Jan 20 (Reuters) - The following is the full text of U.S. President

 

Barack Obama's inauguration address on Tuesday. Obama, a Democrat, was sworn

in on the steps of the Capitol as the 44th U.S. president around noon EST (1700

GMT), taking over from President George W. Bush, a Republican.

 

"My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you

have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank

President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and

cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been

spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet,

every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At

these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision

of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to

the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our

nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence

and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of

greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our

collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation

for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses

shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too

many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use

energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and

statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping

of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's

decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower

its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They

are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or

in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will

be met.

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.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that

greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey

has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has

not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer

leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and

fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the

makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women

obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged

path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and

traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured

the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and

Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and

worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better

life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our

individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth

or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most

prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less

productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less

inventive, our goods and services no less needed than 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 putting off unpleasant decisions - that

time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves

up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking

America.

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.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -

who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.

Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this

country has already done; what free men and women can achieve

when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to

courage.

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 question we

ask today is not whether our government is too big or too

small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find

jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that

is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move

forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those

of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -

to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the

light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust

between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for

good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom

is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a

watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a

nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the

size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our

prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every

willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the

surest route to our common good.

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.

And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching

today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my

father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation

and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and

dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and

communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy

alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our

power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as

we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its

prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our

cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of

humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles

once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even

greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding

between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to

its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With

old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen

the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming

planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we

waver in its defense, and 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.

For 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.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual

interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe

who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the

West - know that your people will judge you on what you can

build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power

through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent,

know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we

will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you

to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to

nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those

nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no

longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders;

nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to

effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember

with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very

hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have

something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie

in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only

because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they

embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in

something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a

moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this

spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately

the faith and determination of the American people upon which

this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger

when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would

rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which

sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's

courage to 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 new. The instruments with which we meet

them may be new. But those values upon which our success

depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play,

tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things

are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet

force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded

then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now

is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of

every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation,

and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but

rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is

nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our

character, than 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

women and children of every race and every faith can join in

celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose

father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at

a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most

sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how

far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the

coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying

campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was

abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with

blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most

in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read

to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of

winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that

the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came

forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of

our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope

and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure

what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's

children that when we were tested we refused to let this

journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and

with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we

carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."