Delivered 20 January 2009

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  forebears, 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 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 Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and  Khe Sanh. 

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. 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 ... our found 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 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 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 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  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.