Obama fist speech

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, 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 short-cuts 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 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 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. 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 sixty 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.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.