Obama Inauguration Speech

foreign are you prepared to take the oath Senator I am I Barack Hussein Obama I solemnly swear I Barack Hussein Obama do solemnly swear that I will execute the office of president to the United States Faithfully that I will execute the Faithfully the president officer president of the United president of the United States faithfully and will to the best of my ability and will to the best of my ability preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States so help you God so help me God congratulations Mr President thank you it is my great personal honor to present the 44th president of these United States Barack Obama thank you thank you 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 operation he has shown throughout this transition 44 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 shudder 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 the 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 like conquer and Gettysburg Normandy and kaisan 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 summer 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 packed 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 Wheel Technologies wonders to raise healthcare'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 a common purpose a 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 it's 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 along when it favors only the prosperous the success of our economy has always depended not just on the sides 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 our founding fathers face 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 like the world and we will not give them up for expedient's sake 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 recall that earlier Generations face 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 innocence 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 tribes 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 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 the people of poor Nations we pledge to work alongside you to make your Farms flourish and let clean waters flow to nourish star 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 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 then 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 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 in 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 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 thank you foreign thank you

Channel: Washington Post

Views: 352,090

Keywords: commentary, analysis, political, commercial, news, inauguration, obama, inaugural, washington, post

Id: Vy5R7qhphGI

Length: 20min 38sec (1238 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 26 2009