“Today we gather because we have chosen hope over fear,” president says
(begin transcript)
REMARKS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
Inaugural Address
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Washington, D.C.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task beforeus, grateful for the trust you've bestowed, mindful of the sacrificesborne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation --(applause) -- as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shownthroughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. Thewords have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the stillwaters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidstgathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America hascarried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in highoffice, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to theideals of our forebears 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. Ournation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence andhatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed andirresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failureto make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes havebeen lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is toocostly, our schools fail too many -- and each day brings furtherevidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries andthreaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data andstatistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping ofconfidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline isinevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. Theyare serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in ashort span of time. But know this America: They will be met. (Applause.)
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear,unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come toproclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, therecriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangledour politics. We remain a young nation. But in the words ofScripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The timehas come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history;to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on fromgeneration to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal,all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure ofhappiness. (Applause.)
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand thatgreatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has neverbeen one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the pathfor the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seekonly the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been therisk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, butmore often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried usup the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions andtraveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled insweatshops, and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip, andplowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died in places likeConcord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed andworked 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 mostprosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no lessproductive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no lessinventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were lastweek, or last month, or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests andputting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, andbegin again the work of remaking America. (Applause.)
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state ofour economy calls for action, bold and swift. And we will act, notonly to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. Wewill build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital linesthat feed our commerce and bind us together. We'll restore science toits rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise healthcare's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and thewinds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we willtransform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demandsof 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. Theirmemories are short, for they have forgotten what this country hasalready done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination isjoined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynicsfail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, thatthe stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long nolonger apply.
The question we ask today is not whether our government is toobig or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps familiesfind jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that isdignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Wherethe answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage thepublic's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform badhabits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then canwe restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force forgood or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom isunmatched. But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchfuleye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosperlong when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economyhas always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product,but on the reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extendopportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but becauseit is the surest route to our common good. (Applause.)
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choicebetween our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers -- (applause)-- our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcelyimagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights ofman -- a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those idealsstill light the world, and we will not give them up for expediencesake. (Applause.)
And so, to all the other peoples and governments who arewatching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village wheremy father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, andevery man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity. And we are ready to lead once more. (Applause.)
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism andcommunism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdyalliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our poweralone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; oursecurity emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of ourexample, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principlesonce more we can meet those new threats that demand even greatereffort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. Wewill begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge ahard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes,we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back thespecter of a warming planet.作者: darli 时间: 2009-2-25 17:57
We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver inits defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducingterror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit isstronger and cannot be broken -- you cannot outlast us, and we willdefeat you. (Applause.)
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not aweakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus,and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawnfrom every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitterswill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapterstronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the oldhatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soondissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shallreveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a newera of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutualinterest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe whoseek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West, knowthat your people will judge you on what you can build, not what youdestroy. (Applause.)
To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit andthe silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side ofhistory, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclenchyour fist. (Applause.)
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside youto make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourishstarved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like oursthat enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifferenceto the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world'sresources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and wemust change with it.
As we consider the role that unfolds before us, we rememberwith humble gratitude those brave Americans who at this very hourpatrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something totell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper throughthe ages.
We honor them not only because they are the guardians of ourliberty, but because they embody the spirit of service -- a willingnessto 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 asgovernment can do, and must do, it is ultimately the faith anddetermination of the American people upon which this nation relies. Itis the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, theselflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see afriend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It isthe firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, butalso a parent's willingness to nurture a child that finally decides ourfate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meetthem 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 aretrue. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout ourhistory.
What is demanded, then, is a return to these truths. What isrequired of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition onthe part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nationand the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but ratherseize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfyingto the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to adifficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is thesource of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shapean uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and ourcreed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith canjoin in celebration across this magnificent mall; and why a man whosefather less than 60 years ago might not have been served in a localrestaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. (Applause.)
So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and howfar we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldestof months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on theshores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy wasadvancing. The snow was stained with blood. At the moment when theoutcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nationordered these words to be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth ofwinter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the cityand the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America: In the face of our common dangers, in this winter ofour hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope andvirtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what stormsmay come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we weretested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn backnor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's graceupon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered itsafely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)作者: cici225 时间: 2010-2-6 00:09
