I wasn't born a first lady or a senator. I wasn't born a Democrat. I wasn't born a lawyer or an advocate for women's rights and human rights. I wasn't born a wife or mother. I was born an American in the middle of the twentieth century, a fortunate time and place. I was free to make choices unavailable to past generations of women in my own country and inconceivable to many women in the world today. I came of age on the crest of tumultuous social change and took part in the political battles fought over the meaning of America and its role in the world.
我并非生來就是第一夫人或聯(lián)邦參議員，并非生來就是民主黨員、律師或婦女權(quán)利與人權(quán)的倡導(dǎo)者，也并非生來就是妻子或母親。我有幸生在20世紀(jì)中葉的美國，擁有過去美國婦女無法享有的種種自由選擇，即使在今天，世界上仍有許多婦女覺得自由選擇超乎想像。我在社會激劇變革的浪尖上長大，并投身各種政治論爭，探討美國所代表的意義及它在世界上的角色。
My mother and my grandmothers could never have lived my life; my father and my grandfathers couldn't have imagined it. But they bestowed on me the promise of America, which made my life and my choices possible.
母親、奶奶、外婆跟我生活在截然不同的時代；父親、爺爺、外公對于我的生活也無法想像。不過他們向我灌輸美國式希望，這個希望造就了我的人生與選擇。
My story began in the years following World War II, when men like my father who had served their country returned home to settle down, make a living and raise a family. It was the beginning of the Baby Boom, an optimistic time. The United States had saved the world from fascism, and now our nation was working to unite former adversaries in the aftermath of war, reaching out to allies and to former enemies, securing the peace and helping to rebuild a devastated Europe and Japan.
我的故事始于第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后。當(dāng)時父親和其他男人一樣，為國效力后返鄉(xiāng)擔(dān)起養(yǎng)家糊口之責(zé)。嬰兒潮隨之出現(xiàn)，那是一個樂觀主義的時代。美國將全世界從法西斯主義中拯救出來，在戰(zhàn)后又努力和以前的敵對國家修好，團結(jié)盟友與先前的敵人，致力于和平，協(xié)助受到戰(zhàn)火摧殘的歐洲與日本重建。
Although the Cold War was beginning with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, my parents and their generation felt secure and hopeful. American supremacy was the result not just of military might, but of our values and of the abundant opportunities available to people like my parents who worked hard and took responsibility.
雖然美國和蘇聯(lián)、東歐展開冷戰(zhàn)，不過我父母和他們那一代人不覺得有什么危險，依舊充滿希望。美國的超強地位靠的不僅僅是武力，還有我們的價值觀念和遍地的機會。只要努力工作并承擔(dān)責(zé)任，像我父母一樣的人誰都可以得到這些機會。
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