美國(guó)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(wú)論何種政府計(jì)劃都無(wú)法彌補(bǔ)它。一旦這種精神出現(xiàn)了，無(wú)論任何錯(cuò)誤都無(wú)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(xiě)信說(shuō)："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(guó)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(guó)家無(wú)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(guò)我們每天的努力在變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)。我們正在通過(guò)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(shù)這樣的目標(biāo)：使我們的國(guó)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(guó)!

　　美國(guó)總統(tǒng)布什就職演講稿英文版

　　Inaugural Address of George W. Bush

　　January 20, 2001

　　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.