Complete text of Obama
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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 forbearers, 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, 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 faint-hearted, 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 towards 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 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 our 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 costs.
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. 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.
MR.
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 knowledge 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. The 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
the 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 that 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 we are ready to
lead once more.
Recall
that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just
with missiles and tanks, but with the 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’ll begin to
responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace
in Afghanistan.
With
old friends and former foes, we’ll 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 the 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, 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, honesty and
hard work, 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 in 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 nine 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.
Thank
you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
