And as I got to know Barack, I realized that even though he'd grown up all the way across the country, he'd been brought up just like me.

Barack was raised by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills, and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help.

Barack's grandmother started out as a secretary at a community bank... and she moved quickly up the ranks... but like so many women, she hit a glass ceiling.

And for years, men no more qualified than she was -- men she had actually trained -- were promoted up the ladder ahead of her, earning more and more money while Barack's family continued to scrape by.

But day after day, she kept on waking up at dawn to catch the bus... arriving at work before anyone else... giving her best without complaint or regret.

And she would often tell Barack, "So long as you kids do well, Bar, that's all that really matters."

Like so many American families, our families weren't asking for much.

They didn't begrudge anyone else's success or care that others had much more than they did... in fact, they admired it.

They simply believed in that fundamental American promise that, even if you don't start out with much, if you work hard and do what you're supposed to do, then you should be able to build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and grandkids.

That's how they raised us... that's what we learned from their example.

We learned about dignity and decency -- that how hard you work matters more than how much you make... that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself.

We learned about honesty and integrity -- that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.

We learned about gratitude and humility -- that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean... and we were taught to value everyone's contribution and treat everyone with respect.

Those are the values Barack and I -- and so many of you -- are trying to pass on to our own children.

That's who we are.

當我逐漸開始了解巴拉克之后，我發現雖然他在美國的另一頭長大，他的成長經歷卻和我驚人地相似。

巴拉克成長在一個單親家庭里，他的母親依靠努力工作來維持家庭生活，在她實在無力支持的時候，祖父母也會伸出援手。

巴拉克的祖母最初在社區銀行當秘書……她升職很快……但就和其他許多女性一樣，她的升職最終還是受到了性別限制。

數年間，那些不如她有能力的男性員工——事實上，還是她親手培訓的男性員工——都被提升到了比她高的職位，掙的錢越來越多，而與此同時，巴拉克一家只能勉強度日。

但一天又一天，她仍然早起去趕公車……比其他任何人都早到公司……她總是做到最好，從不抱怨，從不懊悔。

而且，她常常這樣告訴巴拉克：“只要你的孩子過得好，巴，其他什么都不重要。”

就和許許多多美國家庭一樣，我們倆的家庭都知足常樂。

他們并不嫉妒其他人的成功，也不在意其他人是否比他們擁有更多……事實上，他們為此心存感激。

他們就是心懷著最根本的美國希望，即是說，哪怕你出身貧寒，只要你努力工作，做好本職，那么你就能讓自己過上體面的生活，而你的子女和他們的孩子也會過得越來越好。

他們就是這樣把我們養育成人……并且成為了我們的學習榜樣。

我們學會了做自尊正派的人——努力工作遠比掙錢多少重要……幫助別人比自己爭先更有意義。

我們學會了做誠實守信的人——要講究真相……不能妄圖走捷徑或耍小伎倆……以及公平爭取來的成功才算數。

我們學會了感激和謙卑——我們的成功依靠許多人的幫助，從啟迪我們的老師到保持學校整潔的校工……我們學會珍惜每個人的貢獻，并以尊重待人。

這些是巴拉克和我——以及在場的眾多人士——都試圖傳遞給子女的價值觀。

我們就是這樣的人。