To a few of us here today this is a solemn and most
momentous occasion. And yet, in the history of our
nation, it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly
transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution
routinely takes place, as it has for almost two
centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we
really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every
four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less
than a miracle . . .
The business of our nation goes forward.
These United States are confronted with an economic
affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the
longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our
national history. It distorts our economic decisions,
penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and
the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter
the lives of millions of our people. Idle industries
have cast workers into unemployment, human misery, and
personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair
return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes
successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining
full productivity.
But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace
with public spending. For decades we have piled deficit
upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's
future for the temporary convenience of the present. To
continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous
social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.
You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live
beyond our means, but only for a limited period of time.
Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a
nation, we're not bound by the same limitation? We must
act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there
be no misunderstanding - we are going to begin to act,
beginning today.
The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over
several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks,
or months, but they will go away. They will go away
because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as
we've had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done
to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.
In the present crisis, government is not the solution to
our problem; government is the problem.
From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that
society has become too complex to be managed by
self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior
to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one
among us is capable of governing himself, then who among
us has the capacity to govern someone else?
All of us together -- in and out of government --
must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be
equitable with no one group singled out to pay a higher
price. We hear much of special interest groups. Well our
concern must be for a special interest group that has
been too long neglected. It knows no sectional
boundaries, or ethnic and racial divisions, and it
crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and
women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our
mines and factories, teach our children, keep our homes,
and heal us when we’re sick -- professionals,
industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck
drivers. They are, in short, “We the People.” This breed
called Americans.
This Administration’s objective will be a healthy,
vigorous, growing economy that provides equal
opportunities for all Americans with no barriers born of
bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work
means putting all Americans back to work. Ending
inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of
runaway living costs.
All must share in the productive work of this “new
beginning,” and all must share in the bounty of a
revived economy.
With the idealism and fair play which are the core of
our system and our strength, we can have a strong and
prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.
So as we begin, let us take inventory.
We are a nation that has a government -- not the
other way around. And this makes us special among the
nations of the earth. Our Government has no power except
that granted it by the people. It is time to check and
reverse the growth of government which shows signs of
having grown beyond the consent of the governed.
It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the
Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the
distinction between the powers granted to the Federal
Government and those reserved to the states or to the
people.
Now, so there will be no misunderstanding,
it’s not my intention to do away with government. It is
rather to make it work -- work with us, not over us; to
stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can
and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster
productivity, not stifle it.
If we look to the answer as to why for so many years
we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on
earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the
energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent
than has ever been done before.
It is no coincidence that our present troubles
parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and
intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and
excessive growth of Government.
It is time for us to realize that we are too great a
nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We're not, as
some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable
decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us
no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will
fall on us if we do nothing.
So with all the creative energy at our command, let
us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our
determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us
renew our faith and our hope. We have every right to
dream heroic dreams.
Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no
heroes -- they just don’t know where to look. You can
see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates.
Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed
all of us and then the world beyond. There are
entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an
idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity.
They are individuals and families whose taxes support the
government and whose voluntary gifts support church,
charity, culture, art and education. Their patriotism is
quiet but deep. Their values sustain our national life.
Now, I have used these words "they" and "their" in
speaking of these heroes. I could say "you" and "your,"
because I'm addressing the heroes of whom I speak--you,
the citizens of this blessed land.
Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the
dreams, the hopes and the goals of this administration,
so help me God...
It is time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get
government back within its means, and to lighten our
punitive tax burden.
And these will be our first priorities, and on these
principles there will be no compromise.
No arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is
so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men
and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's
world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans
do have. Let that be understood by those who practice
terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.
This is the first time in our history that this ceremony
has been held, as you've been told, on this West Front
of the Capitol. Standing here, one faces a magnificent
vista, opening up on this city's special beauty and
history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines
to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.
Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River,
and on the far shore, the sloping hills of Arlington
National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white
markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up
to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid
for our freedom.
Each one of those markers is monument to the kind of
hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places
called Belleau Wood, the Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno,
and half-way around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa,
Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred
rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.
The crisis we are facing today does not require of us
the kind of sacrifice that...so many thousands of others
were called upon to make.
It does require, however, our best effort and our
willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in
our capacity to perform great deeds, and to believe that
together with God's help, we can and will resolve the
problems which now confront us.
And after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are
Americans.
God bless you and thank you.
