President Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States during the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. The Bible Obama uses is the same one that President Abraham Lincoln used at his Inauguration in 1861.
REUTERS
Excerpts from the Inaugarul Address of President Obama
To Choose Our Better History:
"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."
There is Work to be Done:
"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. And all this we will do."
Do You Get It?:
"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 Rule of Law:
"As for our common defense, 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."
To Those Who Work Against Us:
" ... 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."
Dissolve the Lines of Tribe:
"...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."
My Comments:
The very ground beneath our feet has moved. Hope has returned to our hearts. We can see a future that has promise. It feels good don't it?
There are those that don't get it. There are those who will insist on their discredited ways. There are those who meanness will rise to oppose this. If they cannot be dissuaded, they still need to be forgiven. If they persisted, their misery will be from their own gall that they have swallowed.
May God help America to be a blessing!
To Choose Our Better History:
"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."
There is Work to be Done:
"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. And all this we will do."
Do You Get It?:
"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 Rule of Law:
"As for our common defense, 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."
To Those Who Work Against Us:
" ... 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."
Dissolve the Lines of Tribe:
"...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."
My Comments:
The very ground beneath our feet has moved. Hope has returned to our hearts. We can see a future that has promise. It feels good don't it?
There are those that don't get it. There are those who will insist on their discredited ways. There are those who meanness will rise to oppose this. If they cannot be dissuaded, they still need to be forgiven. If they persisted, their misery will be from their own gall that they have swallowed.
May God help America to be a blessing!
5 comments:
Kind of refreshing, isn't it?
Like a mint tea on an August afternoon.
Well, I dissent. A particularly hideous nightmare has ended, but Obama's only real act so far - his senior appointments - look to me like political business as usual. The hopeful inside-straighters always win a few hands, but in the end the cynical always clean them out.
Yes, Obama is a politicain. Cynical people do not make good leaders. When the people need a leader they make one. Obama is a made man. As for his picks, they are very much in the character of LBJ as is his political style. "Better to have your enemies in the tent pissing out that outside the tent pissing in."
Obama is a politician, a politican with ethics. He is the iron fist in the velvet glove. He is what America wants.
Probably only my impression, but he seems to be a thinker with a pragmatic approach...you know, the type that wouldn't go off half-cocked at start a meaningless war.
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