“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small，but whether it works”⊙ 연설 배경제 44대 미국 대통령으로 취임한 오바마 대통령이 올해 1월 29일 미 백악관에서 행한 취임 연설문이다. 오바마는 이 연설문에서 당시 미국이 겪고 있는 경제 위기를 포함한 모든 현안들을 적시하면서 그래도 미국인은 이 난관을 슬기롭게 극복하고 미래의 새로운 장을 열 것이라고 강조하고 있다. 그는 특히 이 연설에서 우리는 하나라는 통합과 우리는 할수있다는 도전의 메시지를 담고 있어 눈길을 끌고 있다.
⊙ 버락 후세인 오바마(Barack Hussein Obama)미국 최초의 흑인 대통령.1961년 8월 4일 미국 하와이주의 호놀룰루에서 케냐 출신의 하와이대학 유학생인 흑인 아버지와 미국인 백인 어머니 사이에서 태어났다. 1966년 재혼한 어머니를 따라 인도네시아로 이주하였다가 어머니가 다시 이혼하여 하와이로 돌아왔다. 1988년 하버드대학교 로스쿨에 입학한 뒤 1991년 최고 권위의 로스쿨 학술지로 인정받는 <하버드 로 리뷰(Harvard Law Review)>의 첫 흑인 편집장이 되어 주목을 받았다.
1992년 로펌에서 만난 미셸 로빈슨(Michelle Robinson)과 결혼했으며 1993년부터 2004년까지 시카고대학교 법과대학에서 전임강사로 헌법을 가르치기도 하였다. 일리노이주 상원의원(3선)을 거쳐 연방 상원의원을 지냈으며，2008년 민주당 대통령 후보로 출마하여 공화당의 존 매케인 후보에 압승하고 제44대 미국 대통령에 당선됐다.
⊙ 원문 읽기 My fellow citizens:I stand here today humbled by the task before us，grateful for the trust you have bestowed，mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.I thank President Bush for his service to our nation，as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.Forty－four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.Yet，every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.At these moments，America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office，but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers，and true to our founding documents.So it has been.So it must be with this generation of Americans.That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.Our nation is at war，against a far－reaching network of violence and hatred.Our economy is badly weakened，a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some，but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.Homes have been lost: jobs shed: businesses shuttered.Our health care is too costly: our schools fail too many: and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.These are the indicators of crisis，subject to data and statistics.Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land － a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable，and that the next generation must lower its sights.Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.But know this，America － they will be met.On this day，we gather because we have chosen hope over fear，unity of purpose over conflict and discord.On this day，we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises，the ①recriminations and worn out dogmas，that for far too long have ②strangled our politics.We remain a young nation，but in the words of Scripture，the time has come to set aside childish things.The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit: to choose our better history: to carry forward that precious gift，that noble idea，passed on from generation to generation; the God－given promise that all are equal，all are free，and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.In reaffirming the greatness of our nation，we understand that greatness is never a given.It must be earned.Our journey has never been one of short－cuts or settling for less.It has not been the path for the faint－hearted － for those who prefer leisure over work，or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.Rather，it has been the risk－takers，the doers，the makers of things － some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor，who have carried us up the long，rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.For us，they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.For us，they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West: endured the lash of the ③whip and plowed the hard earth.For us，they fought and died，in places like Concord and Gettysburg: Normandy and ④Khe Sahn.Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions: greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.This is the journey we continue today.We remain the most prosperous，powerful nation on Earth.Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.Our minds are no less inventive，our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year.Our capacity remains undiminished.But our time of standing pat，of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions － that time has surely passed.Starting today，we must pick ourselves up，dust ourselves off，and begin again the work of remaking America.For everywhere we look，there is work to be done.The state of the economy calls for action，bold and swift，and we will act － not only to create new jobs，but to lay a new foundation for growth.We will build the roads and bridges，the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.We will restore science to its rightful place，and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.All this we can do. And all this we will do.Now，there are some who question the scale of our ambitions － who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.Their memories are short.For they have forgotten what this country has already done: what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose，and necessity to courage.What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them － that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small，but whether it works － whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage，care they can afford，a retirement that is dignified.Where the answer is yes，we intend to move forward.Where the answer is no，programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account － to spend wisely，reform bad habits，and do our business in the light of day － because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched，but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye，the market can spin out of control － and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product，but on the reach of our prosperity: on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart － not out of charity，but because it is the surest route to our common good.▶ Words & Idioms① recriminations : 비난, 불만② strangled : 억압하다③ whip : 채찍질하다, 매질하다④ Khe Sahn : 베트남 케샨 지역.
