——來源：虎嗅網(wǎng) 2013-06-16
Hi, everybody. This Sunday is Father’s Day, and so I wanted to take a moment to talk about the most important job many of us will ever have – and that’s being a dad.
大家好， 本周日即將是父親節(jié), 我想借此機會談談我們大家終將面臨的最最重要的工作: 做一個父親。
Today we’re blessed to live in a world where technology allows us to connect instantly with just about anyone on the planet. But no matter how advanced we get, there will never be a substitute for the love and support and, most importantly, the presence of a parent in a child’s life. And in many ways, that’s uniquely true for fathers.
今天我們很有幸生活在一個能瞬間可和地球上的任何一個人聯(lián)系的科技時代，但無論科技如何發(fā)達, 都沒有任何東西可以取代一個家長在孩子生活中的出現(xiàn), 愛和支持。在許多方面, 對父親而言尤為如此。
I never really knew my own father. I was raised by a single mom and two wonderful grandparents who made incredible sacrifices for me. And there are single parents all across the country who do a heroic job raising terrific kids. But I still wish I had a dad who was not only around, but involved; another role model to teach me what my mom did her best to instill – values like hard work and integrity; responsibility and delayed gratification – all the things that give a child the foundation to envision a brighter future for themselves.
我從來不真正地了解我自己的父親。我是由單親媽媽和兩個和藹的祖父母帶大, 他們?yōu)槲易隽瞬豢上胂蟮臓奚Ｈ珖泻芏嗟膯斡H父母做著同樣偉大的帶大孩子的工作。但我仍然希望我能有一個父親不僅在我周圍, 而且參與我的生活; 作為另一個榜樣來告訴我我的母親盡了她全力所給了我的那些價值, 如努力工作, 品行端正, 責任, 不貪圖享樂, 所有這些價值都給一個孩子去設想自己的美好未來的基礎。
That’s why I try every day to be for Michelle and my girls what my father was not for my mother and me. And I’ve met plenty of other people – dads and uncles and men without a family connection – who are trying to break the cycle and give more of our young people a strong male role model.
因此我努力每天都和太太和兩個女兒在一起, 這是我的父親所沒有做到的。我也見過許多其他人, 父親, 叔叔, 或沒有家庭聯(lián)系的男人, 他們都在試圖去打破常規(guī)并給我們的年青人一個強大的男人的榜樣。
Being a good parent isn’t easy. It demands your constant attention, frequent sacrifice, and a healthy dose of patience. And nobody’s perfect. To this day, I’m still figuring out how to be a better husband to my wife and father to my kids.
要做一個好的父母是不容易的。它要求你不停的注意力, 時常的犧牲, 和健康的耐心。然而, 沒有人是完美的。 直到今天, 我仍在找尋如何才能做一個更好的丈夫和父親的途徑。
And I want to do what I can as President to encourage marriage and strong families. We should reform our child support laws to get more men working and engaged with their children. And my Administration will continue to work with the faith and other community organizations, as well as businesses, on a campaign to encourage strong parenting and fatherhood.
作為一個總統(tǒng), 我想盡我所能去鼓勵婚姻和強大的家庭。我們應該改變我們的孩子撫養(yǎng)的法律以讓更多的男人工作并介入到孩子的生活中，我的領導班子也將繼續(xù)與宗教， 各社團，商業(yè)聯(lián)合去發(fā)動強大的如何撫育孩子和為人之父的活動。
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned along the way, it’s that all our personal successes shine a little less brightly if we fail at family. That’s what matters most. When I look back on my life, I won’t be thinking about any particular legislation I passed or policy I promoted. I’ll be thinking about Michelle, and the journey we’ve been on together. I’ll be thinking about Sasha’s dance recitals and Malia’s tennis matches – about the conversations we’ve had and the quiet moments we’ve shared. I’ll be thinking about whether I did right by them, and whether they knew, every day, just how much they were loved.
假如一路走來我學到了一件事的話, 那就是如果我們的家庭失敗, 我們的成就將黯然無光。家庭是最重要的。當我回首自己的生活, 我不會去想我所通過或推舉的任何一項立法, 但我會想我的太太和我們共同行走的路程。我會去想Sasha的舞蹈彩排和Malia的網(wǎng)球比賽, 以及我們之間的談話和共享的安靜時光。我會想我是否對他們所做是正確的, 他們是否每天都知道我是多么的愛他們。
That’s what I think being a father is all about. And if we can do our best to be a source of comfort and encouragement to our kids; if we can show them unconditional love and help them grow into the people they were meant to be; then we will have succeeded.
這就是我想的應該如何為人父。假如我們能盡全力為孩子們提供舒適和勇氣, 假如我們能向他們展示無條件的愛并幫助他們成為他們想成為的人, 那我們就成功了。
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and have a great weekend.
祝福每一個父親父親節(jié)快樂, 并過一個美好的周末。
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