And whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault. 无论我们对导致这种贫穷的原因持何种观点，我们都认为，孩子敢于冒险的精神并没有错。

Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love. 放纵与滥用都为上帝所不容。这是缺乏爱的结果。

And the proliferation of prisons, however necessary, is no substitute for hope and order in our souls. 监狱数量的增长虽然是有必要的，但这决不能替代我们心中的希望和秩序。

Where there is suffering, there is duty. 哪里有痛苦，哪里就有责任。

Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens; not problems, but priorities. 处于困境中的美国人对我们来说不是陌生人，而是我们的公民；他们不是我们的负担，而是需要优先救助的对象。

And all of us are diminished when any are hopeless. 当任何人陷入绝望时，我们大家都会因此而变得渺小。

Government has great responsibilities for public safety and public health, for civil rights and common schools. 政府对公共安全、大众健康，民权和学校教育都负有重大的义务。

Yet compassion¹ is the work of a nation, not just a government. 但是，同情心绝不只是政府的职责，更是整个国家的义务。

And some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer. 有些需要是如此迫切，有些伤痕是如此的深刻，只有良师的感化和牧师的祈祷才能有所回应。

Church and charity, synagogue and mosque² lend our communities their humanity, 教堂和慈善机构、犹太会堂和清真寺，都向我们的社会展示了它们特有的人性，

and they will have an honored place in our plans and in our laws. 它们将在我们的规划和法律中占有一席之地。

Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to those who do. 我们国家有许多人都不知道贫穷的痛苦，但我们可以听到那些感触颇深的人们的倾诉。

And I can pledge our nation to a goal: When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side. 我发誓我们的国家要实现这一目标：当我们看见受伤的行人倒在远行的路上，我们决不会袖手旁观。