Mr.
Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Senator
Cook, Mrs. Eisenhower, and my fellow citizens of this
great and good country we share together:
When
we met here four years ago, America was bleak in spirit,
depressed by the prospect of seemingly endless war abroad
and of destructive conflict at home.
As
we meet here today, we stand on the threshold of a new era
of peace in the world.
The
central question before us is: How shall we use that
peace? Let us resolve that this era we are about to enter
will not be what other postwar periods have so often been:
a time of retreat and isolation that leads to stagnation
at home and invites new danger abroad.
Let
us resolve that this will be what it can become: a time of
great responsibilities greatly borne, in which we renew
the spirit and the promise of America as we enter our
third century as a nation.
This
past year saw far-reaching results from our new policies
for peace. By continuing to revitalize our traditional
friendships, and by our missions to Peking and to Moscow,
we were able to establish the base for a new and more
durable pattern of relationships among the nations of the
world. Because of America's bold initiatives, 1972 will be
long remembered as the year of the greatest progress since
the end of World War II toward a lasting peace in the
world.
The
peace we seek in the world is not the flimsy peace which
is merely an interlude between wars, but a peace which can
endure for generations to come.
It
is important that we understand both the necessity and the
limitations of America's role in maintaining that peace.
Unless
we in America work to preserve the peace, there will be no
peace.
Unless
we in America work to preserve freedom, there will be no
freedom.
But
let us clearly understand the new nature of America's
role, as a result of the new policies we have adopted over
these past four years.
We
shall respect our treaty commitments.
We
shall support vigorously the principle that no country has
the right to impose its will or rule on another by force.
We
shall continue, in this era of negotiation, to work for
the limitation of nuclear arms, and to reduce the danger
of confrontation between the great powers.
We
shall do our share in defending peace and freedom in the
world. But we shall expect others to do their share.
The
time has passed when America will make every other
nation's conflict our own, or make every other nation's
future our responsibility, or presume to tell the people
of other nations how to manage their own affairs.
Just
as we respect the right of each nation to determine its
own future, we also recognize the responsibility of each
nation to secure its own future.
Just
as America's role is indispensable in preserving the
world's peace, so is each nation's role indispensable in
preserving its own peace.
Together
with the rest of the world, let us resolve to move forward
from the beginnings we have made. Let us continue to bring
down the walls of hostility which have divided the world
for too long, and to build in their place bridges of
understanding; so that despite profound differences
between systems of government, the people of the world can
be friends.
Let
us build a structure of peace in the world in which the
weak are as safe as the strong; in which each respects the
right of the other to live by a different system; in which
those who would influence others will do so by the
strength of their ideas, and not by the force of their
arms.
Let
us accept that high responsibility not as a burden, but
gladly; gladly because the chance to build such a peace is
the noblest endeavor in which a nation can engage; gladly,
also, because only if we act greatly in meeting our
responsibilities abroad will we remain a great Nation, and
only if we remain a great Nation will we act greatly in
meeting our challenges at home.
We
have the chance today to do more than ever before in our
history to make life better in America; to ensure better
education, better health, better housing, better
transportation, a cleaner environment; to restore respect
for law, to make our communities more livable; and to
insure the God-given right of every American to full and
equal opportunity.
Because
the range of our needs is so great; because the reach of
our opportunities is so great; let us be bold in our
determination to meet those needs in new ways.
Just
as building a structure of peace abroad has required
turning away from old policies that failed, so building a
new era of progress at home requires turning away from old
policies that have failed.
Abroad,
the shift from old policies to new has not been a retreat
from our responsibilities, but a better way to peace.
And
at home, the shift from old policies to new will not be a
retreat from our responsibilities, but a better way to
progress.
Abroad
and at home, the key to those new responsibilities lies in
the placing and the division of responsibility. We have
lived too long with the consequences of attempting to
gather all power and responsibility in Washington.
Abroad
and at home, the time has come to turn away from the
condescending policies of paternalism; of "Washington
knows best."
A
person can be expected to act responsibly only if he has
responsibility. This is human nature. So let us encourage
individuals at home and nations abroad to do more for
themselves, to decide more for themselves. Let us locate
responsibility in more places. Let us measure what we will
do for others by what they will do for themselves.
That
is why today I offer no promise of a purely governmental
solution for every problem. We have lived too long with
that false promise. In trusting too much in government, we
have asked of it more than it can deliver. This leads only
to inflated expectations, to reduced individual effort,
and to a disappointment and frustration that erode
confidence both in what government can do and in what
people can do.
Government
must learn to take less from people so that people can do
more for themselves.
Let
us remember that America was built not by government, but
by people; not by welfare, but by work; not by shirking
responsibility, but by seeking responsibility.
In
our own lives, let each of us ask; not just what will
government do for me, but what can I do for myself?
In
the challenges we face together, let each of us ask; not
just how can government help, but how can I help?
Your
National Government has a great and vital role to play.
And I pledge to you that where this Government should act,
we will act boldly and we will lead boldly. But just as
important is the role that each and every one of us must
play, as an individual and as a member of his own
community.
From
this day forward, let each of us make a solemn commitment
in his own heart: to bear his responsibility, to do his
part, to live his ideals; so that together, we can see the
dawn of a new age of progress for America, and together,
as we celebrate our 200th anniversary as a nation, we can
do so proud in the fulfillment of our promise to ourselves
and to the world.
As
America's longest and most difficult war comes to an end,
let us again learn to debate our differences with civility
and decency. And let each of us reach out for that one
precious quality government cannot provide; a new level of
respect for the rights and feelings of one another, a new
level of respect for the individual human dignity which is
the cherished birthright of every American.
Above
all else, the time has come for us to renew our faith in
ourselves and in America.
In
recent years, that faith has been challenged.
Our
children have been taught to be ashamed of their country,
ashamed of their parents, ashamed of America's record at
home and of its role in the world.
At
every turn, we have been beset by those who find
everything wrong with America and little that is right.
But I am confident that this will not be the judgment of
history on these remarkable times in which we are
privileged to live.
America's
record in this century has been unparalleled in the
world's history for its responsibility, for its
generosity, for its creativity and for its progress.
Let
us be proud that our system has produced and provided more
freedom and more abundance, more widely shared, than any
other system in the history of the world.
Let
us be proud that in each of the four wars in which we have
been engaged in this century, including the one we are now
bringing to an end, we have fought not for our selfish
advantage, but to help others resist aggression.
Let
us be proud that by our bold, new initiatives, and by our
steadfastness for peace with honor, we have made a
break-through toward creating in the world what the world
has not known before; a structure of peace that can last,
not merely for our time, but for generations to come.
We
are embarking here today on an era that presents
challenges great as those any nation, or any generation,
has ever faced.
We
shall answer to God, to history, and to our conscience for
the way in which we use these years.
As
I stand in this place, so hallowed by history, I think of
others who have stood here before me. I think of the
dreams they had for America, and I think of how each
recognized that he needed help far beyond himself in order
to make those dreams come true.
Today,
I ask your prayers that in the years ahead I may have
God's help in making decisions that are right for America,
and I pray for your help so that together we may be worthy
of our challenge.
Let
us pledge together to make these next four years the best
four years in America's history, so that on its 200th
birthday America will be as young and as vital as when it
began, and as bright a beacon of hope for all the world.
Let
us go forward from here confident in hope, strong in our
faith in one another, sustained by our faith in God who
created us, and striving always to serve His purpose.
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