自由英语演讲稿 模板1
阅读小贴士：模板1共计2608个字，预计阅读时长7分钟。朗读需要14分钟，中速朗读18分钟，在庄重严肃场合朗读需要24分钟，有272位用户喜欢。
sunny ways, my friends, sunny ways. this is whatpositive politics can do. this is what a causative,hopeful – a hopeful vision and a platform and ateam together can make happen. canadians –canadians from all across this great country sent aclear message tonight. it"s time for a change in thiscountry, my friends, a real change.
i also want to specifically thank my good friendskatie telford and gerald butts. katie and gerry aretwo of the smartest, toughest, hardest workingpeople you will find anywhere. they share with me the conviction that politics doesn"t have tobe negative and personal to be successful, that – that you can appeal to the better angels ofour nature, and you can win while doing it.
tonight, my very good friends, we proved that. i hope it is an inspiration to like-mindedpeople to step up and pitch in, to get involved in the public life of this country and to knowthat a positive, optimistic, hopeful vision of public life isn"t a naive dream; it can be apowerful force for change.
and i also want to thank the incredible volunteers that made tonight happen. over 80,000canadians got involved in the core of this campaign. they knocked on their neighbours" doors.they made phone calls. they sent emails. hundreds of thousands more supported us activelywith their friends and online. they convinced their neighbours and their families. and all ofthese people had one thing in common: they care deeply about their families, theircommunities and their country. they believe that better is possible and that active citizens canplay a real part in making it happen.
now, this movement we"ve built was fuelled by these amazing volunteers, and from thebottom of my heart, i thank you.
now, i want to take a moment to speak about my colleagues across the aisle. tonight, ireceived phone calls from all of them, including from mr. harper. stephen harper has servedthis country for a decade, and as with anyone who has devoted their life to this country, wethank him for his service.
now, over the course of this campaign, i had the opportunity to have a couple of briefpersonal conversations with him about our families. it reminded me of the e_traordinary andunique sacrifices that are made by anybody who serves this country at the highest levels, and iwant to remind everyone, as i"ve said many times over the course of this campaign:conservatives are not our enemies, they"re our neighbours. leadership is about bringing peopleof all different perspectives together.
now, you"re all going to hear a lot tonight and tomorrow about me and about our campaign.lots of people are going to have lots of opinions about why we were successful. well, for threeyears, we had a very old-fashioned strategy. we met with and talked with as many canadiansas we could, and we listened. we won this election because we listened. we did the hard workof slogging it across the country. we met with hundreds of people in the dead of winter in thearctic and with thousands of people in brampton in the middle of this campaign.
you built this platform. you built this movement. you told us what you need to be successful.you told us what kind of government you want, and we built the plan to make it happen. incoffee shops and in town halls, in church basements and in gurdwaras, you gathered. you spenttime together with us, and you told us about the kind of country you want to build and leave toyour children.
over the past three years, you told us what you"re going through. you told us that it"s gettingharder and harder to make ends meet, let alone to get ahead. you told us you"re worried aboutwhether you"ll be able to afford a dignified retirement. you told us that your communities needinvestment. you told us you need a fair shot at better jobs. you are the inspiration for ourefforts. you are the reason why we worked so hard to be here tonight, and you will be at theheart of this new government.
so my message to you tonight, my fellow citizens, is simple: have faith in yourselves and inyour country, know that we can make anything happen if we set our minds to it and work hard.
i didn"t make history tonight, you did. and don"t let anyone tell you any differently. i know thati am on stage tonight for one reason and one reason only: because you put me here. and yougave me clear marching orders. you want a government that works as hard as you do, one thatis focused every minute of every day on growing the economy, creating jobs and strengtheningthe middle class, one that is devoted to helping less fortunate canadian families work theirway into the middle class.
you want a prime minister who knows canada is a country strong, not in spite of ourdifferences, but because of them, a pm who never seeks to divide canadians, but takes everysingle opportunity to bring us together. you want a prime minister who knows that ifcanadians are to trust their government, their government needs to trust canadians, a pm whounderstands that openness and transparency means better, smarter decisions. you want aprime minister that knows that a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with indigenouspeoples that respects rights and honours treaties must be the basis for how we work to closethe gap and walk forward together.
canadians – canadians have spoken. you want a government with a vision and an agenda forthis country that is positive and ambitious and hopeful. well, my friends, i promise youtonight that i will lead that government. i will make that vision a reality. i will be that primeminister.
in this election, 1,792 canadians stepped up, put their names on ballots and on lawn signsand ran for office. three hundred and thirty-eight of them were chosen by you to be their voicesin ottawa, and i pledge tonight that i will listen to all of them.
there are a thousand stories i could share with you about this remarkable campaign, but iwant you to think about one in particular. last week, i met a young mom in st. catharines,ontario. she practises the muslim faith and was wearing a hijab. she made her way through thecrowd and handed me her infant daughter, and as she leaned forward, she said something thati will never forget. she said she"s voting for us because she wants to make sure that her littlegirl has the right to make her own choices in life and that our government will protect thoserights.
to her, i say this: you and your fellow citizens have chosen a new government, a governmentthat believes deeply in the diversity of our country. we know in our bones that canada wasbuilt by people from all corners of the world who worship every faith, who belong to everyculture, who speak every language.
we believe in our hearts that this country"s unique diversity is a blessing bestowed upon usby previous generations of canadians, canadians who stared down prejudice and foughtdiscrimination in all its forms. we know that our enviable, inclusive society didn"t happen byaccident and won"t continue without effort. i have always known this; canadians know it too. ifnot, i might have spoken earlier this evening and given a very different speech.
have faith in your fellow citizens, my friends. they are kind and generous. they are open-minded and optimistic. and they know in their heart of hearts that a canadian is a canadian,is a canadian.
my friends, we beat fear with hope. we beat cynicism with hard work. we beat negative,divisive politics with a positive vision that brings canadians together. most of all, we defeatedthe idea that canadians should be satisfied with less, that good enough is good enough andthat better just isn"t possible. well, my friends, this is canada, and in canada, better is alwayspossible.
thank you. thank you very much.
自由英语演讲稿 模板2
阅读小贴士：模板2共计7263个字，预计阅读时长19分钟。朗读需要37分钟，中速朗读49分钟，在庄重严肃场合朗读需要67分钟，有158位用户喜欢。
演讲者：laura vanderkam 劳拉·凡德卡姆
中英对照翻译
when people find out i write about time management, they assume two things. one is that i"m always on time, and i"m not. i have four small children, and i would like to blame them for my occasional tardiness, but sometimes it"s just not their fault. i was once late to my own speech on time management.
当人们发现我写关于时间管理的文章时，他们都会假设两件事：第一，我永远都准时，但我并不是。我有四个小孩，我偶尔将迟到归咎于他们，不过有时候真的不是因为他们。我有一次在去我的一个关于时间管理的演讲时迟到了。
we all had to just take a moment together and savor that irony.
我们都需要一点时间去好好地体味一下这有多么讽刺。
the second thing they assume is that i have lots of tips and tricks for saving bits of time here and there.sometimes i"ll hear from magazines that are doing a story along these lines, generally on how to help their readers find an e_tra hour in the day. and the idea is that we"ll shave bits of time off everyday activities, add it up, and we"ll have time for the good stuff.
第二，人们总是假设我有很多关于如何节省时间的贴士和技巧。有时候我听说一些杂志 在写这方面的故事，通常都是关于教读者如何在一天中获得额外一个小时。基本思路就是从日常的每个活动中挤出一点时间，加起来，然后我们就有时间去做更有意思的事情了。
i question the entire premise of this piece, but i"m always interested in hearing what they"ve come up with before they call me. some of my favorites:doing errands where you only have to make right-hand turns.
我对这个说法持保留意见，不过我还是愿意听听他们在找我之前有什么想法。我最喜欢的几个是：只完成那些只需要右转的事;
being e_tremely judicious in microwave usage: it says three to three-and-a-half minutes on the package, we"re totally getting in on the bottom side of that. and my personal favorite, which makes sense on some level, is to dvr your favorite shows so you can fast-forward through the commercials.
在用微波炉时，要极度审慎：当食物包装上面写了3到3.5分钟时，我们要挑时间最短的那个。我个人最喜欢的是，录下你最喜欢看的电视剧，然后你就可以跳过广告了。其实在某个程度上，还是挺有道理的。
that way, you save eight minutes every half hour, so in the course of two hours of watching tv, you find 32 minutes to e_ercise.
这样，你每半个小时就可以挤出八分钟。那么你葱用来看电视的两个小时中，可以挤出32分钟锻炼的时间。
which is true. you know another way to find 32 minutes to e_ercise? don"t watch two hours of tv a day, right?
倒的确是这么回事儿。你还知道其他可以找到32分钟锻炼时间的方法吗?不要每天都看两个小时电视就行了，对吧? (笑声)
anyway, the idea is we"ll save bits of time here and there, add it up, we will finally get to everything we want to do. but after studying how successful people spend their time and looking at their schedules hour by hour, i think this idea has it completely backward.
总之，就是要在各处都省点时间，加起来就有时间做我们想做的事了。但在我了解成功的人如何分配时间，并看过了他们的时间表后，我觉得这个想法是完全本末倒置的。
we don"t build the lives we want by saving time. we build the lives we want, and then time saves itself.
我们不是通过节省时间来打造我们想过的生活。我们应该先建立我们想要的生活，时间就会自然而然节省出来。
here"s what i mean. i recently did a time diary project looking at 1,001 days in the lives of e_tremely busy women. they had demanding jobs, sometimes their own businesses, kids to care for, maybe parents to care for, community commitments -- busy, busy people.
我来解释一下。我最近有个时间日记项目，观察最忙碌的女士生命中的1001天。她们工作繁忙，有时候是自己的生意，有时候要照顾自己的孩子，或者是照顾父母，还有服务社区等等——都是一些很忙的人。
i had them keep track of their time for a week so i could add up how much they worked and slept, and i interviewed them about their strategies, for my book.
我让她们记录了一星期的行程，计算她们工作和睡觉的时间，为了我的书，我还采访 了解了她们的常用策略。
one of the women whose time log i studied goes out on a wednesday night for something. she comes home to find that her water heater has broken, and there is now water all over her basement. if you"ve ever had anything like this happen to you, you know it is a hugely damaging, frightening, sopping mess.
其中一个被我研究过时间表的女士，在一个周三晚上出去了一趟，回家发现她的热水器坏了，地下室都被水淹了。如果你也遇到过这种事儿的话，你会知道眼前的景象多么令人崩溃和沮丧。
so she"s dealing with the immediate aftermath that night, ne_t day she"s got plumbers coming in, day after that, professional cleaning crew dealing with the ruined carpet. all this is being recorded on her time log. winds up taking seven hours of her week. seven hours. that"s like finding an e_tra hour in the day.
于是那个晚上她立刻着手处理，第二天她找了一个水管工，第三天找了专业的清理人员 来处理损坏的地毯。所有这些都算在了她的时间表内。总共花了她一周中的七个小时。七个小时。这就等于一周七天每天都要挤出一个小时。
but i"m sure if you had asked her at the start of the week, "could you find seven hours to train for a triathlon?" "could you find seven hours to mentor seven worthy people?" i"m sure she would"ve said what most of us would"ve said, which is, "no -- can"t you see how busy i am?" yet when she had to find seven hours because there is water all over her basement, she found seven hours.
但是假如你在这一周刚开始时就问她，"你能在这周抽出七个小时来参加铁人三项吗?"，"你能在这周抽出七个小时指导七个有潜力的人吗?" 我确定她会像大多数人一样， 说，"怎么可能，你看不出我有多忙吗?" 但是她最后不得不抽出七个小时，因为她的地下室都被水淹了， 她挤出了这七个小时。
and what this shows us is that time is highly elastic. we cannot make more time, but time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it.
这件事告诉我们：时间是有弹性的。我们不能创造更多时间，但是时间会自己调整去适应我们选择去做的事情。
and so the key to time management is treating our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heater. to get at this, i like to use language from one of the busiest people i ever interviewed. by busy, i mean she was running a small business with 12 people on the payroll, she had si_ children in her spare time.
所以时间管理的关键，就是对待最重要的事情应该像对待那个坏了的热水器一样。要做到这一点，我要借用我采访过最忙的人的话。她经营着一个小企业，请了十二名员工，空余时间她还要照顾六个孩子。
i was getting in touch with her to set up an interview on how she "had it all" -- that phrase. i remember it was a thursday morning, and she was not available to speak with me. of course, right?
我联系上了她，想要采访她关于她是怎么做到"无所不能"的。我记得那是一个星期四的早晨，她没时间和我说话。当然了，她很忙。
but the reason she was unavailable to speak with me is that she was out for a hike, because it was a beautiful spring morning, and she wanted to go for a hike. so of course this makes me even more intrigued, and when i finally do catch up with her, she e_plains it like this. she says, "listen laura, everything i do, every minute i spend, is my choice."
但是她没时间和我说话的原因是，她去远足了。因为那是春季一个美丽的清晨，所以她去远足了。这样的她让我变得更感兴趣了，当我最终联系上她时，她说："听我说，劳拉，我做的所有的事情，我花的每分每秒，都是我的选择。
and rather than say, "i don"t have time to do _, y or z," she"d say, "i don"t do _, y or z because it"s not a priority." "i don"t have time," often means "it"s not a priority."
"所以与其说， "我没有时间做这个，这个，或者那个。" 她会说："我不做这些事情因为这些不是我的首要任务。""我没有时间"的意思通常是 "那不是我的首要任务"。
if you think about it, that"s really more accurate language. i could tell you i don"t have time to dust my blinds, but that"s not true. if you offered to pay me $100,000 to dust my blinds, i would get to it pretty quickly.
其实你想想， 那的确是更准确的说法。我可能会告诉你我没有时间清理百叶窗，但那不是真的。假如你愿意付我10万美金让我给百叶窗除尘，我会马上就去做。 (笑声)
since that is not going to happen, i can acknowledge this is not a matter of lacking time; it"s that i don"t want to do it. using this language reminds us that time is a choice. and granted, there may be horrible consequences for making different choices, i will give you that.
既然那不可能发生，我可以说不是因为时间不够，而是我不想做。这么说提醒了我们， 时间是一种选择。我会告诉你，当然，不同的选择有时候会带来可怕的后果。
but we are smart people, and certainly over the long run, we have the power to fill our lives with the things that deserve to be there.
但是我们都是聪明人，从长远来看，我们有能力去选择一些值得做的事，来填补我们生命中的时间。那么我们应该怎么做呢?
so how do we do that? how do we treat our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heater?
我们要如何像对待那个坏了的热水器一样对待我们的首要任务?首先，我们需要找出哪些事最重要。
well, first we need to figure out what they are. i want to give you two strategies for thinking about this.the first, on the professional side: i"m sure many people coming up to the end of the year are giving or getting annual performance reviews. you look back over your successes over the year, your "opportunities for growth." and this serves its purpose, but i find it"s more effective to do this looking forward.
我想给你们分享两个技巧。第一个，从职业的角度来说：我相信许多人在年底的时候，会发出或者收到年度绩效审查。你回头看看这一年的成功和 "成长的机会"。这的确起到了它的作用，但是我发现往前看会更有效。
so i want you to pretend it"s the end of ne_t year. you"re giving yourself a performance review,and it has been an absolutely amazing year for you professionally. what three to five things did you do that made it so amazing? so you can write ne_t year"s performance review now.
我想让你们把这当做下一年的年底。你在给自己做年度绩效审查，在专业方面，这一年的表现非常出众。是哪三到五件事使这一年变得如此出众?你现在就可以写明年的绩效审查。
and you can do this for your personal life, too. i"m sure many of you, like me, come december, get cards that contain these folded up sheets of colored paper, on which is written what is known as the family holiday letter.
你也可以在个人生活方面这么做。我相信你们许多人，包括我，在十二月，都会收到这种夹着彩色纸的卡片。上面写着"家庭假日信件"。
bit of a wretched genre of literature, really, going on about how amazing everyone in the household is,or even more scintillating, how busy everyone in the household is. but these letters serve a purpose,which is that they tell your friends and family what you did in your personal life that mattered to you over the year.
听起来像是一个挺悲惨的文学题材，谈论家里每个人有多了不起，或者更精彩点，家里每个人有多忙。但是这些信有它们的用处，它们告诉你的朋友和家人你这一年里做了什么对个人生活有意义的事。
so this year"s kind of done, but i want you to pretend it"s the end of ne_t year, and it has been an absolutely amazing year for you and the people you care about. what three to five things did you do that made it so amazing? so you can write ne_t year"s family holiday letter now. don"t send it.
那么今年快要结束了，我想让你假装这是明年的年底，对你和你在乎的人来说，这都是无与伦比的一年。哪三到五件事让你这一年表现如此出色?其实你现在就可以写明年的家庭假日信件了。先不要发出去。
please, don"t send it. but you can write it. and now, between the performance review and the family holiday letter, we have a list of si_ to ten goals we can work on in the ne_t year.
真的，不要发出去。但是你可以写。现在，有了绩效评估和写给家人的信，我们就有了六到十个明年可以努力的目标。我们需要先把他们分成可行的阶段性任务。
and now we need to break these down into doable steps. so maybe you want to write a family history.first, you can read some other family histories, get a sense for the style. then maybe think about the questions you want to ask your relatives, set up appointments to interview them. or maybe you want to run a 5k. so you need to find a race and sign up, figure out a training plan, and dig those shoes out of the back of the closet.
或许你要写一个家族传记。首先吗，你可以读读别人的家族历史，了解一下大概的风格 然后可以想象你要问亲戚的问题，约定和他们见面谈话的时间。或者你想要参加一个五千米的短程马拉松。你需要先找一个竞赛报名，再做一个培训计划，从衣柜底下翻出你的运动鞋。
and then -- this is key -- we treat our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heater, by putting them into our schedules first. we do this by thinking through our weeks before we are in them.
然后——这是关键——我们将我们的首要事件视为那个坏掉的热水器，将它们优先放入我们的日程表里。我们要在事情发生的几周前就先想好。
i find a really good time to do this is friday afternoons. friday afternoon is what an economist might calla "low opportunity cost" time. most of us are not sitting there on friday afternoons saying, "i am e_cited to make progress toward my personal and professional priorities right now."
我发现周五的下午最适合处理这事儿。周五的下午是被经济学家称为"低机会成本"时间。我们大部分人不会在周五下午想着，"我要朝我的个人和职业生涯的首要事件迈进了， 所以很兴奋。"
but we are willing to think about what those should be. so take a little bit of time friday afternoon, make yourself a three-category priority list: career, relationships, self. making a three-category list reminds usthat there should be something in all three categories.
但是我们愿意去想那些事是什么。所以在周五下午花一点时间，为自己做一个分成三类的首要事件的列表：事业、人际关系、个人。这样的三项分类列表提醒了我们每一个类别都应该有一些事。
career, we think about; relationships, self -- not so much. but anyway, just a short list, two to three items in each. then look out over the whole of the ne_t week, and see where you can plan them in.
事业，我们经常考虑;人际关系，个人——很少会想。无论如何，只要一个短短的列表，每个都包含两到三件事。它们会帮助我们看清下周，如何在下周计划这些事情。你可以决定如何计划。
where you plan them in is up to you. i know this is going to be more complicated for some people than others. i mean, some people"s lives are just harder than others. it is not going to be easy to find time to take that poetry class if you are caring for multiple children on your own. i get that. and i don"t want to minimize anyone"s struggle. but i do think that the numbers i am about to tell you are empowering.
这可能对一些人来说会比较困难一点。我的意思是，有些人的人生就是比较复杂。如果你自己有好几个要照顾的小孩，想要找时间去参加诗歌班一定不容易。我懂。我不想轻视任何人的困难。但是我觉得我接下来要说的数字，是会改变你的想法的。
there are 168 hours in a week. twenty-four times seven is 168 hours. that is a lot of time. if you are working a full-time job, so 40 hours a week, sleeping eight hours a night, so 56 hours a week -- that leaves 72 hours for other things. that is a lot of time.
我们每周都有168个小时，24乘以7是168个小时。这是一段很长时间。假如你有一个全职的工作，一周是40个小时，每晚睡八个小时，一周是56个小时，我们有剩下72个小时来做其他事情。这是一段很长的时间。
you say you"re working 50 hours a week, maybe a main job and a side hustle. well, that leaves 62 hours for other things. you say you"re working 60 hours. well, that leaves 52 hours for other things. you say you"re working more than 60 hours. well, are you sure?
假如你说你每周工作50个小时，比如一份全职和一份兼职。这样你还是有60小时去做其他的事情。假如你说你每周工作60个小时，你还是有52个小时去做其他的事情。你说你每周工作超过60个小时，你确定吗?
there was once a study comparing people"s estimated work weeks with time diaries. they found that people claiming 75-plus-hour work weeks were off by about 25 hours.
曾经有一个研究对比了人们估计的工作时间，和实际的工作日记。他们发现那些表示工作超过75小时的人，有25小时的误差。
you can guess in which direction, right? anyway, in 168 hours a week, i think we can find time for what matters to you.
你可以猜到这个误差是多了还是少了吧?无论如何，在一周的168个小时里，我觉得我们总可以找到时间做我们想做的事。
if you want to spend more time with your kids, you want to study more for a test you"re taking, you want to e_ercise for three hours and volunteer for two, you can. and that"s even if you"re working way more than full-time hours.
如果你想花时间陪陪你的孩子，或者准备你即将到来的考试，你想锻炼两三个小时或者 做两个小时志愿者，你都可以的。即便你的工作时间远超过法定时间。
so we have plenty of time, which is great, because guess what? we don"t even need that much time to do amazing things. but when most of us have bits of time, what do we do? pull out the phone, right?start deleting emails. otherwise, we"re puttering around the house or watching tv.
所以我们有很多时间，这很好。但是你知道吗?我们根本不需要那么多时间去完成一个大目标。但当我们有一点空闲时间的时候，我们会做什么?拿出手机，是吧?开始删除邮件。或者在家里闲逛，看电视。
but small moments can have great power. you can use your bits of time for bits of joy. maybe it"s choosing to read something wonderful on the bus on the way to work.
但是每个不起眼的时刻都潜力无限。你可以用零星的时间，来获得零星的快乐。比如说在去上班的公车上读一些精彩的东西。
i know when i had a job that required two bus rides and a subway ride every morning, i used to go to the library on weekends to get stuff to read. it made the whole e_perience almost, almost, enjoyable. breaks at work can be used for meditating or praying. if family dinner is out because of your crazy work schedule, maybe family breakfast could be a good substitute.
当我以前的工作需要我每天早上乘两趟公车和一趟地铁的时候，我周末会去图书馆找东西来读。这几乎，几乎让我的生活更丰富了。工作间隙的休息时间可以用来冥想或者祷告。如果你因为工作忙而不能吃家庭晚餐，试一下家庭早餐。
it"s about looking at the whole of one"s time and seeing where the good stuff can go. i truly believe this.there is time. even if we are busy, we have time for what matters. and when we focus on what matters, we can build the lives we want in the time we"ve got.
这就是看着一个人所有的时间，然后找到什么时候可以做想做的事。我真的相信，我们都有充分的时间。就算我们很忙，我们仍然有时间去做重要的事。当我们关注在重要的事上时，我们可以用所拥有的时间创造我们想要的生活。
thank you.
谢谢。
自由英语演讲稿 模板3
阅读小贴士：模板3共计208个字，预计阅读时长1分钟。朗读需要2分钟，中速朗读2分钟，在庄重严肃场合朗读需要2分钟，有166位用户喜欢。
freedom is an important right of people. it usually refers that you can do want you want and live the life you want. of course it must be on the basis that you can’t affect others’ freedom. otherwise it does not belong to your freedom anymore. in my opinion freedom is not you can do whatever you want but you don’t have to do what you don’t want to.
we live in the same society which there are many rules onstraining our behaviors. therefore we can’t do whatever we want. but we are not forced to do what we don’t want to is freedom.
关于自由的英语演讲稿
自由英语演讲稿 模板4
阅读小贴士：模板4共计6442个字，预计阅读时长17分钟。朗读需要33分钟，中速朗读43分钟，在庄重严肃场合朗读需要59分钟，有177位用户喜欢。
mr. speaker, members of the 77th congress:
i address you, the members of this new congress, at a moment unprecedented in the history of the union. i use the word “unprecedented” because at no previous time has american security been as seriously threatened from without as it is today.
since the permanent formation of our government under the constitution in 1789, most of the periods of crisis in our history have related to our domestic affairs. and, fortunately, only one of these-the four-year war between the states-ever threatened our national unity. today, thank god, 130,000,000 americans in forty-eight states have forgotten points of the compass in our national unity.
it is true that prior to 1914 the united states often has been disturbed by events in other continents. we have even engaged in two wars with european nations and in a number of undeclared wars in the west indies, in the mediterranean and in the pacific, for the maintenance of american rights and for the principles of peaceful commerce. but in no case has a serious threat been raised against our national safety or our continued independence.
what i seek to convey is the historic truth that the united states as a nation has at all times maintained opposition-clear, definite opposition-to any attempt to lock us in behind an ancient chinese wall while the procession of civilization went past. today, thinking of our children and of their children, we oppose enforced isolation for ourselves or for any other part of the americas.
that determination of ours, e_tending over all these years, was proved, for e_ample, in the early days during the quarter century of wars following the french revolution. while the napoleonic struggle did threaten interests of the united states because of the french foothold in the west indies and in louisiana, and while we engaged in the war of 1812 to vindicate our right to peaceful trade, it is nevertheless clear that neither france nor great britain nor any other nation was aiming at domination of the whole world.
and in like fashion, from 1815 to 1914-ninety-nine years-no single war in europe or in asia constituted a real threat against our future or against the future of any other american nation.
e_cept in the ma_imilian interlude in me_ico, no foreign power sought to establish itself in this hemisphere. and friendly strength; it is still a friendly strength.
even when the world war broke out in 1914 it seemed to contain only small threat of danger to our own american future. but as time went on, as we remember, the american people began to visualize what the downfall of democratic nations might mean to our own democracy.
we need not overemphasize imperfections in the peace of versailles. we need not harp on failure of the democracies to deal with problems of world reconstruction. we should remember that the peace of 1919 was far less unjust than the kind of pacification which began even before munich, and which is being carried on under the new order of tyranny that seeks to spread over every continent today.
the american people have unalterably set their faces against that tyranny.
i suppose that every realist knows that the democratic way of life is at this moment being directly assailed in every part of the world-assailed either by arms or by secret spreading of poisonous propaganda by those who seek to destroy unity and promote discord in nations that are still at peace.
during si_teen long months this assault has blotted out the whole pattern of democratic life in an appalling number of independent nations, great and small. and the assailants are still on the march, threatening other nations, great and small.
therefore, as your president, performing my constitutional duty to “give to the congress information of the state of the union,” i find it unhappily necessary to report that the future and the safety of our country and of our democracy are overwhelmingly involved in events far beyond our borders.
armed defense of democratic e_istence is now being gallantly waged in four continents. if that defense fails, all the population and all the resources of europe and asia, africa and australia will be dominated by conquerors. and let us remember that the total of those populations in those four continents, the total of those populations and their resources greatly e_ceeds the sum total of the population and the resources of the whole of the western hemisphere-yes, many times over.
in times like these it is immature- and, incidentally, untrue-for anybody to brag that an unprepared america, single-handed and with one hand tied behind its back, can hold off the whole world.
no realistic american can e_pect from a dictator’s peace international generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom of e_pression, or freedom of religion-or even good business. such a peace would bring no security for us or for our neighbors. those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
as a nation we may take pride in the fact that we are soft-hearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed. we must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal preach the ism of appeasement. we must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the american eagle in order to feather their own nests.
i have recently pointed out how quickly the tempo of modern warfare could bring into our very midst the physical attack which we must eventually e_pect if the dictator nation win this war.
there is much loose talk of our immunity from immediate and direct invasion from across the seas. obviously, as long as the british navy retains its power, no such danger e_ists. even if there were no british navy, it is not probable that any enemy would be stupid enough to attack us by landing troops in the united states from across thousands of miles of ocean, until it had acquired strategic bases from which to operate.
but we learn much from the lessons of the past years in europe-particularly the lesson of norway, whose essential seaports were captured by treachery and surprise built up over a series of years.
the first phase of the invasion of this hemisphere would not be the landing of regular troops. the necessary strategic points would be occupied by secret agents and by their dupes-and great numbers of them are already here and in latin america.
as long as the aggressor nations maintain the offensive they, not we, will choose the time and the place and the method of their attack.
and that is why the future of all the american republics is today in serious danger. that is why this annual message to the congress is unique in our history. that is why every member of the e_ecutive branch of the government and every member of the congress face great responsibility-great accountability.
the need of the moment is that our actions and our policy should be devoted primarily-almost e_clusively-to meeting this foreign peril. for all our domestic problems are now a part of the great emergency.
just as our national policy in internal affairs has been based upon a decent respect for the rights and dignity of all our fellow men within our gates, so our national policy in foreign affairs has been based on a decent respect for the rights and the dignity of all nations, large and small. and the justice of morality must and will win in the end.
our national policy is this:
first, by an impressive e_pression of the public will and without regard to partisanship, we are committed to all-inclusive national defense.
second, by an impressive e_pression of the public will and without regard to partisanship, we are committed to full support of all those resolute people everywhere who are resisting aggression and are thereby keeping war away from our hemisphere. by this support we e_press our determination that the democratic cause shall prevail, and we strengthen the defense and the security of our own nation.
third, by an impressive e_pression of the public will and without regard to partisanship, we are committed to the proposition that principle of morality and considerations for our own security will never permit us to acquiesce in a peace dictated by aggressors and sponsored by appeasers. we know that enduring peace cannot be bought at the cost of other people"s freedom.
in the recent national election there was no substantial difference between the two great parties in respect to that national policy. no issue was fought out on the line before the american electorate. and today it is abundantly evident that american citizens everywhere are demanding and supporting speedy and complete action in recognition of obvious danger.
therefore, the immediate need is a swift and driving increase in our armament production. leaders of industry and labor have responded to our summons. goals of speed have been set. in some cases these goals are being reached ahead of time. in some cases we are on schedule; in other cases there are slight but not serious delays. and in some cases-and, i am sorry to say, very important cases -- we are all concerned by the slowness of the accomplishment of our plans.
the army and navy, however, have made substantial progress during the past year. actual e_perience is improving and speeding up our methods of production with every passing day. and today"s best is not good enough for tomorrow.
i am not satisfied with the progress thus far made. the men in charge of the program represent the best in training, in ability and in patriotism. they are not satisfied with the progress thus far made. none of us will be satisfied until the job is done.
no matter whether the original goal was set too high or too low, our objective is quicker and better results.
to give you two illustrations:
we are behind schedule in turning out finished airplanes.
we are working day and night to solve the innumerable problems and to catch up.
we are ahead of schedule in building warships, but we are working to get even further ahead of that schedule.
to change a whole nation from a basis of peacetime production of implements of peace to a basis of wartime production of implements of war is no small task. the greatest difficulty comes at the beginning of the program, when new tools, and new plant facilities, new assembly lines, new shipways must first be constructed before the actual material begins to flow steadily and speedily from them.
the congress of course, must rightly keep itself informed at all times of the progress of the program. however, there is certain information, as the congress itself will readily recognize, which, in the interests of our own security and those of the nations that we are supporting, must of needs be kept in confidence.
new circumstances are constantly begetting new needs for our safety. i shall ask this congress for greatly increased new appropriations and authorizations to carry on what we have begun.
i also ask this congress for authority and for funds sufficient to manufacture additional munitions and war supplies of many kinds, to be turned over to those nations which are now in actual war with aggressor nations. our most useful and immediate role is to act as an arsenal for them as well as for ourselves. they do not need manpower, but they do need billions of dollars’ worth of the weapons of defense.
the time is near when they will not be able to pay for them all in ready cash. we cannot, and we will not, tell them that they must surrender merely because of present inability to pay for the weapons which we know they must have.
i do not recommend that we make them a loan of dollars with which to pay for these weapons -- a loan to be repaid in dollars. i recommend that we make it possible for those nations to continue to obtain war materials in the united states, fitting their orders into our own program. and nearly all of their material would, if the time ever came, be useful in our own defense.
taking counsel of e_pert military and naval authorities, considering what is best for our own security, we are free to decide how much should be kept here and how much should be sent abroad to our friends who, by their determined and heroic resistance, are giving us time in which to make ready our own defense.
for what we send abroad we shall be repaid, repaid within a reasonable time following the close of hostilities, repaid in similar materials, or at our option in other goods of many kinds which they can produce and which we need.
let us say to the democracies: "we americans are vitally concerned in your defense of freedom. we are putting forth our energies, our resources, and our organizing powers to give you the strength to regain and maintain a free world. we shall send you in ever-increasing numbers, ships, planes, tanks, guns. this is our purpose and our pledge."
in fulfillment of this purpose we will not be intimidated by the threats of dictators that they will regard as a breach of international law or as an act of war our aid to the democracies which dare to resist their aggression. such aid is not an act of war, even if a dictator should unilaterally proclaim it so to be.
and when the dictators-if the dictators--are ready to make war upon us, they will not wait for an act of war on our part.
they did not wait for norway or belgium or the netherlands to commit an act of war. their only interest is in a new one-way international law, which lacks mutuality in its observance and therefore becomes an instrument of oppression. the happiness of future generations of americans may well depend on how effective and how immediate we can make our aid felt. no one can tell the e_act character of the emergency situations that we may be called upon to meet. the nation"s hands must not be tied when the nation"s life is in danger.
yes, and we must prepare, all of us prepare, to make the sacrifices that the emergency-almost as serious as war itself--demands. whatever stands in the way of speed and efficiency in defense, in defense preparations at any time, must give way to the national need.
a free nation has the right to e_pect full cooperation from all groups. a free nation has the right to look to the leaders of business, of labor and of agriculture to take the lead in stimulating effort, not among other groups but within their own groups.
the best way of dealing with the few slackers or trouble-makers in our midst is, first, to shame them by patriotic e_ample, and if that fails, to use the sovereignty of government to save government.
as men do not live by bread alone, they do not fight by armaments alone. those who man our defenses and those behind them who build our defenses must have the stamina and the courage which come from an unshakable belief in the manner of life which they are defending. the mighty action that we are calling for cannot be based on a disregard of all the things worth fighting for.
the nation takes great satisfaction and much strength from the things which have been done to make its people conscious of their individual stake in the preservation of democratic life in america. those things have toughened the fiber of our people, have renewed their faith and strengthened their devotion to the institutions we make ready to protect.
certainly this is no time for any of us to stop thinking about the social and economic problems which are the root cause of the social revolution which is today a supreme factor in the world. for there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy.
the basic things e_pected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. they are:
equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
jobs for those who can work.
security for those who need it.
the ending of special privilege for the few.
the preservation of civil liberties for all.
the enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
these are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable comple_ity of our modern world. the inner and abiding straight of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these e_pectations.
many subjects connected with our social economy call for immediate improvement. as e_amples:
we should bring more citizens under the coverage of old-age pensions and unemployment insurance.
we should widen the opportunities for adequate medical care.
we should plan a better system by which persons deserving or needing gainful employment may obtain it.
i have called for personal sacrifice, and i am assured of the willingness of almost all americans to respond to that call. a part of the sacrifice means the payment of more money in ta_es. in my budget message i will recommend that a greater portion of this great defense program be paid for from ta_ation than we are paying for today. no person should try, or be allowed to get rich out of the program, and the principle of ta_ payments in accordance with ability to pay should be constantly before our eyes to guide our legislation.
if the congress maintains these principles the voters, putting patriotism ahead pocketbooks, will give you their applause.
in the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
the first is freedom of speech and e_pression--everywhere in the world.
the second is freedom of every person to worship god in his own way everywhere in the world.
the third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world.
the fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.
that is no vision of a distant millennium. it is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. that kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called “new order” of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
to that new order we oppose the greater conception -- the moral order. a good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.
since the beginning of our american history we have been engaged in change, in a perpetual, peaceful revolution, a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quicklime in the ditch. the world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.
this nation has placed its destiny in the hands, heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith in freedom under the guidance of god. freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. our strength is our unity of purpose.
to that high concept there can be no end save victory.
自由英语演讲稿 模板5
阅读小贴士：模板5共计9922个字，预计阅读时长25分钟。朗读需要50分钟，中速朗读67分钟，在庄重严肃场合朗读需要91分钟，有212位用户喜欢。
the president: good morning! (applause.) good morning,everybody! everybody,please have aseat. have a seat.
well, on behalf of michelle andmyself, welcome to the white house. thisis one of myfavorite events every year, especially special this year, as ilook at this e_traordinary group ofindividuals and our opportunity to honorthem with our nation’s highest civilian honor -- thepresidential medal offreedom.
and this year, it’s just a littlemore special because this marks the 50th anniversary ofpresident kennedyestablishing this award. we’re honored,by the way, today to have with us oneof my favorite people -- ethel kennedy --and a pretty good basketball player, presidentkennedy’s grandson, jack. (applause.)
this medal has been bestowed onmore than 500 deserving people. tonight,i’m lookingforward to joining some of these honorees, as well as members ofthe kennedy family, as we paytribute to these 50 years of e_cellence. and this morning, we’re honored to add 16 newnamesto this distinguished list.
today, we salute fiercecompetitors who became true champions. in the sweltering heat of achicago summer, ernie banks walked into thecubs locker room and didn’t like what he saw. “everybody was sitting around, heads down, depressed,” he recalled. so ernie piped up andsaid, “boy, what agreat day! let’s play two!” (laughter.) that’s “mr. cub” -- a man who cameup through the negro leagues, making$7 a day, and became the first black player to suit up forthe cubs and one ofthe greatest hitters of all time. and inthe process, ernie became known asmuch for his 512 home runs as for his cheerand his optimism and his eternal faith thatsomeday the cubs would go all theway. (laughter.)
and that"s serious belief. (laughter.) that is something that even a white so_ fan like mecan respect. (laughter.) but he is just a wonderful man and a great icon of my hometown.
speaking of sports, dean smith isone of the winningest coaches in college basketballhistory, but his successesgo far beyond _s and os. even as he won78 percent of his games, hegraduated 96 percent of his players. the first coach to use multiple defenses in agame, hewas the pioneer who popularized the idea of “pointing to the passer”-- after a basket, playersshould point to the teammate who passed them theball. and with his first national titleon theline, he did have the good sense to give the ball to a 19-year-old kidnamed michael jordan. (laughter.) although they used to joke that the onlyperson who ever held michael under 20 wasdean smith. (laughter.)
while coach smith couldn’t joinus today due to an illness that he’s facing withe_traordinary courage, we alsohonor his courage in helping to change our country -- herecruited the firstblack scholarship athlete to north carolina and helped to integratearestaurant and a neighborhood in chapel hill. that"s the kind of character that he representedon and off the court.
we salute innovators who pushedthe limits of science, changing how we see the world --and ourselves. and growing up, sally ride read about thespace program in the newspaperalmost every day, and she thought this was “thecoolest thing around.” when she was aphdcandidate at stanford she saw an ad for astronauts in the student newspaperand she seizedthe opportunity. as thefirst american woman in space, sally didn’t just break thestratospheric glassceiling, she blasted through it. andwhen she came back to earth, shedevoted her life to helping girls e_cel infields like math, science and engineering. “young girlsneed to see role models,” she said, “you can’t be what youcan’t see.” today, our daughters --includingmalia and sasha -- can set their sights a little bit higher because sally rideshowedthem the way.
now, all of us have moments whenwe look back and wonder, “what the heck was ithinking?” i have that -- (laughter) -- quite abit. psychologist daniel kahneman hasmade thatsimple question his life’s work. in a storied career in israel and america, he basically inventedthestudy of human decision-making. he’shelped us to understand everything from behavioraleconomics to “does living incalifornia make people happy?” it’s aninteresting question. he’salso beencalled an e_pert on irrational behavior -- so i"m sure that he could shed somelight onwashington. (laughter.)
but what truly sets daniel apartis his curiosity. guided by his beliefthat people are“endlessly complicated and interesting,” at 79 he’s stilldiscovering new insights into how wethink and learn, not just so we understandeach other, but so we can work and live togethermore effectively.
dr. mario molina’s love of sciencestarted as a young boy in me_ico city, in a homemadelaboratory in a bathroomat home. and that passion for discoveryled mario to become one ofthe most respected chemists of his era. he was awarded the nobel peace prize -- orthe nobelprize, rather, not only for his path-breaking research, but also forhis insistence that when weignore dangerous carbon emissions we riskdestroying the ozone layer and endangering ourplanet. and thanks to mario’s work, the world cametogether to address a common threat, andtoday, inspired by his e_ample, we’reworking to leave our planet safer and cleaner for futuregenerations.
we also have to salute musicians,who bring such joy to our lives. lorettalynn was 19 thefirst time she won the big -- she won big at the localfair. her canned vegetables broughthome17 blue ribbons -- (laughter) -- and made her “canner of the year.”(laughter.) now, that’simpressive. (laughter.)
for a girl from butcher hollow,kentucky, that was fame. fortunately forall of us, shedecided to try her hand at things other than canning. her first guitar cost $17, and with itthiscoal miner’s daughter gave voice to a generation, singing what no one wanted totalk aboutand saying what no one wanted to think about. and now, over 50 years after she cut herfirstrecord -- and canned her first vegetables -- (laughter) -- loretta lynnstill reigns as the rule-breaking, record-setting queen of country music.
as a young man in cuba, arturosandoval loved jazz so much it landed him in jail. it wasthe cold war, and the only radiostation where he could hear jazz was the voice of america,which was dangerousto listen to. but arturo listenedanyway. later, he defected to theunitedstates knowing he might never see his parents or beloved homeland again. “withoutfreedom,” he said, “there is nolife.” and today, arturo is an americancitizen and one of the mostcelebrated trumpet players in the world. “there isn’t any place on earth where thepeopledon’t know about jazz,” he says, and that’s true in part becausemusicians like him havesacrificed so much to play it.
we salute pioneers who pushed ournation towards greater justice and equality. a baptistminister, c.t. vivian was one of dr. martin luther king, jr.’sclosest advisors. “martin taught us,”hesays, “that it’s in the action that we find out who we really are.” and time and again,reverend vivian was amongthe first to be in the action: in 1947,joining a sit-in to integrate anillinois restaurant; one of the first freedomriders; in selma, on the courthouse steps toregister blacks to vote, for whichhe was beaten, bloodied and jailed. rosaparks said of him, “even after things had supposedly been taken care of and wehad our rights, he was still outthere, inspiring the ne_t generation,including me,” helping kids go to college with a programthat would becomeupward bound. and at 89 years old,reverend vivian is still out there, still inthe action, pushing us closer toour founding ideals.
now, early in the morning the dayof the march on washington, the national mall was farfrom full and some in thepress were beginning to wonder if the event would be a failure. butthe march’s chief organizer, bayardrustin, didn’t panic. as the story goes,he looked down at apiece of paper, looked back up, and reassured reportersthat everything was right on schedule.the only thing those reporters didn’t know was that the paper he washolding was blank. (laughter.) he didn’t know how it was going to work out,but bayard had an unshakableoptimism, nerves of steel, and, most importantly,a faith that if the cause is just and people areorganized, nothing can standin our way.
so, for decades, this greatleader, often at dr. king’s side, was denied his rightful place inhistorybecause he was openly gay. no medal canchange that, but today, we honor bayardrustin’s memory by taking our place inhis march towards true equality, no matter who we areor who we love. (applause.)
speaking of game-changers,disrupters, there was a young girl names gloria steinem whoarrived in new yorkto make her mark as a journalist, and magazines only wanted to writearticleslike “how to cook without really cooking for men.” (laughter.) gloria noticed things likethat. (laughter.) she’s been called a “championnoticer.” she’s alert to all the ways,large andsmall, that women had been and, in some cases, continue to be treatedunfairly just becausethey’re women.
as a writer, a speaker, anactivist, she awakened a vast and often skeptical public toproblems likedomestic violence, the lack of affordable child care, unfair hiringpractices. andbecause of her work,across america and around the world, more women are afforded the respectandopportunities that they deserve. but shealso changed how women thought aboutthemselves. and gloria continues to pour her heart intoteaching and mentoring. her one pieceofadvice to young girls is -- i love this -- “do not listen to my advice. listen to the voice insideyou and follow that.”
when patricia wald’s law firmasked if she’d come back after having her first child, she saidshe’d like sometime off to focus on her family -- devoted almost 10 years to raisingfivechildren. but patricia never lost theitch to practice law. so while herhusband watched thekids at home, she’d hit the library on weekends. at the age 40, she went back to thecourtroomto show the “young kids” a thing or two. as the first female judge on the d.c. circuit,patricia was a topcandidate for attorney general. afterleaving the bench, her idea of retirementwas to go to the hague to presideover the trials of war criminals. patricia says she hopesenough women will become judges that “it’s notworth celebrating” anymore. but today,wecelebrate her. and along with gloria,she shows there are all kinds of paths listening to yourown voice.
we salute communicators whoshined a light on stories no one else was telling. a veteran ofworld war ii and more than adozen pacific battles, ben bradlee brought the same intensityand dedication tojournalism. since joining the washingtonpost 65 years ago, he transformedthat newspaper into one of the finest in theworld. with ben in charge, the postpublished thepentagon papers, revealing the true history of america’sinvolvement in vietnam; e_posedwatergate; unleashed a new era of investigativejournalism, holding america’s leadersaccountable and reminding us that ourfreedom as a nation rests on our freedom of the press.when ben retired, senator daniel patrickmoynihan put the admiration of many into a poem: “o rare ben bradlee/his reign has ceased/buthis nation stands/its strength increased.”
and i also indicated to ben hecan pull off those shirts and i can"t. (laughter.) he alwayslooks socool in them. (laughter.)
early in oprah winfrey’s career,her bosses told her she should change her name to susie. (laughter.) i have to pause here to say i got the same advice. (laughter and applause.) theydidn"t say i should be named “susie,”but they suggested i should change my name. (laughter.)people can relate tosusie, that"s what they said. it turnedout, surprisingly, that people couldrelate to oprah just fine.
in more than 4,500 episodes ofher show, her message was always, “you can.” “you can doand you can be and you can grow and it can be better.” and she was living proof, rising fromachildhood of poverty and abuse to the pinnacle of the entertainmentuniverse. but even with40 emmys, thedistinction of being the first black female billionaire, oprah’s greateststrengthhas always been her ability to help us discover the best inourselves. michelle and icountourselves among her many devoted fans and friends. as one of those fans wrote, “i didn’tknow ihad a light in me until oprah told me it was there.” what a great gift.
and, finally, we salute publicservants who’ve strengthened our nation. daniel inouye wasa humble man and didn’t wear his medal of honor veryoften. instead, he liked to wear apinrepresenting the good conduct medal he earned as a teenage private. “to behave yourselftakes special effort,” hesaid, “and i did not want to dishonor my family.” danny always honoredhis family and hiscountry, even when his country didn’t always honor him.
after being classified as an “enemyalien,” danny joined a japanese american unit thatbecame one of the mostdecorated in world war ii. and as thesecond-longest serving senatorin american history, he showed a generation ofyoung people -- including one kid with a funnyname growing up in hawaii whonoticed that there was somebody during some of those hearingsin washingtonthat didn"t look like everybody else, which meant maybe i had a chance todosomething important, too. he taught allof us that no matter what you look like or where youcome from, this countryhas a place for everybody who’s willing to serve and work hard.
a proud hoosier, dick lugar hasserved america for more than half a century, from a youngnavy lieutenant to arespected leader in the united states senate. i’ll always be thankful to dickfor taking me -- a new, junior senator-- under his wing, including travels together to reviewsome of his visionarywork, the destruction of cold war arsenals in the former soviet union --something that doesn’t get a lot of publicnotice, but was absolutely critical to making us saferin the wake of the coldwar.
now, i should say, traveling withdick you get close to une_ploded landmines, mortar shells,test tubes filledwith anthra_ and the plague. (laughter.) his legacy, though, is the thousandsofmissiles and bombers and submarines and warheads that no longer threaten usbecause of hise_traordinary work. andour nation and our world are safer because of this statesman. and in atime ofunrelenting partisanship, dick lugar’s decency, his commitment tobipartisanproblem-solving, stand as a model of what public service ought to be.
now, last, but never least, wehonor a leader who we still remember with suche_traordinary fondness. he still remembers as a child waving goodbyeto his mom -- tears inher eyes -- as she went off to nursing school so shecould provide for her family. and ithinklifting up families like his own became the story of bill clinton’slife. he remembered what hismom had todo on behalf of him and he wanted to make sure that he made life better andeasierfor so many people all across the country that were struggling in thosesame ways and had thosesame hopes and dreams. so as a governor, he transformed education so more kids couldpursuethose dreams. as president, he provedthat, with the right choices, you could grow theeconomy, lift people out ofpoverty. we could shrink our deficitsand still invest in our families,our health, our schools, science,technology. in other words, we can gofarther when we look outfor each other.
and as we’ve all seen, aspresident, he was just getting started. he doesn’t stop. he’s helpedleadrelief efforts after the asian tsunami, hurricane katrina, the haiti earthquake. hisfoundation and global initiative havehelped to save or improve the lives of literally hundredsof millions ofpeople. and, of course, i am mostgrateful for his patience during the endlesstravels of my secretary ofstate. (laughter.)
so i’m grateful, bill, as wellfor the advice and counsel that you’ve offered me on and offthe golfcourse. (laughter.) and most importantly, for your lifesavingwork around the world,which represents what’s the very best in america. so thank you so much, president clinton. (applause.)
so these are the recipients ofthe 2024 presidential medal of freedom. these are the menand women who in their e_traordinary lives remind usall of the beauty of the human spirit,the values that define us as americans,the potential that lives inside of all of us. i could notbe more happy and more honored to participate in thisceremony here today.
with that, what i would like todo is invite our honorees to just sit there and let all of usstand and giveyou a big round of applause. (applause.)
i guess we should actually givethem the medals, though. (laughter.) where are my --herewe go. lee, you want to hit it?
military aide: presidential medal of freedom recipients.
ernie banks. (applause.) with an unmatched enthusiasm for america’s pastime, erniebanks slugged,sprinted and smiled his way into the record books. known to fans as “mr. cub,”he played ane_traordinary 19 seasons with the chicago cubs, during which he was named to11all-star teams, hit over 500 home runs, and won back-to-back most valuableplayer honors.ernie banks was electedto the baseball hall of fame in 1977, and he will forever be known asone ofthe finest power hitters and most dynamic players of all time. (applause.)
benjamin crowninshieldbradlee. (applause.) a titan of journalism, benjamincrowninshieldbradlee is one of the most respected newsmen of his generation. after servingour nation in world war ii, benbradlee went on to defend liberty here at home. testing thelimits of a freepress during his tenure as e_ecutive editor of the washington post, heoversawcoverage of the watergate scandal and successfully challenged the federalgovernmentover the right to publish the pentagon papers. his passion foraccuracy and unyielding pursuitof truth continue to set the standard forjournalism. (applause.)
the honorable william j.clinton. (applause.) among the finest public servants of ourtime,president william j. clinton argued cases for the people of arkansas, servedhis state in thegovernor’s mansion, and guided our nation into a newcentury. as the 42nd president oftheunited states, bill clinton oversaw an era of challenge and change, prosperityand progress.his work after leavingpublic office continues to reflect his passionate, unendingcommitment toimproving the lives and livelihoods of people around the world. in respondingto needs both at home andabroad, and as founder of the clinton foundation, he has shown thatthroughcreative cooperation among women and men of goodwill, we can solve eventhemost intractable problems. (applause.)
irene hirano inouye, accepting onbehalf of her husband, the honorable daniel k. inouye. (applause.) a true patriot and dedicated public servant, daniel k. inouye understoodthepower of leaders when united in common purpose to protect and promote thetenets wecherish as americans. as amember of the revered 442nd regimental combat team, danielinouye helped freeeurope from the grasp of tyranny during world war ii, for which he receivedthemedal of honor. representing the peopleof hawaii from the moment the islands joined theunion, he never lost sight ofthe ideals that bind us across the 50 states. senator inouye’sreason and resolve helped make our country what it is today,and for that, we honor him. (applause.)
dr. daniel kahneman. (applause.) daniel kahneman’s groundbreaking work earned him anobel prize ineconomic sciences for his research developing prospect theory. after escapingfrom nazi-occupied france as ayoung boy and later joining the israel defense forces, dr.kahneman grewinterested in understanding the origins of people’s beliefs. combiningpsychology and economic analysis,and working alongside dr. amos tversky, dr. kahnemanused simple e_periments todemonstrate how people make decisions under uncertaincircumstances, and heforever changed the way we view human judgment. (applause.)
the honorable richard g.lugar. (applause.) representing the state of indiana for overthreedecades in the united states senate, richard g. lugar put country aboveparty and self toforge bipartisan consensus. throughout his time in the senate, he offered effective solutionsto ournational and international problems, advocating for the control of nuclear armsand otherweapons of mass destruction. working with senator sam nunn, richard lugar establishedthe nunn-lugarcooperative threat reduction program, one of our country’s mostsuccessfulnational security initiatives, helping to sustain american leadership andengagenations in collaboration after decades of confrontation. he remains a strong voice on foreignpolicyissues, and his informed perspective will have broad influence for years tocome. (applause.)
loretta lynn. (applause.) born a coal miner’s daughter, loretta lynn has followed a boldpath tobecome a legend in country music. asinger, songwriter, and author, she has writtendozens of chart-topping songs,released scores of albums, and won numerous accolades.breaking barriers in country music andentertainment, she opened doors for women not only bywinning tremendousachievements, but also by raising issues few dared to discuss. fearlesslytelling her own stories withcandor and humor, loretta lynn has brought a strong female voiceto mainstreammusic, captured the emotions of women and men alike, and revealed thecommontruths about life as it is lived. (applause.)
dr. mario molina. (applause.) the curiosity and creativity that inspired mario molina toconvert hisfamily’s bathroom into a laboratory as a child have driven him through decadesofscientific research. born in me_ico,dr. molina’s passion for chemistry brought him to the unitedstates, where hisinvestigations of chlorofluorocarbons led to breakthroughs in ourunderstandingof how they deplete the ozone layer. theimpact of his discoveries e_tends farbeyond his field, affecting environmentalpolicy and fostering international awareness, as wellas earning him the 1995nobel prize in chemistry. today, dr.molina remains a global leader,continuing to study air quality, climatechange, and the environment that connects us all. (applause.)
tam o’shaughnessy accepting onbehalf of her life partner, dr. sally k. ride. (applause.)thirty years ago, dr.sally k. ride soared into space as the youngest american and first womantowear the stars and stripes above earth’s atmosphere. as an astronaut, she sought to keepamericaat the forefront of space e_ploration. as a role model, she fought tirelessly to inspireyoung people --especially girls -- to become scientifically literate and to pursue careersinscience, technology, engineering, and math. at the end of her life, she became aninspiration for those battlingpancreatic cancer, and for the lesbian, gay, bise_ual, andtransgendercommunity. the tale of a quiet hero,sally ride’s story demonstrates that the sky isno limit for those who dream ofreaching for the stars. (applause.)
walter naegle accepting on behalfof his partner, bayard rustin. (applause.) bayard rustinwas agiant in the american civil rights movement. openly gay at a time when many had tohide who they loved, hisunwavering belief that we are all equal members of a “single humanfamily” tookhim from his first freedom ride to the lesbian, gay, bise_ual, and transgenderrightsmovement. thanks to hisunparalleled skills as an organizer, progress that once seemedimpossibleappears, in retrospect, to have been inevitable. fifty years after the march onwashington heorganized, america honors bayard rustin as one of its greatest architectsforsocial change and a fearless advocate for its most vulnerable citizens. (applause.)
arturo sandoval. (applause.) arturo sandoval is one of the world’s finest jazz musicians.born into poverty in cuba and held back byhis government, he risked everything to share hisgifts with the world --eventually defecting with help from dizzy gillespie, his mentorandfriend. in the decades since, thisastonishing trumpeter, pianist, and composer hasinspired audiences in everycorner of the world and awakened a new generation of greatperformers. he remains one of the best ever to play. (applause.)
linnea smith, accepting on behalfof her husband, dean e. smith. (applause.) dean e.smith spent36 seasons taking college basketball to new heights. as head coach at theuniversity of northcarolina at chapel hill, he led his team to 11 final fours, two nationaltitles,and 879 victories, retiring as the winningest men’s college basketballcoach in history. deansmith brought thesame commitment to supporting his players off the court. he helped morethan 96 percent of hislettermen graduate. and in an era ofdeep division, he taught players toovercome bigotry with courage andcompassion. he will forever stand as oneof the greatestcoaches in college basketball history. (applause.)
gloria steiner. (applause.) a trailblazing writer and feminist organizer, gloria steinem hasbeen atthe forefront of the fight for equality and social justice for more than fourdecades.instrumental to a broad rangeof initiatives and issues, from establishing ms. magazine and takeourdaughters to work day, to pushing for women’s self-empowerment and an end tose_trafficking. she has promotedlasting political and social change in america and abroad.through her reporting and speaking, she hasshaped debates on the intersection of se_ and race,brought critical problemsto national attention, and forged new opportunities for women inmedia. gloria steinem continues to move us all totake up the cause of reaching for a more justtomorrow. (applause.)
reverend c.t. vivian. (applause.) equipped only with courage and an overwhelmingcommitment to socialjustice, the reverend c.t. vivian was a stalwart activist on the marchtowardracial equality. whether at a lunchcounter, on a freedom ride, or behind the bars of aprison cell, he wasunafraid to take bold action in the face of fierce resistance. by pushingchange through nonviolentdemonstration and advocacy, c.t. vivian established and lednumerousorganizations to support underserved individuals and communities. his legacy ofcombating injustice will shineas an e_ample for generations to come. (applause.)
patricia mcgowan wald. (applause.) patricia mcgowan wald made history as the first womanappointed to theunited states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. rising tochief judge of the court, shealways strove to better understand the law and fairly apply it.after leaving federal service, judge waldhelped institute standards for justice and the rule oflaw at the internationalcriminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia in the hague. hailed as amodel judge, she laid afoundation for countless women within the legal profession and helpedunveilthe humanity within the law. (applause.)
oprah g. winfrey. (applause.) oprah g. winfrey is a global media icon. when she launchedthe oprah winfrey show in 1986, there were few women-- and even fewer women of color --with a national platform to discuss theissues and events shaping our times. butover the 25years that followed, oprah winfrey’s innate gift for tapping intoour most fervent hopes anddeepest fears drew millions of viewers across everybackground, making her show the highest-rated talk show in televisionhistory. off screen, oprah winfrey hasused her influence to supportunderserved communities and to lift up the livesof young people -- especially young women --around the world. in her story, we are reminded that no dreamcan be deferred when we refuseto let life’s obstacles keep us down. (applause.)
the president: the medal of freedom honorees -- please. (applause.)
well, that concludes the formalpart of today’s ceremony. i want tothank all of you forbeing here. obviously,we are deeply indebted to those who we honor here today. and we’regoing to have an opportunity totake some pictures with the honorees and their familymembers.
the rest of you, i understand thefood here is pretty good. (laughter.) soi hope you enjoythe reception, and i hope we carry away from this a reminderof what jfk understood to be theessence of the american spirit -- that it’srepresented here. and some of us may belesstalented, but we all have the opportunity to serve and to open people’shearts and minds inour smaller orbits. so i hope everybody has been as inspired, as i have been, participatingandbeing with these people here today.
thank you very much,everybody. (applause.)
