Professor Sabir's Posse

Yeju Munankarmi

Wanda Sabir

English 201A (1:00- 2:50 pm)

26 January, 2009








Text of President Barack Obama’s inargural address
Important points:
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 forebears, and true to our founding documents.
Our economy is badly weakened, a consequences of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices ad prepare the nation for a new age.
They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
One this day we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
The time has come to reaffirm our enduring sprit; 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.
It has not been the path for the faint-hearted- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pressures of riches and fame
For us, they packed up tier few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed to hard earth.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live better life.
Our capacity remains undiminished . Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off begin again the work of remaking America.
We will build the roads and bridges, the electric girds 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 factories. And we will transform our school and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All these we can do. All this we will do.
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Those of us who manage the public 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.
Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, the crisis has minded 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.\
Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all the 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.
We will apologize for our way of life, nr 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.
We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn fro m 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 untied, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall some day pass; that 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 mind. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the 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.
And yet, at this moment- a moment that will define a generation- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all
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 hurs. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate
Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we can 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.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence- the knowledge that god calls on us to sahpe and 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.
Bet it be told to the future world….that in the dept of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, cane forth to meet (it).
America, in the face of you common dangers in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words.