American.

Above all else, the time has come for us to renew our faith in ourselves
and in America.

In recent years, that faith has been challenged.

Our children have been taught to be ashamed of their country, ashamed
of their parents, ashamed of America's record at home and of its role in
the world.

At every turn, we have been beset by those who find everything wrong
with America and little that is right. But I am confident that this will
not be the judgment of history on these remarkable times in which we are
privileged to live.

America's record in this century has been unparalleled in the world's
history for its responsibility, for its generosity, for its creativity
and for its progress.

Let us be proud that our system has produced and provided more freedom
and more abundance, more widely shared, than any other system in the
history of the world.

Let us be proud that in each of the four wars in which we have been
engaged in this century, including the one we are now bringing to an
end, we have fought not for our selfish advantage, but to help others
resist aggression.

Let us be proud that by our bold, new initiatives, and by our
steadfastness for peace with honor, we have made a break-through toward
creating in the world what the world has not known before--a structure
of peace that can last, not merely for our time, but for generations to
come.

We are embarking here today on an era that presents challenges great as
those any nation, or any generation, has ever faced.

We shall answer to God, to history, and to our conscience for the way in
which we use these years.

As I stand in this place, so hallowed by history, I think of others who
have stood here before me. I think of the dreams they had for America,
and I think of how each recognized that he needed help far beyond
himself in order to make those dreams come true.

Today, I ask your prayers that in the years ahead I may have God's help
in making decisions that are right for America, and I pray for your help
so that together we may be worthy of our challenge.

Let us pledge together to make these next four years the best four years
in America's history, so that on its 200th birthday America will be as
young and as vital as when it began, and as bright a beacon of hope for
all the world.

Let us go forward from here confident in hope, strong in our faith in
one another, sustained by our faith in God who created us, and striving
always