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7月4日 星期六 晴 疫情之下，慶祝美國獨(dú)立日，除了參加反向游行 （reverse parade)、觀看鄰居家門口的焰火、居家小聚之外，還有重讀歷史和感懷。 中文版： 1776年7月4日，美國13個(gè)殖民地的代表在費(fèi)城國會(huì)集會(huì)，批準(zhǔn)了《獨(dú)立宣言》，這一天就成為美國獨(dú)立紀(jì)念日。該文件包含一長串針對(duì)英國國王喬治三世的申訴?！丢?dú)立宣言》聲稱，政府的“正當(dāng)權(quán)力是經(jīng)被統(tǒng)治者同意所授予的”，然而喬治國王強(qiáng)加于殖民地的法律已違背了這一權(quán)利。 托馬斯·杰斐遜的話宣告了自治權(quán)是上帝賦予的權(quán)利，而且在《獨(dú)立宣言》最著名的段落中闡明了“這些真理不言而喻：人人生而平等，造物者賦予他們不可剝奪的權(quán)利，其中包括生命權(quán)、自由權(quán)和追求幸福的權(quán)利。”。 十一年后，在美國人擊敗了世界上最強(qiáng)大的軍隊(duì)之后，殖民地代表再次開會(huì)，同意建立新政府的規(guī)則。地球上沒有完美的事物，因此美國憲法不能保證《獨(dú)立宣言》中宣布的上帝賦予理想的現(xiàn)實(shí)。盡管如此，《憲法》的作者將他們的文件作為努力實(shí)現(xiàn)這一理想的首要目標(biāo)是：“我們美國人民，為了建立一個(gè)更加完善的聯(lián)邦……” 憲法提供了一個(gè)程序，通過該程序可以添加修訂以改進(jìn)文件。在特拉華州成為第一個(gè)批準(zhǔn)憲法的州之后僅四年，即被稱為《權(quán)利法案》的前十項(xiàng)修正案成為法律。但是，只要一部分人口仍被奴役，很顯然, 憲法就遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒有達(dá)到《獨(dú)立宣言》的理想。 值得一提的是，亞伯拉罕·林肯（Abraham Lincoln）用 “Four score and seven years ago 八十七年前” 一詞打開了他在葛底斯堡的演說。他要求聽眾回顧美國獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭，在《憲法》制定前，《獨(dú)立宣言》為真正的建國綱領(lǐng)。他懇求他的同胞從那些用鮮血奉獻(xiàn)在這個(gè)戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)的士兵中汲取靈感，并推動(dòng)使《獨(dú)立宣言》的理想變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)的事業(yè)。這個(gè)國家應(yīng)該“自由重生，而民有、民治、民享之政必永續(xù)于世”。 每年的七月四日，我們慶祝建國綱領(lǐng)的采納，這一宣言使我們想起了上帝賦予我們的權(quán)利，這些權(quán)利構(gòu)成了我們政府形式的基本要求。所有公民天生就有追求美國夢(mèng)的平等機(jī)會(huì)。作為人類的努力，我們的政府體制一定是不盡完善的。在244年之后，我們?nèi)詾閷?shí)現(xiàn)《獨(dú)立宣言》所宣稱的理想而努力。  英文版 English Version： On July 4, 1776, representatives of the thirteen American colonies, in Congress assembled, approved the Declaration of Independence. The document contains a long list of grievances against King George III of Great Britain. The Declaration asserted that governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed" and that King George had imposed laws upon the colonies that violated this right. Thomas Jefferson's words proclaimed that the right to self-government was a right given by God and - in the most famous passage of the Declaration - it is "self-evident that all men are created equal." Eleven years later, after the Americans had defeated the most powerful military in the world, colonial representatives met again to agree to the rules under which the new government should be established. There is nothing perfect on this earth, so the U.S. Constitution could not guarantee the reality of the God-given ideals proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. The writers of the Constitution nevertheless set as their first goal that their document should be an effort to approach this ideal: "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union..." The Constitution provided a process by which amendments could be added to improve the document. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, became law just four years after Delaware became the first state to ratify the constitution. Nonetheless, as long as a portion of the population remained enslaved, it was clear that the Constitution fell far short of the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. It is significant that Abraham Lincoln opened his Gettysburg Address with the phrase "Four score and seven years ago." He asked his audience to look back a few extra years before the Constitution and consider the Declaration of Independence as the true founding document of the nation. He implored his countrymen to take inspiration from the soldiers who had consecrated this battleground with their blood and to advance the cause of making the ideals of the Declaration of Independence a reality. The nation should "have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Every Fourth of July, we celebrate the adoption of our nation's founding document, this declaration that reminds us of the God-given rights that form the basic requirements of our form of government. All citizens are born with equal opportunity to pursue their American dream. As a human endeavor, our governmental system must be imperfect. But after 244 years, we are still striving toward the ideals proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence.  |
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