羅斯福于1944年在競選晚宴上的演講

羅斯福于1944年在競選晚宴上的演講 英文版

Address to the Democratic National Convention

in Chicago

July 20, 1944

I have already indicated to you why I accept the nomination that you have offered me—in spite of my desire to retire the quiet of private life.

You in this Convention are aware of what I have sought to gain for the Nation, and you have asked me to continue.

It seems wholly likely that within the next four years our armed forces, and those of our allies, will have gained a complete victory over Germany and Japan, sooner or later, and that the world once more will be at peace—under a system, we hope that will prevent a new world war. In an event, whenever that time comes, new hands will then have full opportunity to realize the ideals which we seek.

In the last three elections the people of the United States have transcended party affiliation. Not only Democrats but also forward-looking Republicans and millions of independent voters have turned to progressive leadership—a leadership which has sought consistently—and with fair success—to advance the lot of the average American citizen who had been so forgotten during the period after the last war. I am confident that they will continue to look to that same kind of liberalism to build our safer economy for the future.

I am sure that you will understand me when I say that my clerisies, expressed to you formally tonight, is based solely on a sense of obligation to serve if called upon to do so by the people of the United States.

I shall not campaign, in the usual sense, for the office. In these days of tragic sorrow, I do not consider it fitting. And besides, in these days of global warfare, I shall not be able to find the time. I shall, however, feel free to report to the people the facts about matters of clone to them and especially to correct any misrepresentations.

During the past few days I have been coming across the whole width of the continent, to a naval base where I am speaking to you now from the train.

As I was crossing the fertile lands and the wide plains and the Great Divide, I could not fail to think of the new relationship between the people of our farms and cities and villages and the people of the rest of the world overseas—on the islands of the Pacific, in the Far East, and in the other Americas, in Britain and Normandy and Germany and Poland and Russia itself.

For Oklahoma and California, for example, are becoming a part of all these distant spots as greatly as Massachusetts and Virginia were a part of the European picture in 1778. Today, Oklahoma and California are being defended in Normandy and on Sampans; and they must be defended there—for what happens in Normandy and Sampans vitally affects the security and well-being of every human being in Oklahoma and California.

Mankind changes the scope and the breadth of its thought and vision slowly indeed. In the days of the Roman Empire eyes were focused on Europe and the Mediterranean area. The civilization in the Far East was barely known. The American continents were unheard of. And even after the people of Europe began to spill over to other continents, the people of North America in Colonial days new only their Atlantic seaboard and a tiny portion of the other Americas, and they turned mostly for trade and international relationship to Europe. Africa, at that time, was considered only as the provider of human chattels. Asia was essentially unknown to our ancestors.

During the nineteenth century, during that era of development and expansion on this continent, we felt a natural isolation—geographic, economic. and political—an isolation from the vast world which lay overseas. Not until this generation—roughly this century—have people here and elsewhere been compelled more and more to widen the orbit of their vision to include every part of the world. Yes, it has been a wrench perhaps—But a very necessary one.

It is good that we are all getting that broader vision. For we shall need it after the war. The isolationists and the ostriches that plagued our thinking before Pearl Harbor are becoming lowly extinct. The American people now know that all Nations of the world—large and small—will have to play their appropriate part in keeping the peace by force, and in deciding peacefully the disputes which might lead to war.

We all know how truly the world has become one—that if Germany and Japan, for example, were to come through this war with their philosophies established and their armies intact, our own grandchildren would again have to be fighting in their day for their liberties and their lives.

Some day soon we shall all be able to fly to any other part of the world within twenty-four hours. Oceans will no longer figure as greatly in our physical defense as they have in the past. For our own safety and for our own economic good, therefore—if for no other reason—we must take a leading part in the maintenance of peace and increase of trade among all the Nations of the world.

That is why your Government for many, many months has been laying plans, and studying the problems of the near future preparing itself to act so that the people of the United States may not suffer hardships after the war, may continue constantly to improve their standards, and may join with other Nations in doing the same. There are even now working toward that end, the best staff in all our history men and women of all parties and from every part of the Nation.

I realize that planning is a word which in some places brings forth sneers. But, for example, before our entry into the war it was planning, which made possible the magnificent organization and equipment of the Army and Navy of the United States which are fighting for us and for our civilization today. Improvement through planning is the order of the day. Even military affairs, things do not stand still. An army or a navy trained and equipped and fighting according to a 1932 model would not have been a safe reliance in 1944.

And if we are to progress in our civilization, improvement is necessary in other fields—in the physical things that are a part of our daily lives, and also in the concepts of social justice at home and abroad.

I am now at this naval base in the performance of my duties under the Constitution. The war waits for no elections. Decisions must be made—plans must be laid—strategy must be carried out. They do not concern merely a party or a group. They will affect the daily lives of Americans for generations to come.

What is the job before us in 1944? First, to win the war—to win the war fast, to win it overpoweringly, Second, to form worldwide international organizations, and arrange to use the armed forces of the sovereign Nations of the world to make another war impossible within the foreseeable future. And third, to build an economy for our returning veterans and for all Americans—which will provide employment and provide decent standards of living.

The people of the United States will decide this fall whether they wish to take over this 1944 job—this worldwide job—to inexperienced or immature hurls, to those who opposed lend-lease and international cooperation against the forces of aggression and tyranny, until they could read the polls of popular sentiment; or whether they wish to leave it to those who saw the danger from abroad, who met it head-on, and who now have seized the offensive and carried the war to its present stages of success—to those who, by international conferences and united actions have begun to build that kind of common understanding and cooperative experience which will be so necessary in the world to come.

They will also decide, these people of ours, whether they will entrust the task of postwar reconversion to those who offered the veterans of the last war breadlines and apple-selling and who finally led the American people down to the abyss of 1932; or whether they will Leave it to those who rescued American business, agriculture, industry, finance, and labor in 1933, and who have already planned and put through much legislation to help our veterans resume their normal occupations in a well-ordered reconversion process.

They will not decide these questions by reading glowing words or platform pledges—the mouthing of those who are willing to promise anything and everything—contradictions, inconsistencies, impossibilities—anything which might snare a few votes here and a few votes there.

They will decide on the record—the record written on the seas, on the land, and in the skies.

They will decide on the record of our domestic accomplishments in recovery and reform since March 4, 1933.

And they will decide on the record of our war production and food production—unparalleled in all history, in spite of the doubts and sneers of those in high places who said it cannot be done.

They will deicide on the record of the International Food Conference of U.N.R.R.A., of the International Labor Conference, of the International Education Conference, of the International Monetary Conference.

And they will decide on the record written in the Atlantic Charter, at Casablanca, at Carom, at Moscow, and at Teheran.

We have made mistakes. Who has not? Things will not always be perfect. Are they ever perfect, in human affairs?

But the objective at home and abroad has always been clear before us. Constantly, we have made steady, sure progress toward that objective. The record is plain and unmistakable as to that—a record for everyone to read.

The greatest wartime President in our history, after a wartime election which he called the most reliable indication of public purpose in this country, set the goal for the United States, a goal in terms as applicable today as they were in 1865—terms which then mind cannot improve: human with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right. Let us strive on to finish the work we are seek; to bind up the Nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may.

羅斯福于1944年在競選晚宴上的演講 中文版

全國代表大會

于芝加哥

1944年7月20日

我已經(jīng)向你們表明我為何要接受你們對我的提名，盡管我自己希望能夠退下來，回去過我平靜的私人生活。

在場的諸位都知道，一直以來我始終為美國尋求利益，你們也希望我能繼續(xù)如此。

從整體來看，在接下來的四年中，我們的部隊，以及我們的聯(lián)軍，遲早會贏得對德國和日本的徹底勝利，而世界將在一種體系下重歸和平。在那種體系下，我們希望能夠避免新的世界大戰(zhàn)。無論那一天什么時候到來，新的一代都會有充分的機會去實現(xiàn)我們的夙愿。

在我過去的三屆任期中，美國人民超越了黨派的界限。不僅是民主黨人，還有有遠見的共和黨人以及數(shù)百萬的獨立投票人依靠的都是不斷前進的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)階層——這個領(lǐng)導(dǎo)階層不斷尋求并且相當成功地提升那些自上次世界大戰(zhàn)以來被遺忘的大量普通美國公民的地位。我相信他們可以繼續(xù)依靠同樣的自由主義去建設(shè)我們未來更加安全的經(jīng)濟制度。

我相信你們會理解我今晚要正式告訴各位的決定。這一決定主要是受美國人民召喚而做出，我感到有責(zé)任如此行動。

通常我不會為了職位而參加競選。在這些慘痛的日子里，我認為這并不合適。況且在全球處于戰(zhàn)爭的時期，我也無暇分身。然而，我應(yīng)該隨時向人民匯報他們關(guān)注的事件，特別要更正那些誤傳。

在過去幾天中，我穿越了美洲大陸來到這個海軍基地，現(xiàn)在在火車上同你們說話。

當我經(jīng)過肥沃的土地、遼闊的平原和大分水嶺，我不能不想起我們在農(nóng)場、城市、村莊的人民和世界上其他地方的人民之間的關(guān)系。這些人民有的在太平洋的島嶼上，有的在遠東，有的在美洲其他地方，有的在英國，在諾曼底，在德國，在波蘭，也在俄國本土。

以俄克拉荷馬與加利福尼亞為例，它們已經(jīng)成為所有這些遙遠的地方的一部分，正如馬薩諸塞與弗吉尼亞曾是1778年歐洲圖景的一部分?，F(xiàn)在，俄克拉荷馬與加利福尼亞在諾曼底與塞班島上被保衛(wèi)著，它們必須在那里得到防衛(wèi)。因為在諾曼底與塞班島上發(fā)生的一切將嚴重影響在俄克拉荷馬與加利福尼亞生活的每一個人的安全與福利。

人類非常緩慢地改變著思想與夢想的廣度與寬度。在羅馬帝國時代，人們的視野局限于歐洲與地中海流域。遠東文明鮮有人知，而美洲大陸更是聞所未聞。甚至在歐洲人開始大量涌入其他大陸的時候，殖民時代的北美人民知道大西洋沿海地區(qū)以及美洲的其他一小部分地方，他們大多是為了與歐洲進行貿(mào)易，并建立國際關(guān)系。在那個時代，非洲只是被當成奴隸的產(chǎn)地。而我們的祖先對亞洲根本就是一無所知。

十九世紀，在美洲經(jīng)歷發(fā)展和擴張的時代，我們感到一種自然的隔絕——地理上的，經(jīng)濟上的，以及政治上的——那是一種獨懸海外、與世隔絕的狀況。直到這一代——差不多這個世紀——這里和其他地方的人們才不得不更多地開放他們的視野，去容納世界的每一部分。是的，這也許很折磨人，但卻非常必要。

值得慶幸的是我們的視野越來越廣闊，而戰(zhàn)后我們將需要更為廣闊的視野。在珍珠港事件之前禍害我們思想的孤立主義者與逃避主義者慢慢絕跡?，F(xiàn)在美國人民知道世界上所有國家——無論大小——都必須適當?shù)貐⑴c依靠軍事力量來維持和平，同時和平地解決可能引發(fā)戰(zhàn)爭的爭端。

我們都知道世界已經(jīng)成為一個整體是不爭的事實——舉個例子，如果德國和日本贏了這場戰(zhàn)爭，他們的觀念得以建立，他們的軍隊毫發(fā)無損，那么我們的子孫，為了他們的自由和生命，終有一天會再次起來戰(zhàn)斗。

很快我們就可以在二十四小時之內(nèi)飛抵世界上任何一個地方。海洋不會再像過去那樣被我們當做足以阻敵的天然屏障。為了我們的安全，也為了我們的經(jīng)濟利益，如果沒有其他理由的話，我們就必須領(lǐng)導(dǎo)全世界去維護和平與保持貿(mào)易增長。

這就是為何你們的政府連月來一直在制訂計劃，研究眼前的難題，隨時準備行動，這樣美國人民在戰(zhàn)后才能不用遭受苦難，可以持續(xù)不斷地提高生活水準，可以與其他國家一同重建家園。我們史上最好的員工正朝著這個目標努力，他們來自各個黨派，來自美國的各個地方。

我認識到計劃是這樣一個詞，有時候它會遭到冷嘲熱諷。但是舉個例子，當在我們正式投入戰(zhàn)爭之后，它就不僅僅是計劃了。正是這個計劃讓美國海陸軍組織嚴密，裝備精良，他們現(xiàn)在就在為我們以及我們的文明而戰(zhàn)。在計劃中不斷改善是時代的命令。即使是軍事行動，事情也并非一成不變。一支按照1932年模式訓(xùn)練和裝備的陸軍或海軍部隊到了1944年在安全方面就并不值得信賴。

如果我們的文明在不斷進步，那么其他領(lǐng)域的改善也是必需的。這不僅僅是指作為我們?nèi)粘Ｉ钜徊糠值奈镔|(zhì)方面，也包括國內(nèi)外社會正義方面的一些概念。

我現(xiàn)在就在這個海軍基地，遵照憲法執(zhí)行我的職責(zé)。戰(zhàn)爭不會等什么選舉。必須做出決定，必須制訂計劃，必須實施戰(zhàn)略。這些事情并不僅僅關(guān)系一個政黨或者一個團體，而將影響幾代美國人的日常生活。

1944年擺在我們面前的任務(wù)是什么?首先要贏得這場戰(zhàn)爭——必須迅速地拿下這場戰(zhàn)爭，要以壓倒性的優(yōu)勢去獲勝。其次，建立世界性的國際組織，利用世界上主權(quán)國家的武裝力量，避免戰(zhàn)爭在可預(yù)見的未來再次發(fā)生。第三，建立一個可以為我們的退伍軍人以及所有的美國人提供就業(yè)機會和體面生活的經(jīng)濟體系。

美國人民將在今年秋天做出決定，是否要將1944年的任務(wù)——這一世界性的任務(wù)——交給沒有經(jīng)驗或者不成熟的人，這些人直到他們看到反映民眾情緒的民調(diào)之前，還在反對租界法案，反對國際合作以抵抗侵略和暴政;美國人民也可以將這一任務(wù)留給另一些人，這些人看到來自國外的危險，繼而親身感受危險，而現(xiàn)在又抓住了攻勢的良機，從而主導(dǎo)戰(zhàn)爭轉(zhuǎn)入取得勝利的階段;美國人民也可以將任務(wù)交給另一些人，這些人通過國際會議和聯(lián)合行動開始建立未來世界所必需的那種共識與合作經(jīng)驗。

我們的人民，他們也可以決定，他們是否有信心將戰(zhàn)后重建的任務(wù)交給那些讓一戰(zhàn)老兵掙扎在貧困線上，最后還讓美國人民墮入1932年的深淵的人;他們也可以將任務(wù)交給在1933年拯救美國商業(yè)、農(nóng)業(yè)、工業(yè)、財政與勞動力的人，這些人已經(jīng)計劃并推行多項法案以幫助我們的退伍軍人按照秩序井然的重建程序恢復(fù)他們的正常職業(yè)。

人民不會根據(jù)熱情洋溢的講話或者在講壇上的賭咒發(fā)誓來做出決定——那些愿意允諾一切的人，他們的承諾往往是自相矛盾，破綻百出，無法兌現(xiàn)的——他們的目的只是東拉幾張選票，西拉幾張選票而已。

他們將根據(jù)記錄，根據(jù)海陸空的記錄來做出決定。

他們將根據(jù)自1933年3月4日以來我們在復(fù)興與改革方面所做出的國內(nèi)成就的記錄來做出決定。

他們將根據(jù)我們的軍工生產(chǎn)與糧食生產(chǎn)的記錄來做出決定——這一記錄是史無前例的，盡管那些身居高位者曾經(jīng)懷疑和譏笑，認為這是根本不可能完成的。

他們將根據(jù)國際糧食大會、聯(lián)合國善后救濟總署、國際勞工大會、國際教育大會與國際貨幣大會的記錄來做出決定。

他們將根據(jù)在《大西洋憲章》上、在卡薩布蘭卡、在開羅、在莫斯科、在德黑蘭的記錄來做出決定。

我們都犯過錯。誰又沒有做錯過事情呢?事情并不總是完美的。人類活動曾經(jīng)完美過嗎?

然而，我們國內(nèi)外的目標總是清楚地呈現(xiàn)在我們眼前。一直以來，我們始終邁著穩(wěn)健的步伐朝著目標前進。這一記錄是清晰明白、顯而易見的——它可以讓每一個人閱讀。

我們歷史上最偉大的戰(zhàn)時總統(tǒng)，在一次他稱之為最能代表這個國家民意的戰(zhàn)時選舉后，為美國確立了目標。這一目標直到今天還是與1865年一樣適用——這一目標是人類思想中最頂尖的：堅持正義，正如上帝讓我們看到正義那樣，讓我們努力完成我們所做的工作，包扎好國家的傷。為紀念戰(zhàn)死的軍人，去照顧他的遺孀和遺孤——去做我們可以做的一切。