以下为拜登演讲全文。
尊敬的罗伯茨首席大法官、哈里斯副总统、佩洛西议长、舒默领袖、麦康奈尔领袖、彭斯副总统、各位尊贵的来宾们和我的美国同胞们。
今天是属于美国的日子。
今天是属于民主的日子。
今天是历史性的和充满希望的一天，是代表革新和决心的一天。
历经千锤百炼的美国，已经经受住了新的考验，现在，我们要奋起迎接挑战。
今天，我们要庆祝的并不是一位候选人的胜利，而是一项事业、一项民主事业的胜利。
人民的意愿得到倾听，人民的意愿得以体现。
我们再次认识到民主是宝贵的，民主也是脆弱的。但是，我的朋友们，此时此刻，民主已经取得了胜利。
就在几天前，暴力还试图动摇国会山的根基，而此时，就在这片神圣的土地上，我们作为一个国家，在上帝庇佑下，不可分割地团结在一起，就像200年来美国一直在做的那样，和平地进行了权力交接。
用独一无二的美国方式，我们展望未来，跃跃欲试、勇敢、乐观，并着眼于我们可以成为，也必须成为的那个国家。
我感谢两党的前任总统们出席今天的会议，发自内心的感谢他们。
你们知道美国宪法的坚韧和我们国家的力量。
我昨晚和卡特总统谈过话，他今天不能和我们在一起，但我们为他毕生的服务向他致敬。
我刚刚宣读了这些爱国者都曾宣读过的誓言，这是最先由乔治·华盛顿宣读的。
但是，美国的故事，并不取决于我们中的任何一个人，不取决于我们中的某些人，而是取决于我们所有人，所有寻求更完美的合众国的人民。
这是一个伟大的国家，我们是一个善良的民族。几个世纪以来，历经风雨，在和平与战争中，我们走到了今天。
但我们还有很长的路要走。在这充满危险和变数的冬天，我们要迅速而紧迫地前进，因为还有许多事情要做。
很多要修复，很多要重启，我们需要疗伤，我们需要重建。
我们也会收获很多。
在美国历史上，很少有哪个时期，会比当下更具有挑战性或者更困难。
百年一遇的病毒正悄然在这个国家蔓延，它在一年内夺走的生命，相当于美国在第二次世界大战中失去的所有生命。
数百万人失去了工作，成千上万的企业倒闭。
已经酝酿了400多年的种族正义的呼声，让我们动容，为所有人争取正义的梦想，不能再被推迟。
求生的呼声，还来自这个星球本身，那是无比绝望也无比清晰的呼喊。
现在，我们必须面对政治极端主义、白人至上主义和国内恐怖主义的崛起，我们也终将战胜之。
要克服这些挑战，重塑美国的灵魂，保卫美国的未来，需要的不仅仅是言辞，而是民主国家最难以达到的力量——团结。
在之前的一个一月，1863年的元旦，亚伯拉罕·林肯在华盛顿签署了《解放奴隶宣言》。
当他落笔时，林肯总统说：“如果我的名字能被载入史册，那就是因为这一幕，我的灵魂皆在其中。”
是的，我的灵魂皆在其中。今天，在这个一月的日子里，我的灵魂皆在与此：让美国团结在一起。
团结我们的人民。
团结我们的国家。
我要求每一个美国人都加入我的行列，团结起来对抗我们共同的敌人:
愤怒、怨毒、仇恨；
极端主义，目无法纪，暴力横行；
还有疾病、失业和绝望。
有了团结，我们可以做伟大的事情，关注真正重要的事情。
我们可以纠正错误。
我们可以让人们找到好的工作。
我们可以在学校里安全地教育我们的孩子。
我们可以战胜这种致命的病毒。
我们可以奖励劳动者，重建中产阶级，为所有人提供医疗保健。
我们可以实现种族公正。
我们可以让美国再一次成为世界正义的领导力量。
我知道，团结对某些人来说是愚蠢的幻想。
我知道，让我们分裂的力量很深，真实存在。
但我也知道这些力量由来以久，美国的历史是一场持续不断的斗争，一边是人生而平等的理想，另一边是严酷而丑陋的现实中， 始终要撕裂美国的种族主义、本土主义、恐惧和妖魔化。
这场战斗会持续很很久，我也不能向你们保证一定会胜利。
但是，经历了内战、大萧条、世界大战、9/11，经历了斗争、牺牲和挫折，我们人性中的善良天使最终会占上风。
在每一个这样的时刻，都有足够多的人团结在一起，引领我们一起前进。
而且，我们现在就可以这么做。
历史、信仰和理性指明了道路，一条团结在一起的道路。
我们可以把对方看作邻居，而不是对手。
我们可以尊重别人，予其尊严。
我们可以联合起来，停止大喊大叫，冷静下来。
因为没有团结，就不会有和平，只有怨恨和忿怒。也不会进步，只有令人精疲力竭的愤怒。不会有共同的民族，只有混乱的国土。
在这个历史性的时刻，我们必须直面危机和挑战，只有团结才能让我们前进。
我们须以美利坚合众国的名义，来迎接这一时刻。如果我们这么做了，我向你保证，美国不会失败。
只要我们齐心协力，美国就永远不会失败。
因此，今天，此时此地，让我们重新开始。
让我们所有的人，彼此倾听，听到他人的声音，彼此相望，相敬如宾。
政治不必是摧毁前行路上所有一切的熊熊烈火，并不是每一次分歧都要引发全面战争。
而且，我们必须摒弃一种文化，在那种文化中，事实是被操纵的，甚至可以被捏造。
我的美国同胞们，我们必须与其不同，美国必须做得更好。
而且，我相信美国确实更好。
看看周围，我们现在站在国会大厦圆顶的阴影下，这座建筑竣工于南北战争期间，当时的联邦本身就处于生死存亡之中。然而，我们承受住了，美国取得了胜利。
站在这里，我们可以眺望马丁·路德·金博士曾讲述梦想的国家广场。
108年前，在这里举行的另一场就职典礼上，成千上万的抗议者试图阻止勇敢的女性为投票权而游行。而今天，我们见证了美国历史上第一位被选为总统的女性，副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯宣誓就职。所以，别跟我说事情无法改变。
站在这里，可以看到波托马克河对岸的阿灵顿国家公墓， 在那里，奉献了生命的英雄们永远安息。
就在这里，就在几天前，一群暴徒认为可以使用暴力来压制人民的意愿，阻止民主的运作，并将我们逐出这片神圣的土地。
但这并没有发生，永远不会发生。
今天不会，明天不会，永远都不会发生。
对所有支持我们的人，我想说，你们对我们的信任让我心怀谦卑。
对所有那些不支持我们的人，我想说，在前进的过程中，请听我把话说完，将心比心。
如果你还是不同意，那就这样吧。
这就是民主。这就是美国。在我们共和国的保护下，和平表达异议的权利，也许是我们最强大的力量。
但请听清楚，分歧不是分裂。
我向你们保证，我会成为所有美国人的总统。
我会为那些不支持和支持我的人努力奋斗。
许多个世纪以前，我所属教会的一位圣人圣奥古斯丁写道，一个民族是由他们所爱的共同对象来定义的众人。
有哪些我们所喜爱的事物，可以定义我们是美国人?
我想我知道。机会，安全，自由，尊严，尊重，荣誉。当然，还有真相。
最近几周和几个月发生的事情，有真相，也有谎言，给我们上了痛苦的一课。而那些谎言，是为了谋取权力和利益。
我们每个人都有义务和责任，作为公民，作为美国人，特别是作为领导者——承诺遵守宪法、保护国家的领导者，一起捍卫真理，击败谎言。
我知道，许多美国人对未来有些许恐惧和不安。
我知道，他们在担心工作，担心家庭，担心之后会发生什么。
我理解。但答案不是孤立，不是退缩到互相竞争的派别中，不是只因为他人看起来不像你，没有尊崇你做事的方式，或者只是因为他们的消息来源和你不一样，就不相信他们。
我们必须结束这场和文明无关，红与蓝、农村与城市、保守与自由的战争。
我们可以做到这一点，只要我们打开心扉，而不是变得铁石心肠。
如果我们表现宽容和谦卑，哪怕只有一点；如果我们能有同理心，哪怕只有片刻。
因为生命的意义就在于此。命运的安排是无法解释的。
有些时候，我们需要帮助，也有时候，我们会被请求伸出援手。
这就是我们必须彼此相处的方式。
如果我们这样做，我们的国家就将更强大，更繁荣，对未来更有准备。
我的同胞们，在漫漫长路上，我们会彼此需要，需要我们所有的力量来共同度过这个黑暗的冬天。
我们正进入疫情最艰难、最致命的时期。
我们必须把政治扔在一边，最终作为一个民族共同面对这一流行病。
我向你保证，正如《圣经》上所说，可能会整晚哭泣，但喜乐会在清晨降临。
我们会一起度过难关的。
此刻，全世界都在关注着我们。
因此，我要告诉国界之外的人们：美国经受了考验，因此变得更加强大。
我们将修复我们的盟友关系，并重新成为世界的一员。
不是去迎接昨天的挑战，而是迎接今天和明天的挑战。
我们所依赖的不只是有力量的榜样，而是要以榜样的力量来引领。
在和平、进步和安全方面，我们将是一个强大的、值得信赖的伙伴。
我们这个国家经历了太多。
作为总统的第一个行动，我想请你们和我一起默祷，纪念过去一年里我们在疫情中失去的所有人。
敬40万美国同胞，他们曾是父母、夫妻、儿女、朋友、邻居和同事。
通过成为我们知道自己能够、并且应该成为的民族和国家，我们将永远纪念他们。
让我们为那些失去生命的人，为他们的家人，为我们的国家默祷。
阿们。
考验的时刻来临。
我们面对着对民主和真理的攻击，肆虐的病毒，不断增长的不平等，系统性种族主义的刺痛，气候危机，美国在世界之林何以立足。
任何一件事情，都足以给我们带来深刻的挑战。
但事实是，我们要同时面对所有这些问题，我们这个国家要承担起最重大的责任。
现在我们必须采取行动，所有的人。
这是一个需要勇气的时刻，因为要做的事情太多。
当然，我们，你和我，将因我们如何解决我们时代的一连串危机而受到历史的审视。
我们能迎难而上吗?
我们能掌控这个罕遇而艰难的时刻吗?
我们会履行义务，为子孙后代留下一个新的、更美好的世界吗?
我相信我们必须这么做，我相信我们一定会这么做。
当我们做到了，我们就将书写美国历史的下一个篇章。
这个故事听起来就像一首歌中所唱，对我来说意义重大。
这首歌叫《美国颂歌》，其中有一段让我印象深刻:
几百年来努力和祈祷
让我们来到今天
我们能传承什么？
我们的孩子会怎么说？
当我的生命结束的时候
让我内心知道
美利坚
美利坚
我把我最好的都奉献给了你”
这个民族的历史正在我们眼前展开，让我们在其中加入自己的努力和祈祷。
如果我们这样做了，那么当我们的生命结束时，我们的孩子和孩子的孩子会说，他们尽了最大努力。
他们尽了自己的责任。
他们治愈了一片破碎的土地。
我的美国同胞们，今天我以一个神圣的誓言来结束我的就职演讲。
在上帝和你们面前，我向你们保证。
我将永远对你们坦白。
我将捍卫宪法。
我将捍卫我们的民主。
我将保卫美国。
我将倾尽全力为你们服务，不是为了权力，而是为了未来。
不是为了个人利益，而是为了公众利益。
我们将一起书写一个充满希望而不是恐惧的美国故事。
团结，而不是分裂。
光明，而不是黑暗。
这将是一个正直和尊严的美国故事。
爱和治愈。
伟大和善良。
愿这故事引领我们，激励我们。
这个故事告诉后世，我们响应了历史的召唤。
我们直面了这一时刻。
民主和希望，真理和正义，我们并没有眼睁睁地看着它们消亡，而是仍然蓬勃发展。
我们的美利坚，在国内捍卫自由，在世界上再次点亮灯塔。
这是我们对祖先、彼此和后代的承诺。
所以，我们带着目标和决心，去面对我们时代的任务。
以信仰支撑。
由信念驱动。
彼此忠诚，全心全意爱着这个国家。
愿上帝保佑美国，愿上帝保护我们的军队。
感谢你，美利坚。
Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans.
This is America’s day.
This is democracy’s day.
A day of history and hope.
Of renewal and resolve.
Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.
Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy.
The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.
We have learned again that democracy is precious.
Democracy is fragile.
And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.
So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.
We look ahead in our uniquely American way — restless, bold, optimistic — and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be.
I thank my predecessors of both parties for their presence here.
I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
You know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength of our nation.
As does President Carter, who I spoke to last night but who cannot be with us today, but whom we salute for his lifetime of service.
I have just taken the sacred oath each of these patriots took — an oath first sworn by George Washington.
But the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us.
On “We the People” who seek a more perfect Union.
This is a great nation and we are a good people.
Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go.
We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility.
Much to repair.
Much to restore.
Much to heal.
Much to build.
And much to gain.
Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now.
A once-in-a-century virus silently stalks the country.
It’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II.
Millions of jobs have been lost.
Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed.
A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.
A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear.
And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.
To overcome these challenges — to restore the soul and to secure the future of America — requires more than words.
It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy:
Unity.
Unity.
In another January in Washington, on New Year’s Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
When he put pen to paper, the President said, “If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it.”
My whole soul is in it.
Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this:
Bringing America together.
Uniting our people.
And uniting our nation.
I ask every American to join me in this cause.
Uniting to fight the common foes we face:
Anger, resentment, hatred.
Extremism, lawlessness, violence.
Disease, joblessness, hopelessness.
With unity we can do great things. Important things.
We can right wrongs.
We can put people to work in good jobs.
We can teach our children in safe schools.
We can overcome this deadly virus.
We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health care
secure for all.
We can deliver racial justice.
We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world.
I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy.
I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real.
But I also know they are not new.
Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, and demonization have long torn us apart.
The battle is perennial.
Victory is never assured.
Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our “better angels” have always prevailed.
In each of these moments, enough of us came together to carry all of us forward.
And, we can do so now.
History, faith, and reason show the way, the way of unity.
We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors.
We can treat each other with dignity and respect.
We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature.
For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury.
No progress, only exhausting outrage.
No nation, only a state of chaos.
This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.
And, we must meet this moment as the United States of America.
If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail.
We have never, ever, ever failed in America when we have acted together.
And so today, at this time and in this place, let us start afresh.
All of us.
Let us listen to one another.
Hear one another.
See one another.
Show respect to one another.
Politics need not be a raging fire destroying everything in its path.
Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war.
And, we must reject a culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.
My fellow Americans, we have to be different than this.
America has to be better than this.
And, I believe America is better than this.
Just look around.
Here we stand, in the shadow of a Capitol dome that was completed amid the Civil War, when the Union itself hung in the balance.
Yet we endured and we prevailed.
Here we stand looking out to the great Mall where Dr. King spoke of his dream.
Here we stand, where 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protestors tried to block brave women from marching for the right to vote.
Today, we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office — Vice President Kamala Harris.
Don’t tell me things can’t change.
Here we stand across the Potomac from Arlington National Cemetery, where heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion rest in eternal peace.
And here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, and to drive us from this sacred ground.
That did not happen.
It will never happen.
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Not ever.
To all those who supported our campaign I am humbled by the faith you have placed in us.
To all those who did not support us, let me say this: Hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart.
And if you still disagree, so be it.
That’s democracy. That’s America. The right to dissent peaceably, within the guardrails of our Republic, is perhaps our nation’s greatest strength.
Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion.
And I pledge this to you: I will be a President for all Americans.
I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.
Many centuries ago, Saint Augustine, a saint of my church, wrote that a people was a multitude defined by the common objects of their love.
What are the common objects we love that define us as Americans?
I think I know.
Opportunity.
Security.
Liberty.
Dignity.
Respect.
Honor.
And, yes, the truth.
Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson.
There is truth and there are lies.
Lies told for power and for profit.
And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders — leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation — to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.
I understand that many Americans view the future with some fear and trepidation.
I understand they worry about their jobs, about taking care of their families, about what comes next.
I get it.
But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do.
We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.
We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.
If we show a little tolerance and humility.
If we’re willing to stand in the other person’s shoes just for a moment.
Because here is the thing about life: There is no accounting for what fate will deal you.
There are some days when we need a hand.
There are other days when we’re called on to lend one.
That is how we must be with one another.
And, if we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future.
My fellow Americans, in the work ahead of us, we will need each other.
We will need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter.
We are entering what may well be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus.
We must set aside the politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation.
I promise you this: as the Bible says weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.
We will get through this, together
The world is watching today.
So here is my message to those beyond our borders: America has been tested and we have come out stronger for it.
We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.
Not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s.
We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example.
We will be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress, and security.
We have been through so much in this nation.
And, in my first act as President, I would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent prayer to remember all those we lost this past year to the pandemic.
To those 400,000 fellow Americans — mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
We will honor them by becoming the people and nation we know we can and should be.
Let us say a silent prayer for those who lost their lives, for those they left behind, and for our country.
Amen.
This is a time of testing.
We face an attack on democracy and on truth.
A raging virus.
Growing inequity.
The sting of systemic racism.
A climate in crisis.
America’s role in the world.
Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways.
But the fact is we face them all at once, presenting this nation with the gravest of responsibilities.
Now we must step up.
All of us.
It is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do.
And, this is certain.
We will be judged, you and I, for how we resolve the cascading crises of our era.
Will we rise to the occasion?
Will we master this rare and difficult hour?
Will we meet our obligations and pass along a new and better world for our children?
I believe we must and I believe we will.
And when we do, we will write the next chapter in the American story.
It’s a story that might sound something like a song that means a lot to me.
It’s called “American Anthem” and there is one verse stands out for me:
“The work and prayers
of centuries have brought us to this day
What shall be our legacy?
What will our children say?…
Let me know in my heart
When my days are through
America
America
I gave my best to you.”
Let us add our own work and prayers to the unfolding story of our nation.
If we do this then when our days are through our children and our children’s children will say of us they gave their best.
They did their duty.
They healed a broken land.
My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with a sacred oath.
Before God and all of you I give you my word.
I will always level with you.
I will defend the Constitution.
I will defend our democracy.
I will defend America.
I will give my all in your service thinking not of power, but of possibilities.
Not of personal interest, but of the public good.
And together, we shall write an American story of hope, not fear.
Of unity, not division.
Of light, not darkness.
An American story of decency and dignity.
Of love and of healing.
Of greatness and of goodness.
May this be the story that guides us.
The story that inspires us.
The story that tells ages yet to come that we answered the call of history.
We met the moment.
That democracy and hope, truth and justice, did not die on our watch but thrived.
That our America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world.
That is what we owe our forebearers, one another, and generations to follow.
So, with purpose and resolve we turn to the tasks of our time.
Sustained by faith.
Driven by conviction.
And, devoted to one another and to this country we love with all our hearts.
May God bless America and may God protect our troops.
Thank you, America.
