Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President Bush,
President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow citizens:
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the
durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep commitments that
unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the
consequential times in which we live, and determined to fulfill the oath
that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use, but
by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America defended
our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of
communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical
- and then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability - and we have seen its deepest source. For as
long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny - prone
to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder - violence will gather, and
multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and
raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the
reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and
reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human
freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of
liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other
lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in
all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day
of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth
has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of
the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the
imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no
one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that
created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it
is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our
time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of
democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the
ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and
our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature, must be
chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the
protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the
institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different
from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the
unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain
their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of
generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it.
America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed,
America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in
freedom's cause.
My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against further
attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's
resolve, and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation:
The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom,
which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed dissidents
prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or
that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success
in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people.
America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must
be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free
dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no
justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human
liberty.
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though this
time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom
ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people, should never
be surprised by the power of our ideals. Eventually, the call of freedom
comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the existence of
permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent
slavery. Liberty will come to those who love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will
not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for
your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America
sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham
Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for
themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To
serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of
progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your friendship,
we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division among free
nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted effort of free
nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America,
which you have granted in good measure. Our country has accepted obligations
that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to abandon. Yet
because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation, tens
of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles hope, millions
more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a fire in
the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who
fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the
darkest corners of our world.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in the
quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy ... the idealistic work of helping
raise up free governments ... the dangerous and necessary work of fighting
our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that
honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and their
sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time. I
ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have
seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have
seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the
choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself -
and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to
its character.
America has need of idealism and courage, because we have essential work at
home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward
liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of
economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This
is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the
Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend
this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time.
To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we
will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership
society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement
savings and health insurance - preparing our people for the challenges of
life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own
destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and
fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private
character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of
conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the
governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families,
supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life
by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and
the varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation
by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of
justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by
service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean
independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women who look
after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at our best,
value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the
unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism,
because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at
the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication, the
issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint of
centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our
generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring credit
to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of every
party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound to one
another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which must be
healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in good faith
to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt the unity
and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and our
response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can feel that
same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of
disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives
are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom.
Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is human choices
that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a chosen nation; God
moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence because freedom is the
permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the
soul. When our Founders declared a new order of the ages; when soldiers died
in wave upon wave for a union based on liberty; when citizens marched in
peaceful outrage under the banner "Freedom Now" - they were acting on an
ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of
justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the
Author of Liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and the
Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it
meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this
young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the
inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - tested, but not weary - we
are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America
