Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice
President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my
fellow citizens: 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-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.
Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on
this tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you
have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining
a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than
any other, and I thank you and your people for all your help in maintaining the
continuity which is the bulwark of our Republic.
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, causing 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 for
only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as
a nation, we are not bound by that 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 have had in the past, to
do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of
freedom.
In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.
From time to time, we have 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. 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 our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal
us when we are sick--professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks,
cabbies, and truckdrivers. They are, in short, "We the people," this breed
called Americans.
Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing
economy that provides equal opportunity 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. All of us
need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the
States created the Federal Government.
Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is 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. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more
available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this
freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that
price.
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 are 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 are in a time
when there are no heroes 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. You meet
heroes across a counter--and they are on both sides of that counter. 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.
I have used the words "they" and "their" in speaking of these heroes. I could
say "you" and "your" because I am 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.
We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup. How can
we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a
hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to
make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in
theory?
Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal
and emphatic "yes." To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I
have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the
world's strongest economy.
In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our
economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the
balance between the various levels of government. Progress may be
slow--measured in inches and feet, not miles--but we will progress. Is it 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.
On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of
the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of the
Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, "Our country is in
danger, but not to be despaired of.... On you depend the fortunes of America.
You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and
the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves."
Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of
ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for
ourselves, our children and our children's children.
And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having
greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom
and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.
To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our
historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match
loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will
not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for our own sovereignty
is not for sale.
As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will
be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We
will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it--now or
ever.
Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict
should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to
preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain sufficient
strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best
chance of never having to use that strength.
Above all, we must realize that 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.
I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day,
and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God
intended for us to be free. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each
Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.
This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have
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.
Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington,
Father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He
led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one
side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence
flames with his eloquence.
And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln
Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will
find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.
Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore
the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on 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 a monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of
earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha
Beach, Salerno and halfway 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.
Under one such marker lies a young man--Martin Treptow--who left his job in a
small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division.
There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between
battalions under heavy artillery fire.
We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the
heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war.
Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will
fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle
depended on me alone."
The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice
that Martin Treptow and 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; 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.
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