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Inaugural Address of George W. Bush

January 20, 2001

President Clinton, distinguished guests and my fellow citizens:

The

peaceful

transfer

of

authority

is

rare

in

history,

yet

common

in

our

country.

With

a

simple

oath,

we

affirm

old

traditions and make new beginnings.

As

I

begin,

I

thank

President

Clinton

for

his

service

to

our

nation;

and

I

thank

Vice

President

Gore

for

a

contest

conducted with spirit and ended with grace.

I am honored and humbled to stand here, where so many of America's leaders have come before me, and so many will

follow.

We have a place, all of us, in a long story. A story we continue, but whose end we will not see. It is the story of a new

world that became a friend and liberator of the old, a story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom, the

story of a power that went into the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer. It is the American story. A

story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals. The grandest of these ideals is

an unfolding American promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant person was ever

born. Americans

are

called upon

to

enact

this

promise

in

our

lives

and

in

our

laws;

and

though

our

nation has

sometimes

halted, and sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course.

Through much of the last century, America's faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea. Now it is a seed

upon the wind, taking root in many nations. Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of

our humanity, an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along; and even after nearly 225 years, we have a

long way yet to travel.

While many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise, even the justice, of our own country. The ambitions of

some Americans are limited by failing schools and hidden prejudice and the circumstances of their birth; and sometimes our

differences run so deep, it seems we share a continent, but not a country. We do not accept this, and we will not allow it. Our

unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation; and this is my solemn pledge,

build a single nation of justice and opportunity.

ourselves who creates us equal in His image and we are confident in principles that unite and lead us onward.

America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds,

lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen

must uphold them; and every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.

Today, we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.

America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility. A civil society demands from each of us

good will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness. Some seem to believe that our politics can afford to be petty because, in a

time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small. But the stakes for America are never small. If our country does not lead

the cause of freedom, it will not be led. If we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose

their gifts and undermine their idealism. If we permit our economy to drift and decline, the vulnerable will suffer most. We

must live up to the calling we share. Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment. It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of

community over chaos. This commitment, if we keep it, is a way to shared accomplishment.

America,

at

its

best,

is

also

courageous.

Our

national

courage

has

been

clear

in

times

of

depression

and

war,

when

defending common dangers defined our common good. Now we must choose if the example of our fathers and mothers will

inspire us or condemn us. We must show courage in a time of blessing by confronting problems instead of passing them on to

future generations.

Together, we will reclaim America's schools, before ignorance and apathy claim more young lives; we will reform Social

Security and Medicare, sparing our children from struggles we have the power to prevent; we will reduce taxes, to recover the

momentum of our economy and reward the effort and enterprise of working Americans; we will build our defenses beyond

challenge, lest weakness invite challenge; and we will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared

new horrors.

The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake, America remains engaged in the world by history and by

choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom. We will defend our allies and our interests; we will show purpose

without arrogance; we will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength; and to all nations, we will speak for the

values that gave our nation birth.

America,

at

its

best,

is

compassionate.

In

the

quiet

of American

conscience,

we

know

that

deep, persistent

poverty

is

unworthy

of

our

nation's

promise.

Whatever

our

views

of

its

cause,

we

can

agree

that

children

at

risk

are

not

at

fault.

Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love. The proliferation of prisons, however necessary, is no

substitute for hope and order in our souls. Where there is suffering, there is duty. Americans in need are not strangers, they are

citizens,

not

problems,

but

priorities,

and

all

of

us

are

diminished

when

any

are

hopeless.

Government

has

great

responsibilities

for

public

safety

and

public

health,

for

civil

rights

and

common

schools.

Yet

compassion

is

the

work

of

a

nation, not just a government. Some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer.

Church and charity, synagogue and mosque lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an honored place in our

plans and in our laws. Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to those who do. I can pledge

our nation to a goal,

America, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected. Encouraging responsibility is not a

search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. Though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment. We find the fullness

of life not only in options, but in commitments. We find that children and community are the commitments that set us free.

Our public interest depends on private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness, on uncounted, unhonored

acts of decency which give direction to our freedom. Sometimes in life we are called to do great things. But as a saint of our

times has said, every day we are called to do small things with great love. The most important tasks of a democracy are done

by everyone. I will live and lead by these principles,

with courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion, to call for responsibility and try to live it as well.

ways, I will bring the values of our history to the care of our times.

What you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to

defend

needed

reforms

against

easy

attacks;

to

serve

your

nation,

beginning

with

your

neighbor.

I

ask

you

to

be

citizens.

Citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.

Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond

ourselves. When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it. When this spirit is present, no

wrong can stand against it.

After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson,

the

race

is

not

to

the

swift

nor

the

battle

to

the

strong.

Do

you

not

think

an

angel

rides

in

the

whirlwind

and

directs

this

storm?

of this day he would know,

We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with His purpose. Yet His purpose is achieved in our duty, and

our duty is fulfilled in service to one another. Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today; to

make our country more just and generous; to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.

This work continues. This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.

God bless you all, and God bless America.

乔治

-

布什

2001

年就职演说