This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing — Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
這次選舉有許多的史無前例，有許多我們可以世世代代傳頌的事蹟。但是今晚在我心中的有一件事，關於一位在亞特蘭大投票的女性。她就像其他數百萬的選民一樣，在投票所門口排隊，為了就是表達自己的意見。但是有個特別之處 —— 她，Ann Nixon Cooper，已經 106 歲了。
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
她生在奴隸制度剛被廢除的下一代；一個路上沒有汽車，天上也沒有飛機的時代；像她一樣的人在當時，因為兩個原因無法投票 —— 因為她是女性、因為她的膚色。
And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
而今晚，我思考著她活在美國親眼所見、親自跨過的世紀 —— 她的痛心與希望；她的掙扎與上進；那個別人說我們不行，但我們把自己寄託在美國的信念：是的，我們可以。
At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
當女性的權利與聲音被消除，她們的願望被駁回，她活在那個時代，站起來勇於爭取她應得的投票權利：是的，我們可以。
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
當絕望取代了我們的薪糧且蕭條掃過了土地，她見到一個國家戰勝了恐懼，以羅斯福的新政、新工作機會與新的共同奮鬥的目標：是的，我們可以。
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
當敵人空襲我們的港口，當獨裁政權威脅世界，她在那裡目擊一個世代的人們奮起且延續了民主：是的，我們可以。
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.
她在那裡眼見 Montgomery 的巴士、Birmingham 驅除群眾的水管、Selma 被示威民眾佔滿的橋，與一位亞特蘭大來的牧師對人們說「我們能克服」(譯按: 指黑人民權運動)。是的，我們可以。
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
當人到達了月球、柏林的圍牆倒塌了、我們的想像與科技緊密的連接了世界。今年，她用手指輕觸螢幕，投下她的一票，因為在 106 年後的美國，經歷了最好的時光與最黑暗的時刻，她知道美國可以怎麼改變。是的，我們可以。
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
美國，我們已經走過這麼多了。我們已經經歷這麼多了。但是還有很多事情等待我們完成。所以今晚，讓我們捫心自問 —— 若我們的孩子能活到下個世紀；如果我的女兒們夠幸運，能活的和 Ann Nixon Cooper 一樣長壽，她們能看到什麼改變？我們能完成什麼樣的進展？
曾經有個說法，美國為何是個民族「大熔爐」，而不是一盤民族「大沙拉」，就是因為美國本身在這些文化互相衝擊的過程，社會和民主制度能不斷成長。Obama，做為美國熔爐的最佳代表，當選演說也寫出了這樣的價值。
而台灣呢？一世紀之後，我們這一代能完成什麼可以傳頌的事蹟呢？我們是否在大國的夾縫中解決了台灣「問題」，找到保障台灣永遠民主、自由、繁榮的地位與方法？我們自認我們的社會制度已經夠完美了，還是我們能謙虛的說，還可以做的更好？我們已經保障了所有人的人權與民權嗎？
很遺憾的，我在檯面上的政治人物看不到這樣的宏觀。要統一、獨立，要緊密合作、或是謹慎封鎖，大家各有看法；但是，我找不到一個論述告訴我這樣就能保障台灣的永遠民主、自由、繁榮。這是我認為的最高價值，也是應該要留給島上後代子孫的寶物。
