On January 20, 2009 President Barack Obama was sworn in as 44th
President of the United States and delivered his Inaugural Address.
Inaugural Address
By President Barack Hussein Obama
My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled
by the task before us, grateful for the trust you've bestowed, mindful
of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.
I thank President Bush for his service to our
nation -- (applause) -- 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 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. 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. (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 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. (Applause.)
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 short-cuts or settling for less. It has
not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that 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 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. (Applause.)
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'll
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. 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. 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. (Applause.)
As for our common defense, we reject as false
the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers --
(applause) -- 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 sake. (Applause.)
And so, to all the 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. (Applause.)
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 will 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. (Applause.)
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 non-believers. 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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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 role 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 the
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 in a local restaurant 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 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 the
moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father
of our nation ordered these words to 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. (Applause.)
