Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the U.S. Congress, distinguished
guests, and fellow citizens, each time we gather to inaugurate a President, we bear
witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm
the promise of our democracy. We recall that what
binds this Nation together are not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith
or the origins of our names. What makes us
exceptional--what makes us American--is our allegiance to an idea,
articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Today we continue a never-ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with
the
realities of our time, for history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident,
they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift
from God it must be secured by His people here on Earth.
The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny
of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us
a republic, a government of and by and for the people, entrusting each generation
to
keep safe our founding creed. For more than 200 years, we have. Through blood drawn
by
lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded
on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half slave and half
free. We made ourselves anew and vowed to move
forward together. Together, we determined that a
modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and
commerce; schools and colleges to train our
workers. Together, we discovered that a free
market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair
play. Together, we resolve that a great nation must
care for the vulnerable and protect its people from life's worst hazards and
misfortunes. Through it all, we have never
relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the
fiction that all society's ills can be cured through government alone. Our
celebration of initiative and enterprise, our insistence on hard work and personal
responsibility, these are constants in our character.
We have always understood that when times change, so must we; that
fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new
challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms
ultimately requires collective action, for the American people can no more
meet the demands of today's world by acting alone than American
soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and
militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we will need to equip our children for the future or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new
jobs to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together as one Nation and one people.
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that
steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A
decade of war is now ending.
An economic recovery has begun.
America's possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the
qualities this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive, diversity and
openness, an endless capacity for risk, and a gift for reinvention.
My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment,
and we will seize it so long as we seize it
together.
For we, the People, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few
do
very well and a growing many barely make it.
We believe America's prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle
class. We know America thrives when every person can find
independence and pride in their work, when the wages of honest labor liberate
families from the brink of hardship. We are true to
our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows she has the same
chance to succeed as anybody else because she is an American, she is free,
and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.
We understand outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our
time. We must harness new ideas in technology to remake our government,
revamp our Tax Code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work
harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our
purpose endures. A nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single
American, that is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to
our
creed.
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic
measure of security and dignity. We must make
the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our
deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring
for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will
build its future.
For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years
were spent in poverty and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to
turn. We do not believe, in this country, freedom is
reserved for the lucky or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter
how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss
or a
sudden illness or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other, through Medicare and Medicaid and Social
Security, these things do not sap our Nation; they strengthen us.
They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this
country great.
We, the people, still believe our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves
but
to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of
climate change, knowing the failure to do
so would betray our children and future generations.
Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling
drought and more powerful storms. The path toward sustainable energy sources will
be
long and sometimes difficult, but America cannot resist this transition; we must
lead it. We cannot cede to other Nations the
technology that will power new jobs and new industries; we must claim its promise.
That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure, our forests and waterways, our
croplands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet,
commanded to our care by God. That is what will lend meaning to the creed our Fathers
once declared.
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting
peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by
the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by
the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.
The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who
would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the
war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those
lessons into this time as well.
We will defend our people and uphold our values through
strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our
differences with other Nations peacefully, not because we are naive about the
dangers we face but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and
fear.
America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every
corner of the globe, and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity
to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world
than its most powerful Nation. We
will support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East,
because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who
long for freedom. We must be a source of
hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice, not
out of mere charity but because peace in our time
requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes:
tolerance and opportunity, human dignity and justice.
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths, that all of us are created equal, is the
star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls and
Selma and Stonewall, just as it guided all those men and women, sung and
unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall to hear a
preacher say we cannot walk alone, to hear a ``King'' proclaim that our
individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation's task to carry on what those
pioneers began, for our journey is not
complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to
their efforts. Our journey is not complete
until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the
law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely
the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.
Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait
for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until
we find a better way to welcome the striving,
hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright
young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from
our country.
Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to
the
hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know they are
cared for and cherished and always safe from harm. That is our generation's
task--to make these words, these rights, these values of life
and liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American.
Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour
of
life. It does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way or follow
the
same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long
debates about the role of government for all time, but it does require us to act in
our
time.
For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.
We cannot mistake absolutism for principle or substitute spectacle for politics or
treat
name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing our work will
be imperfect. We must act, knowing today's victories will be only partial
and that it will be up to those who stand here in 4
years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred
to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.
My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, similar to the one recited
by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God
and country, not party or faction, and we must faithfully execute that pledge during
the
duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the
oath
that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty
or an immigrant realizes her dream. My
oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag
that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride. They are the words of
citizens and they represent our greatest hope.
You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country's course. You and I, as
citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time, not only with the
votes
we cast but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring
ideals. Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our
lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication,
let us answer the call of history and carry into an uncertain future that precious
light
of freedom.
Thank you. God bless you, and may He forever bless these United
States of America.
