­　　Love, ladies and gentlemen, is the human family’s most precious legacy, its richest bequest, its golden inheritance. And it is a treasure that is handed down from one generation to another. Previous ages may not have had the wealth we enjoy. Their houses may have lacked electricity, and they squeezed their many kids into small homes without central heating. But those homes had no darkness, nor were they cold. They were lit bright with the glow of love and they were warmed snugly by the very heat of the human heart. Parents, undistracted by the lust for luxury and status, accorded their children primacy in their lives.

­　　女士們先生們，愛是人類家庭最珍貴的遺產，是最貴重的饋贈，是最無價的傳統，是我們應該代代相傳的財富。以前，我們或許沒有現在這樣富有，屋里可能沒有電，很多孩子可能擠在沒有取暖設施的狹小房間里。但這些家庭里沒有黑暗，也沒有寒冷。他們點燃愛的光芒，溫暖著彼此緊貼的心靈。父母不為各種享受和權利的欲望分心，孩子才是他們的生活中最重要的。

­　　As you all know，our two countries broke from each other over what Thomas Jefferson referred to as “certain inalienable rights.” And while we Americans and British might dispute the justice of his claims, what has never been in dispute is that children have certain inalienable rights, and the gradual erosion of those rights has led to scores of children worldwide being denied the joys and security of childhood.

­　　我們都知道，我們兩國在托馬斯杰弗遜提出的所謂“一些不可剝奪的權利” 上因意見不合而決裂。盡管美國人和英國人在各自要求的公平上有分歧，但在關于 孩子享有不可剝奪的權利這一點上卻是一致的。但是對這些權利的逐步剝奪已經導 致了世界上的很多孩子失去歡快樂趣和童年的安全感。

­　　Friends, the foundation of all human knowledge, the beginning of human consciousness, must be that each and every one of us is an object of love. Before you know if you have red hair or brown, before you know if you are black or white, before you know of what religion you are a part, you have to know that you are loved.

­　　朋友們，人類所有知識的基礎和人類意識的萌芽必然需要我們每一個人都成為被愛的對象。哪怕你不知道自己的頭發是紅色還是棕色，不知道自己是白人還是黑人，不知道自己信仰哪個宗教，你也應該知道自己是被愛著的。