presidential farewell address to the nation
by george w. bush
thank you. 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.
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 history 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.
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 examples 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.
this evening, my thoughts return to the
first night i addressed you from this house, september 11, 2014. that morning,
terrorists took nearly 3,000 lives in the worst attack on america since pearl
harbor.
i remember standing in the rubble of the
world trade center three days later, surrounded by rescuers who had been
working around the clock. i remember talking to brave souls who charged through
smoke- filled corridors at the pentagon and to husbands and wives whose loved
ones became heroes aboard flight 93
today, our fellow citizens, our way of
life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly
terrorist acts. the victims were in airplanes or in their offices. secretaries,
business men and women, military and federal workers. moms and dads. friends
and neighbors.
thousands of lives were suddenly ended by
evil, despicable acts of terror.
the pictures of airplanes flying into
buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with
disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger.
these acts of mass murder were intended to
frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. but they have failed. our country
is strong. a great people has been moved to defend a great nation.
terrorist attacks can shake the foundations
of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of america.
these acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of american resolve.
america was targeted for attack because
we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. and no one
will keep that light from shining.
today, our nation saw evil, the very worst
of human nature, and we responded with the best of america, with the daring of
our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to
give blood and help in any way they could.
immediately following the first attack, i
implemented our government’s
emergency response plans. our military is
powerful, and it’s prepared. our emergency teams are working in new york city
and washington, d.c., to help with local rescue efforts.
our first priority is to get help to those
who have been injured and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at
home and around the world from further attacks.
the functions of our government continue
without interruption. federal
agencies in washington, which had to be
evacuated today, are reopening for essential personnel tonight and will be open
for business tomorrow.
our financial institutions remain strong,
and the american economy will be open for business as well.
the search is under way for those who are
behind these evil acts. i’ve directed the full resources for our intelligence
and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and bring them to
justice. we will make no distinction
between the terrorists who committed these
acts and those who harbor them.
i appreciate so very much the members of
congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. and on behalf
of the american people, i thank the many world leaders who have called to offer
their condolences and assistance.
america and our friends and allies join
with all those who want peace and security in the world and we stand together
to win the war against terrorism.
tonight i ask for your prayers for all
those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all
whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. and i pray they will be
comforted by a power greater than any of us spoken through the ages in psalm
23: ‘even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i fear no
evil for you are with me.’
this is a day when all americans from every
walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. america has stood down
enemies before, and we will do so this time.
none of us will ever forget this day, yet
we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
thank you. good night and god bless
america.’
第四篇：911布什演讲稿
good evening.
today, our fellow citizens, our way of
life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly
terrorist acts. the victims were in airplanes or in their offices --
secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers. moms and
dads. friends and neighbors.
thousands of lives were suddenly ended by
evil, despicable acts of terror. the pictures of airplanes flying into
buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with
disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger. these acts of mass
murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. but they
have failed. our country is strong. a great people has been moved to defend a
great nation. terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest
buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of america. these acts shatter
steel, but they cannot dent the steel of american resolve. america was targeted
for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in
the world. and no one will keep that light from shining. today, our nation saw
evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of
america, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers
and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.
immediately following the first attack, i implemented our government’s
emergency response plans. our military is powerful, and it’s prepared. our
emergency teams are working in new york city and washington, d.c., to help with
local rescue efforts. our first priority is to get help to those who have been
injured and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around
the world from further attacks. the functions of our government continue
without interruption. federal agencies in washington which had to be evacuated
today are reopening for essential personnel tonight and will be open for
business tomorrow. our financial institutions remain strong, and the american
economy will be open for business as well. the search is underway for those who
are behind these evil acts. i’ve directed the full resources for our
intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and
bring them to justice. we will make no distinction between the terrorists who
committed these acts and those who harbor them. i appreciate so very much the
members of congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks.
and on behalf of the american people, i thank the many world leaders who have
called to offer their condolences and assistance. america and our friends and
allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world and we
stand together to win the war against terrorism. tonight i ask for your prayers
for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered,
for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. and i pray they
will be comforted by a power greater than any of us spoken through the ages in
psalm 23: "even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, i fear no evil, for you are with me." this is a day when all
americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace.
america has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. none of us
will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is
good and just in our world.
thank you. good night and god bless
america.
第五篇：布什演讲稿（中英对照）
thank you!
chief justice rehnquist, president carter,
president bush， president
clinton, distinguished guests and my fellow citizens, the peaceful transfer of
authority is rare in history, yet common in our country. with a simple oath, we
affirm old traditions and make new beginnings.
as i begin, i thank president clinton for
his service to our nation.
and i thank vice president gore for a
contest conducted with spirit and ended with grace.
i am honored and humbled to stand here,
where so many of america’s leaders have come before me, and so many will
follow.
we have a place, all of us, in a long story
-- a story we continue, but whose end we will not see. it is the story of a new
world that became a friend and liberator of the old, a story of a slave-holding
society that became a servant of freedom, the story of a power that went into
the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer.
it is the american story -- a story of
flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring
ideals.
the grandest of these ideals is an
unfolding american promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a
chance, that no insignificant person was ever born.
americans are called to enact this promise
in our lives and in our laws. and though our nation has sometimes halted, and
sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course.
through much of the last century, america’s
faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea. now it is a seed
upon the wind, taking root in many nations.
our democratic faith is more than the creed
of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity, an ideal we carry but do
not own, a trust we bear and pass along. and even after nearly 225 years, we
have a long way yet to travel.
while many of our citizens prosper, others
doubt the promise, even the justice, of our own country. the ambitions of some
americans are limited by failing schools and hidden prejudice and the
circumstances of their birth. and sometimes our differences run so deep, it
seems we share a continent, but not a country.
we do not accept this, and we will not
allow it. our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in
every generation. and this is my solemn
pledge: i will work to build a single
nation of justice and opportunity.
i
spare
d new horrors.
the enemies of liberty and our country
should make no mistake: america remains engaged in the world by history and by
choice, shaping a balance of power thatf avors freedom. we will defend our
allies and our interests. we will show purpose without arrogance. we will meet
aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength. and to all nations, we will
speak for the values that gave our nation birth.
america, at its best, is compassionate. in
the quiet of american conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is
unworthy of our nation’s promise.
and whatever our views of its cause, we can
agree that children at risk are not at fault. abandonment and abuse are not
acts of god, they are failures of love.
and the proliferation of prisons, however
necessary, is no substitute for hope and order in our souls.
where there is suffering, there is duty.
americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens, not problems, but
priorities. and all of us are diminished when any are hopeless.
government has great responsibilities for
public safety and public health, for civil rights and common schools. yet
compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government.
and some needs and hurts are so deep they
will only respond to a mentor’s touch or a pastor’s prayer. church and charity,
synagogue and mosque lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an
honored place in our plans and in our laws.
many in our country do not know the pain of
poverty, but we can listen to those who do.
and i can pledge our nation to a goal: when
we see that wounded traveler on
the road to jericho, we will not pass to the
other side.
america, at its best, is a place where
personal responsibility is valued and
expected.
encouraging responsibility is not a search
for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. and though it requires sacrifice,
it brings a deeper fulfillment. we find the fullness of life not only in
options, but in commitments. and we find that children and community are the
commitments that set us free.
our public interest depends on private
character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness, on uncounted,
unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom.
sometimes in life we are called to do great
things. but as a saint of our times has said, every day we are called to do
small things with gre
at love. the most important tasks of a
democracy are done by everyone.
i will live and lead by these principles:
to advance my convictions with civility, to pursue the public interest with
courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion, to call for
responsibility and try to live it as well.
in all these ways, i will bring the values
of our history to the care of our
times.
what you do is as important as anything
government does. i ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend
needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your
neighbor. i ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not
subjects; responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of
character.
americans are generous and strong and
decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond
ourselves. when this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program
can replace it. when this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.
after the declaration of independence was
signed, virginia statesman john page wrote to thomas jefferson: “we know the
race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. do you not think an
angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?”
much time has passed since jefferson
arrived for his inauguration. the yearsand changes accumulate. but the themes
of this day he would know: our nation’s grand story of courage and its simple
dream of dignity.
we are not this story’s author, who fills
time and eternity with his purpose. yet his purpose is achieved in our duty,
and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another.
never tiring, never yielding, never
finishing, we renew that purpose today, to make our country more just and
generous, to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.
this work continues. this story goes on. and
an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.
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