奥巴马“父亲节”致辞,家庭最重要

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。本周日是父亲节，所以我想花点时间谈谈我们很多人一生最重要的一项工作——做一名父亲。

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，在我们生活的地球上，技术使我们能随时与任何人交流，这是幸福的。但是不管我们取得多么大的进步，在孩子的一生中，爱和支持，特别是父母的存在，是最重要的，也是无可替代的。而且在很多方面，对父亲们来说，这更是一个真理。

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.

我其实真的不怎么了解我的父亲。单亲的妈妈和慈祥的外祖母和外祖父养育了我，他们为我付出了巨大的牺牲。全国有很多单亲父母承担着抚养出色的孩子们的伟大工作。但是我始终希望我有个父亲，不仅仅是陪伴着我，而是融入到我的生活之中；我妈妈呕心沥血地给我灌输勤奋诚实的价值观；责任感和之后的知足感—这些都是一个孩子自己更加光明前途的基础。

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.

正因如此，我每天都在为米歇尔和我的两个女儿做一个好丈夫和好父亲，而我的父亲没有为我和我的母亲做到这些。我认识很多其他人，父亲、叔伯和没有血缘关系的人们正在努力打破常规给更多年轻人一个强大的男性榜样作用。

Being a good parent – whether you’re gay or straight; a foster parent or a grandparent – 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.

不管你是同性恋者还是异性恋者，养父母或是祖父母，当一名合格的家长都并不容易。这需要你一直付出关心，经常自我牺牲以及拥有适度的耐心。没有人完美无缺。直至今天，我还在努力去做一名更好的丈夫和更好的父亲。

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.

作为总统，我想倾尽所能来鼓励婚姻和稳固的家庭。我们应该改革我们的儿童抚养法，让更多的父亲们融入到他们孩子们的生活中。本届政府将继续与宗教和其他社区组织以及企业进行合作，发动一项鼓励双亲责任和父亲义务的运动。

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.

因为如果说我在这条路上学到了一件事，那就是如果在家庭上我们没有做好自己，那么我们所有人的成功都如同白璧微瑕。这一点至关重要。当我回顾我的一生，我不会想到我通过的任何法案或我提出的政策。我想到的会是米歇尔和我们共同走过的旅程。我想到的会是萨沙的个人舞蹈演出和玛利亚的网球比赛。想到的会是我们有过的交流和我们共享的静谧时光。我想到的会是我们为她们做的是否正确，她们是否懂得她们每天得到了多少爱。

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.

这就是我认为作为一个父亲的全部内容。如果我们能成为我们的孩子们的满足和鼓励的最好的源泉；如果我们能献给他们无条件的爱和帮助他们成长为他们希望的成年人；那么我们就成功了。

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and have a great weekend.

祝父亲们节日快乐，周末愉快

更多翻译素材，敬请关注可可英语。