[蚯蚓感悟] 奥巴马父亲节演讲,当父亲是他一生中“最好的工作”

我们常听到“普世价值”，很多人并不真正了解，以为遥不可及高高在上，或是有立场的政治概念。其实所谓普世价值最核心的就是作为一个人所应具备的基本价值观。If we can do our best to be a source of comfort and encouragement to our kids, then we will have succeeded.

6月16日是父亲节，美国总统奥巴马在当地时间14日，在白宫网站上发布了一个每周演讲，讲述他对父亲的看法：当父亲是他一生中“最好的工作”。他认为，假如我们能尽全力为孩子们提供舒适和勇气，假如我们能向他们展示无条件的爱，并帮助他们成为他们想成为的人，那我们就成功了。当天白宫举行私人午餐会，庆祝于16日到来的“父亲节”。在午餐会开始时，他说：“显然，这是庆祝‘父亲节’并让我们这些当父亲的人记住我们有多么幸运的绝佳方式。这是我最好的工作。”

接着蚯蚓就来分享一下，他的演讲内容：

Hi, everybody. This Sunday is Father’s Day, and so I wanted to take a moment to talk about the most important job many of us will ever have – and that’s being a dad.

大家好，本周日即将是父亲节，我想借此机会谈谈我们大家终将面临的最最重要的工作：做一个父亲。

Today we’re blessed to live in a world where technology allows us to connect instantly with just about anyone on the planet. But no matter how advanced we get, there will never be a substitute for the love and support and, most importantly, the presence of a parent in a child’s life. And in many ways, that’s uniquely true for fathers.

今天我们很有幸生活在一个能瞬间可和地球上的任何一个人联系的科技时代。但无论科技如何发达，都没有任何东西可以取代一个家长在孩子生活中的出现、爱和支持，在许多方面，对父亲而言尤为如此。

I never really knew my own father. I was raised by a single mom and two wonderful grandparents who made incredible sacrifices for me. And there are single parents all across the country who do a heroic job raising terrific kids. But I still wish I had a dad who was not only around, but involved; another role model to teach me what my mom did her best to instill – values like hard work and integrity; responsibility and delayed gratification – all the things that give a child the foundation to envision a brighter future for themselves.

我从来不真正地了解我自己的父亲. 我是由单亲妈妈和两个和蔼的祖父母带大, 他们为我做了不可想象的牺牲. 全国有很多的单亲父母做着同样伟大的带大孩子的工作. 但我仍然希望我能有一个父亲不仅在我周围, 而且参与我的生活; 作为另一个榜样来告诉我我的母亲尽了她全力所给了我的那些价值, 如努力工作, 品行端正, 责任, 不贪图享乐, 所有这些价值都给一个孩子去设想自己的美好未来的基础.

That’s why I try every day to be for Michelle and my girls what my father was not for my mother and me. And I’ve met plenty of other people – dads and uncles and men without a family connection – who are trying to break the cycle and give more of our young people a strong male role model.

因此我努力每天都和太太和两个女儿在一起, 这是我的父亲所没有做到的. 我也见过许多其他人, 父亲, 叔叔, 或没有家庭联系的男人, 他们都在试图去打破常规并给我们的年青人一个强大的男人的榜样.

Being a good parent isn’t easy. It demands your constant attention, frequent sacrifice, and a healthy dose of patience. And nobody’s perfect. To this day, I’m still figuring out how to be a better husband to my wife and father to my kids.

要做一个好的父母是不容易的. 它要求你不停的注意力, 时常的牺牲, 和健康的耐心. 然而, 没有人是完美的. 直到今天, 我仍在找寻如何才能做一个更好的丈夫和父亲的途径.

And I want to do what I can as President to encourage marriage and strong families. We should reform our child support laws to get more men working and engaged with their children. And my Administration will continue to work with the faith and other community organizations, as well as businesses, on a campaign to encourage strong parenting and fatherhood.

作为一个总统, 我想尽我所能去鼓励婚姻和强大的家庭. 我们应该改变我们的孩子抚养的法律以让更多的男人工作并介入到孩子的生活中. 我的领导班子也将继续与宗教, 各社团, 商业联合去发动强大的如何抚育孩子和为人之父的活动.

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned along the way, it’s that all our personal successes shine a little less brightly if we fail at family. That’s what matters most. When I look back on my life, I won’t be thinking about any particular legislation I passed or policy I promoted. I’ll be thinking about Michelle, and the journey we’ve been on together. I’ll be thinking about Sasha’s dance recitals and Malia’s tennis matches – about the conversations we’ve had and the quiet moments we’ve shared. I’ll be thinking about whether I did right by them, and whether they knew, every day, just how much they were loved. 假如一路走来我学到了一件事的话, 那就是如果我们的家庭失败, 我们的成就将黯然无光. 家庭是最重要的. 当我回首自己的生活, 我不会去想我所通过或推举的任何一项立法, 但我会想我的太太和我们共同行走的路程. 我会去想

Sasha的舞蹈彩排和Malia的网球比赛, 以及我们之间的谈话和共享的安静时光. 我会想我是否对他们所做是正确的, 他们是否每天都知道我是多么的爱他们.

That’s what I think being a father is all about. And if we can do our best to be a source of comfort and encouragement to our kids; if we can show them unconditional love and help them grow into the people they were meant to be; then we will have succeeded.

这就是我想的应该如何为人父。假如我们能尽全力为孩子们提供舒适和勇气，假如我们能向他们展示无条件的爱，并帮助他们成为他们想成为的人，那我们就成功了。

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and have a great weekend. 祝福每一个父亲父亲节快乐，并过一个美好的周末。

第二篇：奥巴马20xx年父亲节演讲

Hi, everybody. Sunday is Father’s Day. If you haven’t got Dad a gift yet, there’s still time. Just barely. But the truth is, what we give our fathers can never match what our fathers give us.

大家好。周日是父亲节。如果你还没有给爸爸准备礼物，现在还来得及。大大方方地。但是事实上，我们给父亲们的永远比不上父亲们给我们的。

I know how important it is to have a dad in your life, because I grew up without my father around. I felt the weight of his absence. So for Michelle and our girls, I try every day to be the husband and father my family didn’t have when I was young. And every chance I get, I encourage fathers to get more involved in their children’s lives, because what makes you a man isn’t the ability to have a child – it’s the courage to raise one.

我深知你们一生中有个父亲是何等重要，因为我从小到大没有父亲。我深知没有他我们的艰难。所以对米切尔和我们的两个女儿，我每天都努力做一个好丈夫和好爸爸，这是我这时候家里没有的。我总是利用一切机会鼓励父亲们更多地融入孩子们的生活，因为这使你成为一个不止是有能力生孩子的男人，而是有抚养孩子的勇气的男人。

Still, over the past couple years, I’ve met with a lot of young people who don’t have a

father figure around. And while there’s nothing that can replace a parent, any of us can do our part to be a mentor, a sounding board, a role model for a kid who needs one. Earlier this year, I launched an initiative called My Brother’s Keeper – an all-hands-on-deck effort to help more of our young men reach their full potential. And if you want to be a mentor to a young man in your community, you can find out how at

WhiteHouse.gov/MyBrothersKeeper.

还有，在过去的几年里，我遇到很多没有父亲的年轻人。尽管没有什么可以取代一个家长，我们中的任何人都可以尽自己的努力成为导师，一个倾听者和孩子需要的任何角色。今年早些时候，我推出了一个叫做“弟弟的监护人”的动议--一个人人尽责的努力旨在帮助我们的年轻人发挥他们的潜能。如果你想成为你们社区的任何一个年轻人的导师，你可以在WhiteHouse.gov/MyBrothersKeeper网站得知如何做。

Now, when I launched this initiative, I said that government can’t play the primary role in a young person’s life. Taking responsibility for being a great parent or mentor is a choice that we, as individuals, have to make. No government program can ever take the place of a parent’s love. Still, as a country, there are ways we can help support dads and moms who make that choice.

当我推出这个动议的时候，我说政府不能在任何年轻人的生活中起主导作用。担起作为伟大的父母或导师的责任是我们作为个人必须做出的选择。没有一个政府项目可以取代父母的爱。还有，作为一个国家，我们有很多方式帮助父亲们和母亲们做出这个选择。

That’s why, earlier this week, we brought working dads from across America to the White House to talk about the challenges they face. And in a few weeks, I’ll hold the first-ever White House Working Families Summit. We’ve still got too many workplace policies that belong in the 1950s, and it’s time to bring them up to date for today’s families, where oftentimes, both parents are working. Moms and dads deserve affordable child care, and time off to care for a sick parent or child without running into hardship. Women deserve equal pay for equal work – and at a time when more women are breadwinners for a family,

that benefits men, too. And because no parent who works full-time should have to raise a family in poverty, it’s time for Congress to follow the lead of state after state, get on the bandwagon, and give America a raise.

这就是为什么本周早些时候，我们邀请了一些来自全美各地的工薪父亲们来到白宫讨论我们面对的挑战。在今后几周里，我将在白宫举办白宫工薪家庭峰会。我们现在有很多职场政策还是19xx年代的，现在是使它们跟上今天的家庭的时候了，这些家庭通常是双亲都工作。母亲们和父亲们理应得到可承受的儿保，可以请假照顾生病的父母或孩子而不至于陷入困境。妇女理应得到同工同酬待遇--当更多妇女成为家庭支柱时，男人也从中受益。因为我们不允许任何全职父母支撑一个家庭就要陷入贫困，所以现在是国会紧跟一个又一个州的潮流，给美国一个提升。

Dads work hard. So our country should do what we can to make sure their hard work pays off; to make sure life for them and their families is a little less stressful, and a little more secure, so they can be the dads their kids need them to be. Because there’s nothing more precious in life than the time we spend with our children. There’s no better feeling than knowing that we can be there for them, and provide for them, and help give them every shot at success.

父亲们勤奋工作。所以我们的国家应该尽力让他们的努力得到回报；确保他们和他们的家庭的生活更加成功一点，更加安全一点，以使他们成为他们的孩子们想要的父亲们。因为人生中没有什么比他们花在孩子们身上的时间更加珍贵了。没有什么比知道我们就在他们的身边，为他们提供他们需要的，给他们任何成功的机会更加幸福的感觉了。

Let’s make sure every dad who works hard and takes responsibility has the chance to know that feeling, not just on one Sunday, but every day of the year.

让我们保证每个辛勤工作承担责任的父亲有机会不仅在一个周日，而是年年月月日日有这种感觉。

Thanks everybody, happy Father’s Day, and have a great weekend