Full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama’s inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the Buy Ambien In Canada United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the Buy Ambien In Canada task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the Buy Ambien In Canada sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for Buy Ambien In Canada his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and Buy Ambien In Canada cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have Buy Ambien In Canada now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and Buy Ambien In Canada the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the Buy Ambien In Canada oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has Buy Ambien In Canada carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the Buy Ambien In Canada People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and Buy Ambien In Canada true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are Buy Ambien In Canada in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is Buy Ambien In Canada at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is Buy Ambien In Canada badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the Buy Ambien In Canada part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and Buy Ambien In Canada prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been Buy Ambien In Canada lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and Buy Ambien In Canada each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and Buy Ambien In Canada threaten our planet.
These are Buy Ambien In Canada the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no Buy Ambien In Canada less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is Buy Ambien In Canada inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
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Today I say to Buy Ambien In Canada you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and Buy Ambien In Canada they are many.
They will not be Buy Ambien In Canada met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be Buy Ambien In Canada met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and Buy Ambien In Canada discord.
On this Buy Ambien In Canada day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and Buy Ambien In Canada false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have Buy Ambien In Canada strangled our politics.
We remain a Buy Ambien In Canada young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has Buy Ambien In Canada come to set aside childish things. The time has come to Buy Ambien In Canada reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that Buy Ambien In Canada precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the Buy Ambien In Canada God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a Buy Ambien In Canada chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the Buy Ambien In Canada greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a Buy Ambien In Canada given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been Buy Ambien In Canada one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been Buy Ambien In Canada the path for the faint-hearted – for Buy Ambien In Canada those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and Buy Ambien In Canada fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and Buy Ambien In Canada women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the Buy Ambien In Canada long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and Buy Ambien In Canada traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and Buy Ambien In Canada settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the Buy Ambien In Canada hard earth.
For us, they fought and Buy Ambien In Canada died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and Buy Ambien In Canada again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that Buy Ambien In Canada we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than Buy Ambien In Canada the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or Buy Ambien In Canada wealth or faction.
This is Buy Ambien In Canada the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are Buy Ambien In Canada no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are Buy Ambien In Canada no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than Buy Ambien In Canada 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 Buy Ambien In Canada putting off unpleasant decisions – that Buy Ambien In Canada time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and Buy Ambien In Canada begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is Buy Ambien In Canada work to be done. The state of the economy calls for Buy Ambien In Canada action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to Buy Ambien In Canada create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the Buy Ambien In Canada roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and Buy Ambien In Canada bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and Buy Ambien In Canada wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and Buy Ambien In Canada lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and Buy Ambien In Canada the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and Buy Ambien In Canada colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this Buy Ambien In Canada we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who Buy Ambien In Canada suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are Buy Ambien In Canada short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what Buy Ambien In Canada free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to Buy Ambien In Canada common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the Buy Ambien In Canada cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that Buy Ambien In Canada the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no Buy Ambien In Canada longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is Buy Ambien In Canada too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it Buy Ambien In Canada helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can Buy Ambien In Canada afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is Buy Ambien In Canada yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is Buy Ambien In Canada no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the Buy Ambien In Canada public’s dollars will be held to account – to Buy Ambien In Canada spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the Buy Ambien In Canada light of day – because only then Buy Ambien In Canada can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is Buy Ambien In Canada the question before us whether the market is a force for Buy Ambien In Canada good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is Buy Ambien In Canada unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the Buy Ambien In Canada market can spin out of control – and Buy Ambien In Canada that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the Buy Ambien In Canada prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the Buy Ambien In Canada size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to Buy Ambien In Canada extend opportunity to every willing heart – not out of charity, but because it Buy Ambien In Canada is the surest route to our common good.
As for Buy Ambien In Canada our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and Buy Ambien In Canada our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a Buy Ambien In Canada charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a Buy Ambien In Canada charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the Buy Ambien In Canada world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to Buy Ambien In Canada all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the Buy Ambien In Canada grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that Buy Ambien In Canada America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and Buy Ambien In Canada child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that Buy Ambien In Canada we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that Buy Ambien In Canada earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and Buy Ambien In Canada tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that Buy Ambien In Canada our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to Buy Ambien In Canada do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from Buy Ambien In Canada the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the Buy Ambien In Canada tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are Buy Ambien In Canada the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can Buy Ambien In Canada meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and Buy Ambien In Canada understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to Buy Ambien In Canada its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and Buy Ambien In Canada former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and Buy Ambien In Canada roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for Buy Ambien In Canada our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and Buy Ambien In Canada for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and Buy Ambien In Canada slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is Buy Ambien In Canada stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that Buy Ambien In Canada our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are Buy Ambien In Canada a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and Buy Ambien In Canada non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from Buy Ambien In Canada every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the Buy Ambien In Canada bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that Buy Ambien In Canada dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that Buy Ambien In Canada the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that Buy Ambien In Canada as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and Buy Ambien In Canada that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Buy Ambien In Canada Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and Buy Ambien In Canada mutual respect.
To those leaders around the Buy Ambien In Canada globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that Buy Ambien In Canada your people will judge you on what you can build, not what Buy Ambien In Canada you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and Buy Ambien In Canada deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the Buy Ambien In Canada wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you Buy Ambien In Canada are willing to unclench your fist.
To the Buy Ambien In Canada people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to Buy Ambien In Canada make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and Buy Ambien In Canada feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can Buy Ambien In Canada no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can Buy Ambien In Canada we consume the world’s resources without regard to Buy Ambien In Canada effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the Buy Ambien In Canada road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this Buy Ambien In Canada very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have Buy Ambien In Canada something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who Buy Ambien In Canada lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
We honor them not only because they are Buy Ambien In Canada guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a Buy Ambien In Canada willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this Buy Ambien In Canada moment – a moment that will define a generation – it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can Buy Ambien In Canada do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the Buy Ambien In Canada American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to Buy Ambien In Canada take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who Buy Ambien In Canada would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is Buy Ambien In Canada the firefighter’s courage to Buy Ambien In Canada 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 Buy Ambien In Canada new. The instruments with which we meet them may be Buy Ambien In Canada new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and Buy Ambien In Canada honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are Buy Ambien In Canada old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is Buy Ambien In Canada demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is Buy Ambien In Canada a new era of responsibility – a Buy Ambien In Canada recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to Buy Ambien In Canada ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the Buy Ambien In Canada knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than Buy Ambien In Canada 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 Buy Ambien In Canada women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this Buy Ambien In Canada magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have Buy Ambien In Canada been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you Buy Ambien In Canada to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this Buy Ambien In Canada day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have Buy Ambien In Canada traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the Buy Ambien In Canada coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the Buy Ambien In Canada shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a Buy Ambien In Canada moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the Buy Ambien In Canada father of our nation ordered these words be read to Buy Ambien In Canada the people:
“Let it be told to the future world…that in the Buy Ambien In Canada depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the Buy Ambien In Canada city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to Buy Ambien In Canada meet [it].”
America. In the Buy Ambien In Canada face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and Buy Ambien In Canada virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what Buy Ambien In Canada storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that Buy Ambien In Canada when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that Buy Ambien In Canada we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the Buy Ambien In Canada horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that Buy Ambien In Canada great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
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