为，美国最紧迫的挑战并非源自对手的强大，而是恰恰来自他们的弱点。前者正是共和党人对他的一项主要批评，他们口中的奥巴马在面对日益增长的威胁时绵软无力。

He defended his approach to taking on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, describing it as a dangerous threat to the United States that must be dealt with, but not an existential one ― and not a force that warrants a commitment of American ground forces in Iraq and Syria.

奥巴马为自己处理伊斯兰国（Islamic State，简称ISIS或ISIL）的手法进行了辩护。他称其为对美国的威胁，颇为危险，必须加以应对，但并非关系到美国的生死存亡――不至于让美国必须将地面部队派往伊拉克和叙利亚。