l*y
发帖数: 21010 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 Military 讨论区 】
发信人: ldy (大才001), 信区: Military
标 题: Obama的告别State of the Union Address演讲全文！太精彩了！
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Thu Jan 14 01:37:09 2016, 美东)
Remarks of President Barack Obama – State of the Union Address As Delivered
The White House is once again making the full text of the State of the
Union widely available online. The text, as prepared for delivery, is also
available on Medium and Facebook notes, continuing efforts to meet people
where they are and make the speech as accessible as possible. Through these
digital platforms, people can follow along with the speech as they watch in
real time, view charts and infographics on key areas, share their favorite
lines, and provide feedback.
WHITEHOUSE.GOV/SOTU
---
9:10 P.M. EST
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
Tonight marks the eighth year that I’ve come here to report on the State of
the Union. And for this final one, I’m going to try to make it a little
shorter. (Applause.) I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa. (
Laughter.) I've been there. I'll be shaking hands afterwards if you want
some tips. (Laughter.)
And I understand that because it’s an election season, expectations for
what we will achieve this year are low. But, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the
constructive approach that you and the other leaders took at the end of last
year to pass a budget and make tax cuts permanent for working families. So
I hope we can work together this year on some bipartisan priorities like
criminal justice reform -- (applause) -- and helping people who are battling
prescription drug abuse and heroin abuse. (Applause.) So, who knows, we
might surprise the cynics again.
But tonight, I want to go easy on the traditional list of proposals for the
year ahead. Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty, from helping students learn to
write computer code to personalizing medical treatments for patients. And I
will keep pushing for progress on the work that I believe still needs to be
done. Fixing a broken immigration system. (Applause.) Protecting our kids
from gun violence. (Applause.) Equal pay for equal work. (Applause.) Paid
leave. (Applause.) Raising the minimum wage. (Applause.) All these things
still matter to hardworking families. They’re still the right thing to do.
And I won't let up until they get done./p>
But for my final address to this chamber, I don’t want to just talk about
next year. I want to focus on the next five years, the next 10 years, and
beyond. I want to focus on our future.
We live in a time of extraordinary change -- change that’s reshaping the
way we live, the way we work, our planet, our place in the world. It’s
change that promises amazing medical breakthroughs, but also economic
disruptions that strain working families. It promises education for girls in
the most remote villages, but also connects terrorists plotting an ocean
away. It’s change that can broaden opportunity, or widen inequality. And
whether we like it or not, the pace of this change will only accelerate.
America has been through big changes before -- wars and depression, the
influx of new immigrants, workers fighting for a fair deal, movements to
expand civil rights. Each time, there have been those who told us to fear
the future; who claimed we could slam the brakes on change; who promised to
restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening
America under control. And each time, 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. We made change work for us, always
extending America’s promise outward, to the next frontier, to more people.
And because we did -- because we saw opportunity where others saw only peril
-- we emerged stronger and better than before.
What was true then can be true now. Our unique strengths as a nation -- our
optimism and work ethic, our spirit of discovery, our diversity, our
commitment to rule of law -- these things give us everything we need to
ensure prosperity and security for generations to come.
In fact, it’s that spirit that made the progress of these past seven years
possible. It’s how we recovered from the worst economic crisis in
generations. It’s how we reformed our health care system, and reinvented
our energy sector; how we delivered more care and benefits to our troops and
veterans, and how we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person
we love.
But such progress is not inevitable. It’s the result of choices we make
together. And we face such choices right now. Will we respond to the changes
of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, turning against each
other as a people? Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are,
in what we stand for, in the incredible things that we can do together?
So let’s talk about the future, and four big questions that I believe we as
a country have to answer -- regardless of who the next President is, or who
controls the next Congress.
First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in
this new economy? (Applause.)
Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us --
especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change? (
Applause.)
Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its
policeman? (Applause.)
And finally, how can we make our politics reflect what’s best in us, and
not what’s worst?
Let me start with the economy, and a basic fact: The United States of
America, right now, has the strongest, most durable economy in the world. (
Applause.) We’re in the middle of the longest streak of private sector job
creation in history. (Applause.) More than 14 million new jobs, the
strongest two years of job growth since the ‘90s, an unemployment rate cut
in half. Our auto industry just had its best year ever. (Applause.) That's
just part of a manufacturing surge that's created nearly 900,000 new jobs in
the past six years. And we’ve done all this while cutting our deficits by
almost three-quarters. (Applause.)
Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction. (
Applause.) Now, what is true -- and the reason that a lot of Americans feel
anxious -- is that the economy has been changing in profound ways, changes
that started long before the Great Recession hit; changes that have not let
up.
Today, technology doesn’t just replace jobs on the assembly line, but any
job where work can be automated. Companies in a global economy can locate
anywhere, and they face tougher competition. As a result, workers have less
leverage for a raise. Companies have less loyalty to their communities. And
more and more wealth and income is concentrated at the very top.
All these trends have squeezed workers, even when they have jobs; even when
the economy is growing. It’s made it harder for a hardworking family to
pull itself out of poverty, harder for young people to start their careers,
tougher for workers to retire when they want to. And although none of these
trends are unique to America, they do offend our uniquely American belief
that everybody who works hard should get a fair shot.
For the past seven years, our goal has been a growing economy that works
also better for everybody. We’ve made progress. But we need to make more.
And despite all the political arguments that we’ve had these past few years
, there are actually some areas where Americans broadly agree.
We agree that real opportunity requires every American to get the education
and training they need to land a good-paying job. The bipartisan reform of
No Child Left Behind was an important start, and together, we’ve increased
early childhood education, lifted high school graduation rates to new highs,
boosted graduates in fields like engineering. In the coming years, we
should build on that progress, by providing Pre-K for all and -- (applause)
-- offering every student the hands-on computer science and math classes
that make them job-ready on day one. We should recruit and support more
great teachers for our kids. (Applause.)
And we have to make college affordable for every American. (Applause.) No
hardworking student should be stuck in the red. We’ve already reduced
student loan payments to 10 percent of a borrower’s income. And that's good
. But now, we’ve actually got to cut the cost of college. (Applause.)
Providing two years of community college at no cost for every responsible
student is one of the best ways to do that, and I’m going to keep fighting
to get that started this year. (Applause.) It's the right thing to do. (
Applause.)
But a great education isn’t all we need in this new economy. We also need
benefits and protections that provide a basic measure of security. It’s not
too much of a stretch to say that some of the only people in America who
are going to work the same job, in the same place, with a health and
retirement package for 30 years are sitting in this chamber. (Laughter.) For
everyone else, especially folks in their 40s and 50s, saving for retirement
or bouncing back from job loss has gotten a lot tougher. Americans
understand that at some point in their careers, in this new economy, they
may have to retool and they may have to retrain. But they shouldn’t lose
what they’ve already worked so hard to build in the process.
That’s why Social Security and Medicare are more important than ever. We
shouldn’t weaken them; we should strengthen them. (Applause.) And for
Americans short of retirement, basic benefits should be just as mobile as
everything else is today. That, by the way, is what the Affordable Care Act
is all about. It’s about filling the gaps in employer-based care so that
when you lose a job, or you go back to school, or you strike out and launch
that new business, you’ll still have coverage. Nearly 18 million people
have gained coverage so far. (Applause.) And in the process, health care
inflation has slowed. And our businesses have created jobs every single
month since it became law.
Now, I’m guessing we won’t agree on health care anytime soon. (Applause.)
A little applause right there. Laughter.) Just a guess. But there should be
other ways parties can work together to improve economic security. Say a
hardworking American loses his job -- we shouldn’t just make sure that he
can get unemployment insurance; we should make sure that program encourages
him to retrain for a business that’s ready to hire him. If that new job
doesn’t pay as much, there should be a system of wage insurance in place so
that he can still pay his bills. And even if he’s going from job to job,
he should still be able to save for retirement and take his savings with him
. That’s the way we make the new economy work better for everybody.
I also know Speaker Ryan has talked about his interest in tackling poverty.
America is about giving everybody willing to work a chance, a hand up. And I
’d welcome a serious discussion about strategies we can all support, like
expanding tax cuts for low-income workers who don't have children. (Applause
.)
But there are some areas where we just have to be honest -- it has been
difficult to find agreement over the last seven years. And a lot of them
fall under the category of what role the government should play in making
sure the system’s not rigged in favor of the wealthiest and biggest
corporations. (Applause.) And it's an honest disagreement, and the American
people have a choice to make.
I believe a thriving private sector is the lifeblood of our economy. I think
there are outdated regulations that need to be changed. There is red tape
that needs to be cut. (Applause.) There you go! Yes! (Applause But after
years now of record corporate profits, working families won’t get more
opportunity or bigger paychecks just by letting big banks or big oil or
hedge funds make their own rules at everybody else’s expense. (Applause.)
Middle-class families are not going to feel more secure because we allowed
attacks on collective bargaining to go unanswered. Food Stamp recipients did
not cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did. (Applause.
) Immigrants aren’t the principal reason wages haven’t gone up; those
decisions are made in the boardrooms that all too often put quarterly
earnings over long-term returns. It’s sure not the average family watching
tonight that avoids paying taxes through offshore accounts. (Applause.)
The point is, I believe that in this In new economy, workers and start-ups
and small businesses need more of a voice, not less. The rules should work
for them. (Applause.) And I'm not alone in this. This year I plan to lift up
the many businesses who’ve figured out that doing right by their workers
or their customers or their communities ends up being good for their
shareholders. (Applause.) And I want to spread those best practices across
America. That's part of a brighter future. (Applause.)
In fact, it turns out many of our best corporate citizens are also our most
creative. And this brings me to the second big question we as a country have
to answer: How do we reignite that spirit of innovation to meet our biggest
challenges?
Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we didn’t deny
Sputnik was up there. (Laughter.) We didn’t argue about the science, or
shrink our research and development budget. We built a space program almost
overnight. And 12 years later, we were walking on the moon. (Applause.)
Now, that spirit of discovery is in our DNA. America is Thomas Edison and
the Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver. America is Grace Hopper
and Katherine Johnson and Sally Ride. America is every immigrant and
entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon Valley, racing to shape a
better world. (Applause.) That's who we are.
And over the past seven years, we’ve nurtured that spirit. We’ve protected
an open Internet, and taken bold new steps to get more students and low-
income Americans online. (Applause.) We’ve launched next-generation
manufacturing hubs, and online tools that give an entrepreneur everything he
or she needs to start a business in a single day. But we can do so much
more.
Last year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot, America can
cure cancer. Last month, he worked with this Congress to give scientists at
the National Institutes of Health the strongest resources that they’ve had
in over a decade. (Applause.) So tonight, I’m announcing a new national
effort to get it done. And because he’s gone to the mat for all of us on so
many issues over the past 40 years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission
Control. (Applause.) For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the families
that we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer
once and for all. (Applause.)
Medical research is critical. We need the same level of commitment when it
comes to developing clean energy sources. (Applause.) Look, if anybody still
wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You will be
pretty lonely, because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s
business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire
scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a
problem and intend to solve it. (Applause.)
But even if -- even if the planet wasn’t at stake, even if 2014 wasn’t the
warmest year on record -- until 2015 turned out to be even hotter -- why
would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses to produce and
sell the energy of the future? (Applause.)
Listen, seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean
energy in our history. Here are the results. In fields from Iowa to Texas,
wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power. On rooftops from
Arizona to New York, solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars
a year on their energy bills, and employs more Americans than coal -- in
jobs that pay better than average. We’re taking steps to give homeowners
the freedom to generate and store their own energy -- something, by the way,
that environmentalists and Tea Partiers have teamed up to support. And
meanwhile, we’ve cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly 60 percent, and
cut carbon pollution more than any other country on Earth. (Applause.)
Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t bad, either. (Applause.)
Now we’ve got to accelerate the transition away from old, dirtier energy
sources. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future --
especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. We do them no favor
when we don't show them where the trends are going. That’s why I’m going
to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they
better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet. And that
way, we put money back into those communities, and put tens of thousands of
Americans to work building a 21st century transportation system. (Applause.)
Now, none of this is going to happen overnight. And, yes, there are plenty
of entrenched interests who want to protect the status quo. But the jobs we
’ll create, the money we’ll save, the planet we’ll preserve -- that is
the kind of future our kids and our grandkids deserve. And it's within our
grasp.
Climate change is just one of many issues where our security is linked to
the rest of the world. And that’s why the third big question that we have
to answer together is how to keep America safe and strong without either
isolating ourselves or trying to nation-build everywhere there’s a problem.
I told you earlier all the talk of America’s economic decline is political
hot air. Well, so is all the rhetoric you hear about our enemies getting
stronger and America getting weaker. Let me tell you something. The United
States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. (Applause.)
Period. It’s not even close. It's not even close. (Applause.) It's not even
close. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined.
Our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world. (
Applause.) No nation attacks us directly, or our allies, because they know
that’s the path to ruin. Surveys show our standing around the world is
higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every
important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or
Moscow to lead -- they call us. (Applause.)
I mean, it's useful to level the set here, because when we don't, we don't
make good decisions.
Now, as someone who begins every day with an intelligence briefing, I know
this is a dangerous time. But that’s not primarily because of some looming
superpower out there, and certainly not because of diminished American
strength. In today’s world, we’re threatened less by evil empires and more
by failing states.
The Middle East is going through a transformation that will play out for a
generation, rooted in conflicts that date back millennia. Economic headwinds
are blowing in from a Chinese economy that is in significant transition.
Even as their economy severely contracts, Russia is pouring resources in to
prop up Ukraine and Syria -- client states that they saw slipping away from
their orbit. And the international system we built after World War II is now
struggling to keep pace with this new reality.
It’s up to us, the United States of America, to help remake that system.
And to do that well it means that we’ve got to set priorities.
Priority number one is protecting the American people and going after
terrorist networks. (Applause.) Both al Qaeda and now ISIL pose a direct
threat to our people, because in today’s world, even a handful of
terrorists who place no value on human life, including their own, can do a
lot of damage. They use the Internet to poison the minds of individuals
inside our country. Their actions undermine and destabilize our allies. We
have to take them out./p>
But as we focus on destroying ISIL, over-the-top claims that this is World
War III just play into their hands. Masses of fighters on the back of pickup
trucks, twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages -- they pose an
enormous danger to civilians; they have to be stopped. But they do not
threaten our national existence. (Applause.) That is the story ISIL wants to
tell. That’s the kind of propaganda they use to recruit. We don’t need to
build them up to show that we’re serious, and we sure don't need to push
away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that ISIL is somehow
representative of one of the world’s largest religions. (Applause.) We just
need to call them what they are -- killers and fanatics who have to be
rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed. (Applause.)
And that’s exactly what we’re doing. For more than a year, America has led
a coalition of more than 60 countries to cut off ISIL’s financing, disrupt
their plots, stop the flow of terrorist fighters, and stamp out their
vicious ideology. With nearly 10,000 air strikes, we’re taking out their
leadership, their oil, their training camps, their weapons. We’re training,
arming, and supporting forces who are steadily reclaiming territory in Iraq
and Syria.
If this Congress is serious about winning this war, and wants to send a
message to our troops and the world, authorize the use of military force
against ISIL. Take a vote. (Applause.) Take a vote. But the American people
should know that with or without congressional action, ISIL will learn the
same lessons as terrorists before them. If you doubt America’s commitment -
- or mine -- to see that justice is done, just ask Osama bin Laden. (
Applause.) Ask the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen, who was taken out last year,
or the perpetrator of the Benghazi attacks, who sits in a prison cell. When
you come after Americans, we go after you. (Applause.) And it may take time
, but we have long memories, and our reach has no limits. (Applause.)
Our foreign policy hast to be focused on the threat from ISIL and al Qaeda,
but it can’t stop there. For even without ISIL, even without al Qaeda,
instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world -- in the
Middle East, in Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, in parts of Central America,
in Africa, and Asia. Some of these places may become safe havens for new
terrorist networks. Others will just fall victim to ethnic conflict, or
famine, feeding the next wave of refugees. The world will look to us to help
solve these problems, and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or
calls to carpet-bomb civilians. That may work as a TV sound bite, but it
doesn’t pass muster on the world stage.
We also can’t try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into
crisis, even if it's done with the best of intentions. (Applause.) That’s
not leadership; that’s a recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and
treasure that ultimately will weaken us. It’s the lesson of Vietnam; it's
the lesson of Iraq -- and we should have learned it by now. (Applause.) /p>
Fortunately, there is a smarter approach, a patient and disciplined strategy
that uses every element of our national power. It says America will always
act, alone if necessary, to protect our people and our allies; but on issues
of global concern, we will mobilize the world to work with us, and make
sure other countries pull their own weight. ;
That’s our approach to conflicts like Syria, where we’re partnering with
local forces and leading international efforts to help that broken society
pursue a lasting peace.
That’s why we built a global coalition, with sanctions and principled
diplomacy, to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. And as we speak, Iran has rolled
back its nuclear program, shipped out its uranium stockpile, and the world
has avoided another war. (Applause.)
That’s how we stopped the spread of Ebola in West Africa. (Applause.) Our
military, our doctors, our development workers -- they were heroic; they set
up the platform that then allowed other countries to join in behind us and
stamp out that epidemic. Hundreds of thousands, maybe a couple million lives
were saved.
That’s how we forged a Trans-Pacific Partnership to open markets, and
protect workers and the environment, and advance American leadership in Asia
. It cuts 18,000 taxes on products made in America, which will then support
more good jobs here in America. With TPP, China does not set the rules in
that region; we do. You want to show our strength in this new century?
Approve this agreement. Give us the tools to enforce it. It's the right
thing to do. (Applause.)
Let me give you another example. Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to
promote democracy, and set us back in Latin America. That’s why we
restored diplomatic relations -- (applause) -- opened the door to travel and
commerce, positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people. (
Applause.) So if you want to consolidate our leadership and credibility in
the hemisphere, recognize that the Cold War is over -- lift the embargo. (
Applause.)
The point is American leadership in the 21st century is not a choice between
ignoring the rest of the world -- except when we kill terrorists -- or
occupying and rebuilding whatever society is unraveling. Leadership means a
wise application of military power, and rallying the world behind causes
that are right. It means seeing our foreign assistance as a part of our
national security, not something separate, not charity.
When we lead nearly 200 nations to the most ambitious agreement in history
to fight climate change, yes, that helps vulnerable countries, but it also
protects our kids. When we help Ukraine defend its democracy, or Colombia
resolve a decades-long war, that strengthens the international order we
depend on. When we help African countries feed their people and care for the
sick -- (applause) -- it's the right thing to do, and it prevents the next
pandemic from reaching our shores. Right now, we’re on track to end the
scourge of HIV/AIDS. That's within our grasp. (Applause.) And we have the
chance to accomplish the same thing with malaria -- something I’ll be
pushing this Congress to fund this year. (Applause.)
That's American strength. That's American leadership. And that kind of
leadership depends on the power of our example. That’s why I will keep
working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo. (Applause.) It is expensive,
it is unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our
enemies. (Applause.) There’s a better way. (Applause.)
And that’s why we need to reject any politics -- any politics -- that
targets people because of race or religion. (Applause.) Let me just say this
. This is not a matter of political correctness. This is a matter of
understanding just what it is that makes us strong. The world respects us
not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity, and our openness
, and the way we respect every faith.
His Holiness, Pope Francis, told this body from the very spot that I'm
standing on tonight that “to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and
murderers is the best way to take their place.” When politicians insult
Muslims, whether abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized,
or a kid is called names, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling
it like it is. It’s just wrong. (Applause.) It diminishes us in the eyes of
the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. It betrays who we are
as a country. (Applause.)
“We the People.” Our Constitution begins with those three simple words,
words we’ve come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words
that insist we rise and fall together, and that's how we might perfect our
Union. And that brings me to the fourth, and maybe the most important thing
that I want to say tonight.
The future we want -- all of us want -- opportunity and security for our
families, a rising standard of living, a sustainable, peaceful planet for
our kids -- all that is within our reach. 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.
A better politics doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. This is a
big country -- different regions, different attitudes, different interests.
That’s one of our strengths, too. Our Founders distributed power between
states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, just as they
did, fiercely, over the size and shape of government, over commerce and
foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of
security.
But democracy does require basic bonds of trust between its citizens. It
doesn’t work if we think the people who disagree with us are all motivated
by malice. It doesn’t work if we think that our political opponents are
unpatriotic or trying to weaken America. Democracy grinds to a halt without
a willingness to compromise, or when even basic facts are contested, or when
we listen only to those who agree with us. Our public life withers when
only the most extreme voices get all the attention. And most of all,
democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn’t
matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or
some special interest.
Too many Americans feel that way right now. It’s one of the few regrets of
my presidency -- that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has
gotten worse instead of better. I have no doubt a president with the gifts
of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I
guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office.
But, my fellow Americans, this cannot be my task -- or any President’s --
alone. There are a whole lot of folks in this chamber, good people who would
like to see more cooperation, would like to see a more elevated debate in
Washington, but feel trapped by the imperatives of getting elected, by the
noise coming out of your base. I know; you’ve told me. It's the worst-kept
secret in Washington. And a lot of you aren't enjoying being trapped in that
kind of rancor.
But that means if we want a better politics -- and I'm addressing the
American people now -- if we want a better politics, it’s not enough just
to change a congressman or change a senator or even change a President. We
have to change the system to reflect our better selves. I think we've got to
end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians
can pick their voters, and not the other way around. (Applause.) Let a
bipartisan group do it. (Applause.)
We have to reduce the influence of money in our politics, so that a handful
of families or hidden interests can’t bankroll our elections. (Applause.)
And if our existing approach to campaign finance reform can’t pass muster
in the courts, we need to work together to find a real solution -- because
it's a problem. And most of you don't like raising money. I know; I've done
it. (Applause.) We’ve got to make it easier to vote, not harder. (Applause.
) We need to modernize it for the way we live now. (Applause.) This is
America: We want to make it easier for people to participate. And over the
course of this year, I intend to travel the country to push for reforms that
do just that.
But I can’t do these things on my own. (Applause.) Changes in our political
process -- in not just who gets elected, but how they get elected -- that
will only happen when the American people demand it. It depends on you. That
’s what’s meant by a government of, by, and for the people.
What I’m suggesting is hard. It’s a lot easier to be cynical; to accept
that change is not possible, and politics is hopeless, and the problem is
all the folks who are elected don't care, and to believe that our voices and
actions don’t matter. But if we give up now, then we forsake a better
future. Those with money and power will gain greater control over the
decisions that could send a young soldier to war, or allow another economic
disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting rights that generations
of Americans have fought, even died, to secure. And then, as frustration
grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into our respective
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.
We can’t afford to go down that path. It won’t deliver the economy we want
. It will not produce the security we want. But most of all, it contradicts
everything that makes us the envy of the world.
So, my fellow Americans, whatever you may believe, whether you prefer one
party or no party, whether you supported my agenda or fought as hard as you
could against it -- our collective futures depends on your willingness to
uphold your duties as a citizen. To vote. To speak out. To stand up for
others, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of
us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us. (Applause.)
We need every American to stay active in our public life -- and not just
during election time -- so that our public life reflects the goodness and
the decency that I see in the American people every single day.
It is not easy. Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a
little over a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I will be
right there with you as a citizen, inspired by those voices of fairness and
vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that helped America travel so
far. Voices that help us see ourselves not, first and foremost, as black or
white, or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native born,
not as Democrat or Republican, but as Americans first, bound by a common
creed. Voices Dr. King believed would have the final word -- voices of
unarmed truth and unconditional love.
And they’re out there, those voices. They don’t get a lot of attention;
they don't seek a lot of fanfare; but they’re busy doing the work this
country needs doing. I see them everywhere I travel in this incredible
country of ours. I see you, the American people. And in your daily acts of
citizenship, I see our future unfolding. .
I see it in the worker on the assembly line who clocked extra shifts to keep
his company open, and the boss who pays him higher wages instead of laying
him off.
I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late at night to finish her science
project, and the teacher who comes in early, and maybe with some extra
supplies that she bought because she knows that that young girl might
someday cure a disease.
I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late to finish her science project, and
the teacher who comes in early because he knows she might someday cure a
disease.
I see it in the American who served his time, and bad mistakes as a child
but now is dreaming of starting over -- and I see it in the business owner
who gives him that second chance. The protester determined to prove that
justice matters -- and the young cop walking the beat, treating everybody
with respect, doing the brave, quiet work of keeping us safe. (Applause.)
I see it in the soldier who gives almost everything to save his brothers,
the nurse who tends to him till he can run a marathon, the community that
lines up to cheer him on.
It’s the son who finds the courage to come out as who he is, and the father
whose love for that son overrides everything he’s been taught. (Applause.)
I see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast her vote as long
as she has to; the new citizen who casts his vote for the first time; the
volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should count -- because each
of them in different ways know how much that precious right is worth.
That's the America I know. That’s the country we love. Clear-eyed. Big-
hearted. Undaunted by challenge. Optimistic that unarmed truth and
unconditional love will have the final word. (Applause.) That’s what makes
me so hopeful about our future. I believe in change because I believe in you
, the American people.
And that’s why I stand here confident as I have ever been that the State of
our Union is strong. (Applause.)
Thank you, God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
###
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Email | l*y
发帖数: 21010 | | C*******h
发帖数: 6095 | | l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 4 Brilliant Bullshit!
On Tuesday evening I watched president Obama's state of the union address.
It was brilliant.
Obama rang all the bells, dotted all the i's, and attacked all the ghosts.
At times, he even made sense.
All in all, it was a brilliant effort, possibly his best speech ever, even
though his speech was essentially bullshit.
Belief in Change
In his address, Obama said "I believe in change because I believe in you".
That's ironic because his first campaign slogan was "Change you can believe
in". People believed in change but what change did Obama deliver?
Despite promises, we are still in Afghanistan. Despite promises, we did not
close Guantanamo Bay. The Mideast is a bigger mess than ever.
US unemployment is indeed half of what it was when Obama took office. But
who gets the credit for that?
The answer is retiring baby boomers dropping out of the labor force by mad.
Any US president would have achieved the same result by doing nothing. Obama
gets to brag because he is lucky enough to be in office at the time.
Doing Things
Obama did do things. Obamacare was a disaster. But he bragged about it.
Obama's treaty with Iran is his single most positive accomplishment in eight
years, but that's in dispute by many on the left and right.
Affordable Education
From the left, Obama received massive applause for affordable education.
Affordable "anything" would get applause from socialists. Yet, "affordable
education" will drive up costs every bit as much as "affordable housing".
Without a doubt, history shows that any time government sets out to make
something "affordable", the opposite happens.
Dare I ask: Were Bush's "Ownership Society" and "No Child Left Behind"
programs all that different from Obama's proposals?
Pure Political Bullshit
75% of Obama's speech was purely political bullshit. Proving the sorry state
of divisive politics, Obama received little applause, even on topics where
he was right.
Campaign finance reform was one such topic.
Congress is clearly bought and sold by special interest groups. On the left,
unions rule. On the right, bankers rule.
In general, neither party really wants reform. If they did, we would have
had reform by now.
Hypocrisy in Action
Had a Republican given the exact same speech (stripping out global warming
and other obvious nonsense), Republicans would have applauded every step of
the way.
Obama's mention of "No Child Left Behind", a ridiculous program of the Bush
administration, was nothing short of brilliant.
Republicans cheered Bush's program at that time. Curiously, there was dead
silence from the Republican side of the aisle when Obama praised it.
Had a Republican bragged about taking out Osama Bin Laden, Republicans would
have cheered like mad and Democrats would have been silent. We saw the
opposite.
Brilliance Explained
Obama's SOTU speech was pure brilliance. With just a few minor tweaks,
either party could have given the same speech, with accolades from their
party.
That's "brilliant bullshit" at its finest. | j*****v
发帖数: 7717 | 5 馬統居然有時間去買power ball，表演親民和扯淡是馬統最擅長的 | b******i
发帖数: 1183 | 6 吖居委会大妈水平还能怎样
【在 j*****v 的大作中提到】
: 馬統居然有時間去買power ball，表演親民和扯淡是馬統最擅長的
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