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Barack
Obama's Inauguration Speech
On January
20th 2009 Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th President of the United
States of America.
Read the speech
carefully, noting the allusions, references and metaphors.
Also note
similarities with his victory speech
and with the inauguration speech of John F Kennedy.
Finally read
the commentary and see if you agree
with it.
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 co-operation 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 labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged
path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions
and travelled 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 ploughed 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.
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 - that a nation cannot prosper
long when it favours 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.
As for our common defence, 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 we are ready to lead once
more.
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 will work tirelessly
to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet.
We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence,
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, just as
the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour
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
- 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 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 travelled. 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."
There is a brief commentary
on the speech here.
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