奧巴馬當上美國總統一年有餘，可謂是"馬"不停蹄地跨過一道道溝壑、淌過一片片沼澤，直到這位"戰爭時期的總統"獲了諾貝爾和平獎，他所面對的溝壑、沼澤與其它潛在的挑戰一點兒也沒減少。
沒做總統前，歐巴馬和美國黑人不是"賓拉登"的敵人；當了總統，所有"美國的敵人"就會視你為死敵，不管你是什麼膚色、不論你是誰得後代！
可是，事實證明了歐巴馬是個極其出色的"衝浪總統"---風浪越大，他搏擊得越歡；危險越大，他越感到刺激；對手越兇惡，他的口才就越凌厲；話題越複雜，他的闡述就越有層次！
在奧斯陸接受這個和平獎時，歐巴馬的演說如履薄冰，因為他既不能為暴力搖旗吶喊，又無法對客觀的戰爭與衝突視而不見。但是，他至少要給諾貝爾評委和所有反對他獲獎的人"一個說法"，就是我，歐巴馬，知道這個獎的涵義，我也不是辜負這樣的榮譽！
這篇演說和競選時的那篇針對美國黑白兩大種族的悠久矛盾與隔閡的大膽演講有一拼，敏感，複雜多重，沒有真知灼見的人是無法觸及其深度的。
歐巴馬剛剛為阿富汗增兵，無疑是騎虎難下的總指揮，但他的演說沒有被困在硝煙的戰壕裡。
整篇文章抑揚頓挫，好似一個人的交響樂，從爭議、沮喪(人類戰爭)到對人類靈魂中最美好的音符的肯定，那就是"愛"--- 做為總統和政客，可能沒有人能這麼自然地、不肉麻地說出自己的理念。
演說原文節選及翻譯：
But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of the military of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by 42 other countries -- including Norway -- in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.
圍繞我獲取這個（和平）獎的最大爭議性話題也許是因為我是一個被兩場戰爭困擾的國家軍隊總指揮。這其中的一場戰爭正偃旗息鼓。而另一場戰爭是美國被逼無奈而為之；42個國家和美國一道，包括挪威，加入了這場為保護我們和全世界免受更大的襲擊的戰爭。
Still，we are at war，and I'm responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill，and some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the costs of armed conflict -- filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace，and our effort to replace one with the other.
然而，我們（美國）在打仗，我對派出千千萬萬的美國青年到遠方負責。他/她們所面對的是你死我活的戰場。我來到（奧斯陸）這裡，深感戰爭衝突所帶來的慘重代價，也深深被戰爭與和平的關係和我們努力選擇其中之一等問題困擾。
Of course，we know that for most of history，this concept of "just war" was rarely observed. The capacity of human beings to think up new ways to kill one another proved inexhaustible，as did our capacity to exempt from mercy those who look different or pray to a different God. Wars between armies gave way to wars between nations -- total wars in which the distinction between combatant and civilian became blurred. In the span of 30 years，such carnage would twice engulf this continent. And while it's hard to conceive of a cause more just than the defeat of the Third Reich and the Axis powers，World War II was a conflict in which the total number of civilians who died exceeded the number of soldiers who perished.
當然，綜觀歷史，我們知道"正義戰爭"這一概念幾乎沒有被看到過。人類所能想出的互相殘殺(的方式)沒有止境，正如我們仇視那些不同膚色、對不同上帝祈禱的人們的能力一樣。軍隊之間的戰爭成為國家之間的戰爭---作戰人員和平民百姓一樣，被混淆了身份，在（這樣的）全面戰爭中喪生。30年的戰火中，殘酷的生靈塗炭（兩次大戰）兩次吞噬了這片大陸！雖然我們難以否定擊敗納粹軸心國和(希特勒)第三帝國的正義(原因)，可是，在第二次世界大戰中所喪生的平民卻多於所有作戰人員的總和。
We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations -- acting individually or in concert -- will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.
我們要首先面對冷峻的現實：在我們有生之年不會徹底制止暴力衝突。總會有國家在將來，獨自或聯盟，找到必要的甚至道義的理由去發動戰爭。
I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King Jr. said in this same ceremony years ago: "Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones." As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life work，I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there's nothing weak -- nothing passive -- nothing naive -- in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.
我說這話是謹慎的，(因為)多年前馬丁·路德·金就在這個領獎台上說過："暴力永遠不會帶來永久的和平。暴力無法解決社會問題：它只會製造新的、更複雜的社會問題。"今天，我能夠站在這裡就是金博士終生所追求的理念的直接結果，我是（他的）非暴力道義力量的證明。我清楚，在甘地和金博士的非暴力宗旨裡沒有任何消極、懦弱和天真的成份。
But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation，I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is，and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. To make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.
但做為一國首腦，我曾宣誓要保護和捍衛我的國家，我不能單獨追隨他們的例子。我面對的是今天的世界，當美國人民被威脅時我不能袖手旁觀。毋庸置疑：這個世界上存在著惡魔。(因為)非暴力運動也無法阻擋希特勒的軍隊。談判不能讓基地組織放下他們的武器。強調戰爭有時是必要的不等於叫囂犬儒主義--這是認清歷史，（包括）人類的不完美和（人類）有限的理性。
So part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly inreconcilable truths -- that war is sometimes necessary，and war at some level is an expression of human folly. Concretely，we must direct our effort to the task that President Kennedy called for long ago. "Let us focus," he said，"on a more practical，more attainable peace，based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions." A gradual evolution of human institutions.
所以，我們的挑戰之一是如何解調兩個水火不容的事實--戰爭有時是必要的，而戰爭很大程度上所表達的是人類的愚蠢。我們必須實質性地朝很久以前肯尼迪總統所號召的努力。他說"我們要專注於建立更實際，更能維持的和平，而不能靠對人類本性的突然革命，而要依靠人文 (人性)原則的逐漸演變和進化。"人文（人性）原則的逐漸進化。
Adhering to this law of love has always been the core struggle of human nature. For we are fallible. We make mistakes，and fall victim to the temptations of pride，and power，and sometimes evil. Even those of us with the best of intentions will at times fail to right the wrongs before us.
人性鬥爭(衝突)的核心問題總是和捍衛這個"愛的法則"有關。因為我們人類不是不可戰勝的。我們會犯錯，在驕傲、權力和惡魔的引誘下會成為犧牲品。即使是那些在我們中間懷有最高尚的意志的人們也無法改正我們的錯誤。
But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance，but the love that they preached -- their fundamental faith in human progress -- that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.
Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. (Applause.)
但是，我們不能以為我們的人性是完美的，所以，人類生存現狀才能改變。我們不必(等到)生活在一個理想的世界裡才去為改變這個世界而爭取。也許在很多環境中甘地和金博士所教誨的非暴力不可能也不實用，可他們所傳播的愛，既他們最基本的人類進程理念，必須是指引我們進步的北極星。
讓我們為這樣一個（充滿人性）的世界而努力 --- (去發現)人性靈魂中正在閃耀的光芒！[掌聲]
作舟（意譯）
