杜鲁门总统就职演说

1949年1月20日

副总统先生、首席大法官先生、同胞们：

我满怀谦恭接受美国人民赋予我的荣誉时，同时也深深地下定决心，要为我国人民的幸福与世界的和平鞠躬尽瘁。

美国人民坚守自建国以来就一直激励着这个国家的信念。我们相信，在法律面前人人平等，在分享同等福利时则拥有均等的机会。我们认为，人人都享有思想和言论自由的权力。我们相信人人生而平等，因为他们都是上帝按照自己的形象所创造。凭此信条,我们坚定不移。

美国人民盼望一切国家和一切人民都按照自己的意愿自由地进行自治，自由的获得一种体面而愉快的生活，并且决心为建设这样一个世界而努力。美国人民尤其期望并决心致力于基于平等自愿公正和持久的和平。

In the pursuit of these aims, the United States and other like-minded nations find themselves directly opposed by a regime with contrary aims and a totally different concept of life.

That regime adheres to a false philosophy which purports to offer freedom, security, and greater opportunity to mankind. Misled by this philosophy, many peoples have sacrificed their liberties only to learn to their sorrow that deceit and mockery, poverty and tyranny, are their reward.

Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with reason and justice.

Democracy maintains that government is established for the benefit of the individual, and is charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the individual and his freedom in the exercise of his abilities

These differences between communism and democracy do not concern the United States alone. People everywhere are coming to realize that what is involved is material well-being, human dignity, and the right to believe in and worship God.

Since the end of hostilities, the United States has invested its substance and its energy in a great constructive effort to restore peace, stability, and freedom to the world.

在追求这些目标的过程中，美国和其他志同道合的国家发现，他们直接遭到另外一种与我们正好相反，其生活观念也截然不同的社会制度的抵触。

这种社会制度信奉一种谎称能给人类带来自由、安全和更多机会的荒谬哲学。许多民族在这种哲学的引导下，已经牺牲了他们的自由，结果不过是悲观的发现,得到的仍是欺骗和愚弄，仍是贫困和暴政。

而民主则奠基于这样一种信念之上——人类不仅拥有不可剥夺的权利，借助道德和智力，来借助理性和正义进行自治。

而民主制度则坚持认为，政府乃是为了个人的裨益而建立的，它有责任保护人的各种权力和发挥自己的各项才能的自由。

共产主义和民主制度之间存在的这些分歧，决不仅仅与美国一个国家有关。世界各地的人民都在逐渐认识到，这一切所涉及的问题，乃在于物质生活的丰厚、人类尊严和信仰与崇拜上帝的权力。

自敌对局面结束以来，美国业已投入物资与精力，为在全世界恢复和平、稳定和自由而开展伟大的建设性工作。