奥巴马在2014年父亲节的致词

　　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. 本周日即将是父亲节, 我想借此机会谈谈我们大家终将面临的最最重要的工作: 做一个父亲.

　　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.

　　今天我们很有幸生活在一个能瞬间可和地球上的任何一个人联系的科技时代. 但无论科技如何发达, 都没有任何东西可以取代一个家长在孩子生活中的出现, 爱和支持. 在许多方面, 对父亲而言尤为如此.

　　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.

　　要做一个好的父母是不容易的. 它要求你不停的注意力, 时常的牺牲, 和健康的耐心. 然而, 没有人是完美的. 直到今天, 我仍在找寻如何才能做一个更好的丈夫和父亲的途径.

　　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.

　　假如一路走来我学到了一件事的话, 那就是如果我们的家庭失败, 我们的成就将黯然无光. 家庭是最重要的. 当我回首自己的生活, 我不会去想我所通过或推举的任何一项立法, 但我会想我的太太和我们共同行走的路程. 我会去想Sasha的舞蹈彩排和Malia的网球比赛, 以及我们之间的谈话和共享的安静时光. 我会想我是否对他们所做是正确的, 他们是否每天都知道我是多么的爱他们.

　　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.

　　这就是我想的应该如何为人父. 假如我们能尽全力为孩子们提供舒适和勇气, 假如我们能向他们展示无条件的爱并帮助他们成为他们想成为的人, 那我们就成功了.

　　Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and have a great weekend.

　　祝福每一个父亲父亲节快乐, 并过一个美好的周末。

　　从奥巴马的这段致词中，可以看出他是一位称职的父亲。