在这个艰难的冬天 In This Winter of Our Hardship（2/2）

For everywhere we look, there is work to be dohe state of our enoy calls for a, bold and swift, and we will aot only to create new jobs, but to y a new foundation froill build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital les that feed our rd bdtogether.We will restore sce to its rightful pce, and wield teology’s woo raise health care’s quality and lower its st.We will harhe sun and the ds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.And we will transfor our schools and lleges and uies to et the deands of a new age.All this wedo.All this we will do.

Now, there are so who question the scale of our abitions—who suggest that our syste ot tolerate too any big pns.Their ories are short.For they have fotten what this untry has already done; what free n and wonachieve when iagation is joed to on purpose, and y te.

What the ics fail to uand is that the ground has shifted beh the—that the stale political argunts that have nsudfor so long no longer apply.The question we ask today is not whether overnnt is too big or too sall, but whether it works—whether it helps failies fd jobs at a det wage, care theyafford, a retirent that is dignified.Where the answer is yes, we tend to ove forward.Where the answer is nras will end.And those ofublic’ s dolrs will be held to aount—to spend wisely, refor bad habits and do our bessthe light of day—becae only thenwe restore the vital trt beeen a people and their governnt.

Nor is the question beforewhether the arket is a forrisis has rededthat without a watchful eye, the arketsp out of ntrol—the nation ot prosper long when it favors only the prospero.The suess of our enoy has always depended not jt on the size of ross Dostic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willg heart—not out of charity, but becae it is the surest route to our on good.

As for our on defense, we reject as false the choice beeen our safety and our ideals.Our Foundg Fathers, faced with perils that wescarcely iage, drafted a charter to assure the rule of w and the rights of an, a e’s sake.And so to all the other peoples and governnts who are watchg today, fro the gra capitals to the sall vilge where y father was born: know that Arica is a friend of eaation and every an, woan, and child who seeks a future of pead dignity, and we are ready to lead once ore.

Recall that earlier geions faced down fascis and unis not jt with issiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and endurg nvis.They uood that our power alo protect , nor does it entitleto do as we please.Instead, they khat our prows through its prudent e; our security eanates fro the jtness of our cae, the force of our exaple, the teperg qualities of huility arat.

We are the keepers of this legacy.Guided by these prciples once ore, weet those hreats that deand eveer effort—eveer operation and uandg beeen nations.We will beg to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and fe a hard-earned peaceAfghanistan.With old friends and forr foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the hreat, and roll back the specter of a .

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.We are a nation of Christians and Mlis, Jews and Hd—and non-believers.We are shaped by every nguage and culture, drawn fro every end of this Earth; and becae we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and erged fro that dark chapter stronger and ore united, we ot help but believe that the old hatreds shall soday pass; that the les of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the wrows saller, our on huanity shall reveal itself; and that Arica t py its roleherga new era of peace.

To the Mli world, we seek a new way forward, based on utual terest and utual respect.To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow nflict, or b their society’ s ills on the West—know that your people will judge you on what you h your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to ake your fars flourish awaters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry ds.And to those nations like ours that enjoy retive plenty, we say we o longer afford differeo the sufferg outside our borders; norwe nsu the world’s resources withard to effect.For the world has ged, a ge with it.

As we he road that unfolds before , we reber with huble gratitude those brave Aris who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant ountas.They have sothg to tell , jt as the fallen heroes who lieArlgton whisper through the ages.We honor the not only becae they are the guardians of our liberty, but becae they ebody the spirit of service; a willgo fd angsothg greater than theselves.A, at this ont—a ont that will defe a geion—it is precisely this spirit that t habitall.

For as uch as governntdo and t do, it is ultiately the faith aeration of the Ari people upon which this nation relies.It is the kdo takea stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which seesthrough our darkest hours.It is the firefighter’s urage to stor a stairway filled with soke, but also a parent’s willgo nurture a child, that fally decides our fate.

Our challenges ay be he strunts with which we et the ay be new.But those vaes upon which our suess depends—hoy and hard work, urage and fair py, tolerand curiosity, loyalty and patriotis—these thgs are old.These thgs are true.They have been the quiet force ress throughout our history.What is deahen is a return to these truths.What is required ofnow is a new era of responsibility—a regnition, on the part of every Ari, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do nly aept but rather seize gdly, firthe knowledge that there is nothg so satisfyg to the spirit, so defg of our character, than givg our all to a difficult task.

This is the prid the proise of citizenship.

This is the source of our nfidehe knowledge that God calls onto shape an ua desty.

This is the ang of our liberty and our al restaurant ow stand before you to take a ost sacred oath.

So letark this day with rebrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.In the year of Arica’ s birth,the ldest of onths, a sall band of patriots huddled by dyg capfires on the shores of an icy river.The capital was abahe eney was advancg.The snow was staed with blood.At a ont whee of our revotion was ostdoubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world...thatthe depth of ter, when nothg but hope and virtue uld survive…that the city and the untry, ard at one on danger, ca forth to et.”

Arica! In the face of our on dangers,this ter of our hardship, letreber these tiless words.With hope and virtue, letbrave once ore the icy currents, and endure what stors ay e.Let it be said by our children’s arried forth that great gift of freedo and delivered it safely to future geions.

Thank you.God bless you.And God bless the Uates of Arica.