Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
April 3, 2009

This is a week of faithful celebration. On Monday and Tuesday nights, Jewish families and friends in the United States and around the world gathered for a Seder to commemorate¹（纪念） the Exodus² from Egypt and the triumph of hope and perseverance³（坚持不懈，不屈不挠） over injustice⁴ and oppression.  On Sunday, my family will join other Christians⁵ all over the world in marking the resurrection（复活，恢复） of Jesus Christ.

And while we worship in different ways, we also remember the shared spirit of humanity that inhabits us all – Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, believers and nonbelievers alike.

Amid the storm of public debate, with our 24/7 media cycle, in a town like Washington that’s consumed with the day-to-day, it can sometimes be easy to lose sight of the eternal（永恒的，不朽的） . So, on this Easter weekend, let us hold fast to those aspirations⁷（愿望） we hold in common as brothers and sisters, as members of the same family – the family of man.

All of us know how important work is – not just for the paycheck（薪水） , but for the peace of mind that comes with knowing you can provide for your family. As Americans, and as human beings, we seek not only the security, but the sense of dignity, the sense of community, that work confers. That is why it was heartening（鼓舞人心的，令人振奋的） news that last month, for the first time in more than two years, our economy created a substantial number of jobs, instead of losing them. We have begun to reverse the devastating⁹ slide, but we have a long way to go to repair the damage from this recession, and that will continue to be my focus every single day.

All of us value our health and the health of our loved ones. All of us have experienced an illness, a loss, a personal tragedy. All of us know that no matter what we’re doing or what else is going on in our lives, if the health of someone we love is endangered, nothing else matters. Our health is the rock upon which our lives are built, for better and for worse.

All of us value education. We know that in an economy as competitive as ours, an education is a prerequisite¹⁰（先决条件） for success. But we also know that ultimately, education is about something more, something greater. It is about the ability that lies within each of us to rise above any barrier, no matter how high; to pursue any dream, no matter how big; to fulfill¹¹ our God-given potential.

All of us are striving to（努力） make a way in this world; to build a purposeful and fulfilling life in the fleeting¹²（飞逝的，转瞬的） time we have here. A dignified¹³ life. A healthy life. A life, true to its potential. And a life that serves others. These are aspirations（愿望） that stretch back through the ages – aspirations at the heart of Judaism, at the heart of Christianity, at the heart of all of the world’s great religions.

The rites¹⁴ of Passover, and the traditions of Easter, have been marked by people in every corner of the planet for thousands of years. They have been marked in times of peace, in times of upheaval¹⁵（剧变，隆起） , in times of war.

One such war-time service was held on the black sands of Iwo Jima more than sixty years ago. There, in the wake of some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, a chaplain（牧师） rose to deliver an Easter sermon, consecrating¹⁶（奉献） the memory, he said “of American dead – Catholic, Protestant, Jew. Together,” he said, “they huddled¹⁷（挤成一团，胡乱 堆积） in foxholes¹⁸（散兵坑，隐藏处） or crouched¹⁹（蹲伏，蜷缩） in the bloody²⁰ sands…Together they practiced virtue²¹, patriotism²², love of country, love of you and of me.” The chaplain continued, “The heritage they have left us, the vision of a new world, [was] made possible by the common bond that united them…their only hope that this unity⁸ will endure.”

Their only hope that this unity will endure.

On this weekend, as Easter begins and Passover comes to a close, let us remain ever mindful of the unity of purpose, the common bond, the love of you and of me, for which they sacrificed all they had; and for which so many others have sacrificed so much. And let us make its pursuit – and fulfillment – our highest aspiration⁶, as individuals and as a nation. Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all those celebrating, here in America, and around the world.