我們，人民，仍然認為，每個公民都應當獲得基本的安全和尊嚴。我們必須做出艱難抉擇，降低醫療成本，縮減赤字規模。但我們拒絕在照顧建設國家的這一代和投資即將建設國家的下一代間做出選擇。因為我們記得過去的教訓：老年人的夕陽時光在貧困中度過，家有殘障兒童的父母無處求助。我們相信，在這個國家，自由不只是那些幸運兒的專屬，或者說幸福只屬於少數人。我們知道，不管我們怎樣負責任地生活，我們任何人在任何時候都可能面臨失業、突發疾病或住房被可怕的飓風摧毀的風險。我們通過醫療保險、聯邦醫療補助計劃、社會保障項目向每個人做出承諾，這些不會讓我們的創造力衰竭，而是會讓我們更強大。這些不會讓我們成為充滿不勞而獲者的國度，這些讓我們敢於承擔風險，讓國家偉大。
（We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.）
我們，人民，仍然相信，我們作為美國人的義務不只是對我們自己而言，還包括對子孫後代。我們將應對氣候變化的威脅，認識到不採取措施應對氣候變化就是對我們的孩子和後代的背叛。一些人可能仍在否定科學界的壓倒性判斷，但沒有人能夠避免熊熊火災、嚴重旱災、更強力風暴帶來的災難性打擊。通向可再生能源利用的道路是漫長的，有時是困難的。但美國不能抵制這種趨勢，我們必須引領這種趨勢。我們不能把製造新就業機會和新行業的技術讓給其他國家，我們必須明確這一承諾。這是我們保持經濟活力和國家財富(我們的森林和航道，我們的農田與雪峰)的方法。這將是我們保護我們星球的辦法，上帝把這個星球托付給我們。這將給我們的建國之父們曾宣布的信條賦予意義。
（We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.）
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