My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task
before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the
sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his
service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has
shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now
taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising
tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often,
the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these
moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or
vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained
faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding
documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation
is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our
economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility
on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard
choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost;
jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our
schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the
ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics.
Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across
our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and
that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are
serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short
span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and
false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far
too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation,
but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish
things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose
our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble
idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise
that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue
their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of
our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be
earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for
less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who
prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and
fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of
things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in
their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward
prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked
till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw
America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater
than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is
the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful
nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this
crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services
no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our
capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of
protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions --
that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up,
dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the
economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only
to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will
build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that
feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its
rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's
quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and
the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform
our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new
age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are
some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our
system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short.
For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free
men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose,
and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is
that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political
arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The
question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too
small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a
decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.
Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is
no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars
will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do
our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore
the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is
the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.
Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this
crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin
out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors
only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not
just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our
prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart
-- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common
good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice
between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with
perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of
law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of
generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give
them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and
governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the
small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend
of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of
peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not
just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring
convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us,
nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our
power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the
justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering
qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this
legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new
threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and
understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq
to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old
friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear
threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not
apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and
for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and
slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger
and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.
We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and
nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from
every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of
civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger
and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall
someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the
world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that
America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To
the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest
and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow
conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your
people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To
those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the
silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history;
but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make
your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved
bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy
relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to
suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources
without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change
with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we
remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very
hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something
to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington
whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are
guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of
service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than
themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a
generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the
faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation
relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break,
the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a
friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is
the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but
also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides
our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which
we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success
depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and
curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things
are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our
history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is
required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on
the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our
nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but
rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so
satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our
all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women
and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration
across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60
years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now
stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this
day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In
the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of
patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The
capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained
with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in
doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the
people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the
depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that
the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to
meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common
dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless
words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents,
and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's
children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end,
that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on
the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift
of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations