Yes We Can - By Barack Obama

Yes We Can This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons --- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America --- the heartache and the hope, the struggle and the progress, the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can. When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can. She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can. A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can. 【参考译文】 这次选举所创造的无数“第一次”和故事将永垂青史。但是，今晚在我脑海的是一个在亚特兰大投上她神圣一票的女士。她就像数以百万计的在这次大选中排队发出自己声音的人一样，除了一件事：Ann Nixon Cooper，已经106岁高龄了。 她出生在奴隶制刚刚废除不久的年代，一个道路上没有汽车、天空中没有飞机的时代，那时她没有选举权，原因有两个：因为她是一个女人，因为她皮肤的颜色。 今晚，我思索着在她的阶段所经历的百年美国——绝望与希望、挣扎与进步，那个我们被告知我们不可能的年代，和那些继续践行美国信条的那些人。是的，我们能够做到。 当时，妇女的声音被压制，她们的希望被驳回；她见证了女性同胞站了起来，勇敢的说出自己的声音，并拥有了选举权。是的，我们能够做到。 当国家处于绝望和一片萧条的境况中，她见证了这个国家是如何通过新政、新的工作机会和新的全民意识战胜了恐惧。是的，我们能够做到。 日本袭击珍珠港，独裁者威胁世界的时候，她亲眼见证了一代人的崛起和民主得到了捍卫。是的，我们能够做到。 她看到了蒙哥马利通了巴士，伯明翰接上了水龙头，塞尔玛建了大桥。一位来自亚特兰大的牧师告诉人们 “我们会战胜一切”。是的，我们能够做到。 人类的登月，柏林墙的倒塌，我们的世界因科学和想像而相连。 今年，她在这次选举中，用手指触摸屏幕，投下她神圣的一票。因为106年后的美国，经历了兴盛的时期，也见证了衰败的时期，她知道美国怎样才能改变。 是的，我们能够做到。