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But we, as a nation, we are left with some hard questions. Someone once described the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time, walking around. With their very first cry, this most precious, vital part of ourselves — our child — is suddenly exposed to the world, to possible mishap or malice. And every parent knows there is nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm. And yet, we also know that with that child’s very first step, and each step after that, they are separating from us; that we won’t — that we can’t always be there for them. They’ll suffer sickness and setbacks and broken hearts and disappointments. And we learn that our most important job is to give them what they need to become self-reliant and capable and resilient, ready to face the world without fear.
但是，我们整个国家都还有一些棘手的问题要面对。有人说，作为一个家长的喜悦和焦虑就像是让自己的心在自己身体外到处跑一样。随着我们的孩子呱呱坠地，随着他们的初啼，我们最珍视，最重要的一个部分就这样我们的孩子开始面对各种各样可能的灾祸和恶意。每个家长都知道，我们为了保护我们的孩子会不惜付出一切，但是我们也知道，随着他开始学着走路，他的每一步都是在远离我们。我们没法永远守护在他的身旁。他们会生病，会受挫折，会伤心，会失落，而我们所能做的最重要的事只能是帮他们越来越自我独立，渐渐开始无畏地面对世界。
And we know we can’t do this by ourselves. It comes as a shock at a certain point where you realize, no matter how much you love these kids, you can’t do it by yourself. That this job of keeping our children safe, and teaching them well, is something we can only do together, with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community, and the help of a nation. And in that way, we come to realize that we bear a responsibility for every child because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours; that we’re all parents; that they’re all our children.
而我们没法独自做到这一点。在某一刻，你会惊讶地意识到无论你多爱你的孩子，你都没法靠一己之力去保护他的安全，去教他好好成长，这时我们必须和朋友、邻居、整个社区乃至整个国家一起来完成。我们从而渐渐明白，我们有责任幼人之幼，因为我们也依赖别人去帮助我们自己的孩子。我们每个人都是他们的家长，而他们也都是我们的孩子。
This is our first task — caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.
这是我们首要的任务：照顾自己的孩子。如果我们连这个都干不好，其它都无从谈起。这是我们作为一个社会被评判的标准。
And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we are meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children — all of them — safe from harm? Can we claim, as a nation, that we’re all together there, letting them know that they are loved, and teaching them to love in return? Can we say that we’re truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?
以这个标准来看，对整个国家我们能不能拍着良心说：我们已经尽了自己的责任？我们能不能实事求是地说我们已经为保护我们的孩子免受伤害而尽了全力？我们能不能说作为一个国家我们已经让他们了解了我们有多爱他们，并且教导他们以同样的爱来回报他人？我们能不能说我们已经确实为了给这个国家的每个孩子他们所应有的机会去过他们想要的快乐和有意义的生活而做了我们所能做的一切？
I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is no. We’re not doing enough. And we will have to change.
我这些天一直在想这个问题。如果扪心自问的话，答案是不能。我们做的不够，我们必须改变了。
Since I’ve been President, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by a mass shooting. The fourth time we’ve hugged survivors. The fourth time we’ve consoled the families of victims. And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and big cities all across America — victims whose — much of the time, their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
自从我担任总统以来，我们站在一起向一个因枪击而怆痛的社区致意，拥抱幸存者，安慰受难者家属，这已经是第四次了。在此期间，还有数不胜数的别的枪击案在这个国家发生，几乎每天在大大小小的城镇里都有人死于枪击，很多还是孩子。他们很多人只是不幸在错误的时间置身于错误的地点而已。
We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law — no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.
我们不能再忍受这种状况了。这种悲剧必须有个尽头。我们必须改变。我们都听过很多次，说这种事情原因很复杂，这是对的。没有一部或者一套法律能够彻底根绝这世界上的恶行，或者保护社会免受非理性行为的伤害。
But that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Aurora, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that — then surely we have an obligation to try.
但是这不是我们不作为的理由，我们当然应该做得更好。即使我们只能向着保护另一个孩子或者另一个家长或者另一个城镇和社区免受图森、奥罗拉、奥克里克、纽敦、伦比亚到布莱克斯堡社区（注：均为枪击案事发地）所遭受的痛苦的方向迈出一小步，我们也有去尝试一下的责任。
