George WaIker Bush， The 43rd President of the United States
Tsinghua University， February 2nd， 2002
In a free society， diversity is not disorder， debate is not strife and dissent is not revoIution. A free society trusts its citizens to seek greatness in themseIves and their country.
在一个自由的社会里，多样性不是混乱，辩论不是冲突，不同意不是革命。一个自由的社会信任它的公民，一定是在他们和国家之间寻求进步。
George WaIker Bush
背景故事
美国总统访华，除了参观名胜和首脑会晤之外，到高等学府发表演讲也是传统活动之一。2002年2月，美国总统小布什夫妇访华并莅临了清华大学做了一次激情澎湃的演讲。小布什总统运用幽默的表达方式，让我们对美国这个看似熟悉而不熟悉的国家，有了更深的了解。“更加多样性，更加自由是全世界人类所向往的。”这是否能够让你产生共鸣呢？
名人简介
乔治·沃克·布什（George Walker Bush， 也称小布什）1946年7月6日生于美国康涅狄格州，幼年移居得克萨斯州，在得克萨斯州的米德兰和休斯敦长大。1968年获耶鲁大学历史学士学位，1968年至1973年在得克萨斯国民警卫队空军担任战斗机飞行员，1975年获哈佛大学工商管理硕士学位。1975年至1986年，布什在得克萨斯经营一家从事石油开采的公司。1989年至1994年，他是得克萨斯“牧人”棒球队主要合伙人。布什1994年至2000年任得克萨斯州州长。他2001年1月就任第43任（第54届）美国总统，2004年11月3日竞选连任获胜，并于2005年1月20日就任第55届美国总统。
演讲赏析
More Varied， More Free！
George WaIker Bush， The 43rd President of the United
States Tsinghua University， February 2nd， 2002
Vice President Hu， thank you very much for your kind and generous remarks. Thank you for welcoming me and my wife， Laura， here. I see she"s keeping pretty good company with the secretary of state， Colin Powell. It"s good to see you， Mr. Secretary. And I see my national security adviser， Ms. Condoleezza Rice， who at one time was the provost of Stanford University， so she"s comfortable on university campuses such as this. Thank you for being here， Condi.
I"m so grateful for the hospitality and honored for the reception at one of China"s and the world"s great universities. This university was founded， interestingly enough， with the support of my country， to further ties between our two nations. I know how important this place is to your vice president. He not only received his degree here but， more importantly， he met his gracious wife here. I want to thank the students for giving me the chance to meet with you， the chance to talk a little bit about my country， and answer some of your questions.
The standards and reputation of this university are known around the world， and I know what an achievement it is to be here. So congratulations. I don"t know if you know this or not， but my wife and I have two daughters who are in college， just like you. One goes to the University of Texas， one goes to Yale. They"re twins. And we are proud of our daughters just like I"m sure your parents are proud of you.
My visit to China comes on an important anniversary， as the vice president mentioned. Thirty years ago this week an American president arrived in China on a trip designed to end decades of estrangement and confront centuries of suspicion. President Richard Nixon showed the world that two vastly different governments could meet on the grounds of common interest in the spirit of mutual respect. As they left the airport that day， Premier Zhou En-Lai said this to President Nixon："Your handshake came over the vastest ocean in the world-25 years of no communication."
During the 30 years since， America and China have exchanged many handshakes of friendship and commerce. And as we have had more contact with each other， the citizens of both countries have gradually learned more about each other. And that"s important. Once America knew China only by its history as a great and enduring civilization. Today we see a China that is still defi ned by noble traditions of family， scholarship and honor. And we see a China that is becoming one of the most dynamic and creative societies in the world， as demonstrated by the knowledge and potential right here in this room.
China is on a rising path， and America welcomes the emergence of a strong and peaceful and prosperous China. As America learns more about China， I am concerned that the Chinese people do not always see a clear picture of my country. This happens for many reasons and some of them are our own making. Our movies and television shows often do not portray the values of the real America I know. Our successful businesses show a strength of American commerce but our spirit， community spirit and contributions to each other are not always visible as monetary success.
Some of the erroneous pictures of America are painted by others. My friend， the ambassador to China， tells me some Chinese textbooks talk of Americans of bullying the weak and repressing the poor. Another Chinese textbook published just last year teaches that special agents of the FBI are used to repress the working people. Now， neither of these is true. And while the words may be leftovers from a previous era， they are misleading and they are harmful.
In fact， Americans feel a special responsibility for the weak and the poor. Our government spends billions of dollars to provide health care and food and housing for those who cannot help themselves. And even more important， many of our citizens contribute their own money and time to help those in need. American compassion also stretches way beyond our borders. We"re the number one provider of humanitarian aid to people in need throughout the world. And as for the men and women of the FBI and law enforcement， they"re working people. They， themselves， are working people who devote their lives to fi ghting crime and corruption.
My country certainly has its share of problems， no question about that. And we have our faults. Like most nations， we"re on a long journey toward achieving our own ideals of equality and justice. Yet there"s a reason our nation shines as a beacon of hope and opportunity， a reason many throughout the world dream of coming to America. It"s because we"re a free nation， where men and women have the opportunity to achieve their dreams.
