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Versión en Español
200109 -
"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.
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."
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