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，周日是父亲节，所以我想花一点儿时间谈谈那项我们许多人都有的重要工作——当爸爸。
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，我们有幸生活在这样一个世界，在这里，科技让我们可以和世界上任何人即时地保持联络。但是不管我们多么先进，都没有什么可以取代孩子生命中的爱和支持，特别是父母的存在。在许多情况下，对父亲们来说更是这样。
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.
我从没真正地了解我的父亲，我由单亲母亲和两位好祖父母抚养成人，他们为我做出了巨大的牺牲。全美国有很多的单亲父母，伟大地抚养了优秀的孩子。但我仍然希望，我的父亲不仅能在我身边，还能融入我的生活。以另一个角色来教导我妈妈从小灌输给我的东西：勤劳和正直的价值观，有责任心，不贪图享受。这些是孩子展望美好未来的基础。
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.
这也就是我每天尽力为米歇尔和我的女儿们去做一些我父亲未能为我和我母亲去做的事情的原因。我也遇到过很多没有亲戚关系的男人们正尽全力去打破这一恶性循环，给更多我们的年轻人树立一个强大的男性典范。
Being a good parent – whether you’re gay or straight; a foster parent or a grandparent – 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.
不管你是同性恋还是异性恋，不管你是养父母还是祖父母，当好父母都不容易。这需要你持续关心，不断做出牺牲，并有适度耐心。没人完全无缺。时至今日，我仍然一直在想如何做一个好丈夫，一个好爸爸。
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.
作为总统我想我能做的就是鼓励婚姻和稳固家庭。我们应该修订我们的儿童抚育法，让更多男性融入孩子生活。本届政府也将继续同宗教及其它社区组织以及企业在鼓励更好地抚养孩子和父爱这场战役中合作。
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.
因为如果说我在这件事上学到了什么东西的话，那就是如果家庭不幸，我们所有人的个人成功就会白璧微瑕。这是最重要的。当我回顾我的一生，我不会想到任何我通过的特别法案或是我力促的政策，我只会想到米歇尔，以及我们共同走过的人生旅程。我只会想到萨莎的舞蹈演出和玛丽亚的网球比赛，想到我们的交流和我们共享的静谧时光。我会想到我是否无愧于她们，以及她们是否知道每一天我是如此爱着她们。51VOA注：萨莎和玛丽亚是奥巴马的两个女儿。
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.
这就是我认为作为一个父亲的应该做的。如果我们可以尽自己的全力，成为孩子获取安慰和鼓励的源泉。如果我们能给他们无条件的爱，帮助他们成为他们应该成为的人，那么我们就成功了。
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and have a great weekend.
祝所有爸爸们父亲节快乐，周末快乐。
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