, 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: I will work to build a single nation of
justice and opportunity.

I know this is in our reach because we are guided by a power larger than
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. And 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 s