20150808_重申我们捍卫投票权利的承诺

Reaffirming Our Commitment to Protecting the Right to Vote (August 8, 2015) 重申我们捍卫投票权利的承诺(2015年8月8日) Hi, everybody. The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights of any democracy. Yet for too long, too many of our fellow citizens were denied that right, simply because of the color of their skin. 大家好.投票权是任何民主形式下最基本的权利之一.然而在太长时间里,有我们太多的公民没有这样的权利,仅仅因为他们的肤色. Fifty years ago this week, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law to change that. The Voting Rights Act broke down legal barriers that stood between millions of African Americans and their constitutional right to cast ballot. It was, and still is, one of the greatest victories in our country's struggle for civil rights. 50年前的这个星期,林登•约翰逊总统签署法律改变了这一状况.选举权法打破了数百万非裔美国人和宪法赋予他们投票权利之间的法律障碍.从那时起,一直到现在,这仍是我们国家为民主权利而战最伟大的胜利之一. But it didn't happen overnight. Countless men and women marched and organized, sat in and stood up, for our most basic rights. For this they were called agitators and un-American, they were jailed and they were beaten. Some were even killed. But in the end, they reaffirmed the idea at the very heart of America: that people who love this country can change it. 但这不会在一夜之间发生.无数的人们组织起来,为了我们最基本的权利,游行,静坐,挺身而出.因为这些,他们曾被称为煽动者和反美人士,他们被监禁和毒打.一些人甚至被杀害.但最终,他们重申了美国的核心价值观念:热爱这个国家的人们能够改变一切. Our country is a better place because of all those heroes did for us. But as one of those heroes, Congressman John Lewis, reminded us in Selma this past March, “There's still work to be done.” Fifty years after the Voting Rights Act, there are still too many barriers to vote, and too many people trying to erect new ones. We've seen laws that roll back early voting, force people to jump through hoops to cast a ballot, or lead to legitimate voters being improperly purged from the rolls. Over the years, we have seen provisions specifically designed to make it harder for some of our fellow citizens to vote. In a democracy like ours, with a history like ours, that's a disgrace. 我们的国家能够变得更好,就因为所有这些英雄们为了我们所做得一切.但作为这些英雄中的一员,国会议员约翰•刘易斯,在塞尔玛,在这个过去的三月份,提醒我们,"仍有很多工作要去做."在选举权法签署50年后,仍然有很多选举权上的障碍,太多的人们在竭力制造更多的新障碍.我们已经见到有的法律否决前期的投票,让人们经过重重关卡才能投票,或者不恰当地销毁合法选民的投票.数年来,我们已经见到特别设计的规定,让我们一些公民投票变得更困难.在像我们这样的民主制度中,在有着像我们这样历史的国家,这是一种耻辱. That's why, as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, I'm calling on Congress to pass new legislation to make sure every American has equal access to the polls. It's why I support the organizers getting folks registered in their communities. And it's why, no matter what party you support, my message to every American is simple: get out there and vote – not just every four years, but every chance you get. Because your elected officials will only heed your voice if you make your voice heard. 也因此,在我们庆祝选举权法签署50周年时,我呼吁国会通过新的法案,让每一个美国人都有公平投票的权利.因此,我支持组织者们让人们在他们的社区中注册.因此,无论你支持哪个党,我想对每一个人的说得都很简单:走出家门,去投票--不仅仅是每四年一次的总统选举,而是你得到的每一次机会.因为如果你发表意见,你选举的官员将只会注意到你的声音. The promise that all of us are created equal is written into our founding documents – but it's up to us to make that promise real. Together, let's do what Americans have always done: let's keep marching forward, keep perfecting our union, and keep building a better country for our kids. 我们所有人生而平等的承诺,写在我们的建国宣言中--但这取决于我们去让这一承诺变成现实.让我们一起做美国人一直能够完成的事情:让我们继续游行,继续让我们的合众国更加完美,为了我们的孩子继续去建设一个更加美好的国家. Thanks everybody. Have a great weekend. 谢谢大家,周末快乐.