我們的公共利益依賴于我們獨(dú)立的個(gè)性;依賴于我們的公民義務(wù)，家庭紐帶和基本的公正;依賴于我們無數(shù)的、默默無聞的體面行動(dòng)，正是它們指引我們走向自由。

　　在生活中，有時(shí)我們被召喚著去做一些驚天動(dòng)地的事情。但是，正如我們時(shí)代的一位圣人所言，每一天我們都被召喚帶著摯愛去做一些小事情。一個(gè)民主制度最重要的任務(wù)是由大家每一個(gè)人來完成的。

　　我為人處事的原則包括：堅(jiān)信自己而不強(qiáng)加于人，為公眾的利益勇往直前，追求正義而不乏同情心，勇?lián)?zé)任而決不推卸。我要通過這一切，用我們歷史上傳統(tǒng)價(jià)值觀來哺育我們的時(shí)代。

　　(同胞們)，你們所做的一切和政府的工作同樣重要。我希望你們不要僅僅追求個(gè)人享受而忽略公眾的利益;要捍衛(wèi)既定的改革措施，使其不會(huì)輕易被攻擊;要從身邊小事做起，為我們的國家效力。我希望你們成為真正的公民，而不是旁觀者，更不是臣民。你們應(yīng)成為有責(zé)任心的公民，共同來建設(shè)一個(gè)互幫互助的社會(huì)和有特色的國家。

　　美國人民慷慨、強(qiáng)大、體面，這并非因?yàn)槲覀冃湃挝覀冏约?，而是因?yàn)槲覀儞碛谐轿覀冏约旱男拍?。一旦這種公民精神喪失了，無論何種政府計(jì)劃都無法彌補(bǔ)它。一旦這種精神出現(xiàn)了，無論任何錯(cuò)誤都無法抗衡它。

　　在《獨(dú)立宣言》簽署之后，弗吉尼亞州的政治家約翰?佩齊曾給托馬斯?杰弗遜寫信說：“我們知道，身手敏捷不一定就能贏得比賽，力量強(qiáng)大不一定就能贏得戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。難道這一切不都是上帝安排的嗎?”

　　杰斐遜就任總統(tǒng)的那個(gè)年代離我們已經(jīng)很遠(yuǎn)了。時(shí)光飛逝，美國發(fā)生了翻天覆地的變化。但是有一點(diǎn)他肯定能夠預(yù)知，即我們這個(gè)時(shí)代的主題仍然是：我們國家無畏向前的恢宏故事和它追求尊嚴(yán)的純樸夢(mèng)想。

　　我們不是這個(gè)故事的作者，是杰斐遜作者本人的偉大理想穿越時(shí)空，并通過我們每天的努力在變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)。我們正在通過大家的努力在履行著各自的職責(zé)。

　　帶著永不疲憊、永不氣餒、永不完竭的信念，今天我們重樹這樣的目標(biāo)：使我們的國家變得更加公正、更加慷慨，去驗(yàn)證我們每個(gè)人和所有人生命的尊嚴(yán)。

　　這項(xiàng)工作必須繼續(xù)下去。這個(gè)故事必須延續(xù)下去。上帝會(huì)駕馭我們航行的。

　　愿上帝保佑大家!愿上帝保佑美國!

　　布什就職演講稿英版

　　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 upon 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 know this is in our reach because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves who creates us equal in His image and we are confident in principles that unite and lead us onward.

　　America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them; and every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.

　　Today, we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion and character. America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility. A civil society demands from each of us good will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness. Some seem to believe that our politics can afford to be petty because, in a time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small. But the stakes for America are never small. If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led. If we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose their gifts and undermine their idealism. If we permit our economy to drift and decline, the vulnerable will suffer most. We must live up to the calling we share. Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment. It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos. This commitment, if we keep it, is a way to shared accomplishment.

　　America, at its best, is also courageous. Our national courage has been clear in times of depression and war, when defending common dangers defined our common good. Now we must choose if the example of our fathers and mothers will inspire us or condemn us. We must show courage in a time of blessing by confronting problems instead of passing them on to future generations.