Vice
President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President
Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, Reverend Clergy,
fellow citizens:
We
observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of
freedom--symbolizing an end as well as a beginning--signifying
renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty
God the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century
and three-quarters ago.
The
world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the
power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human
life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears
fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the
rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the
hand of God.
We dare
not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let
the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike,
that the torch has been passed to a new generation of
Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a
hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling
to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which
this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed
today at home and around the world.
Let
every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall
pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any
friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of
liberty.
This
much we pledge--and more.
To
those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we
pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we
cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little
we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and
split asunder.
To
those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge
our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed
away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not
always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always
hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to
remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by
riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To
those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling
to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to
help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not
because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their
votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the
many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
To our
sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge--to
convert our good words into good deeds--in a new alliance for
progress--to assist free men and free governments in casting off the
chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot
become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that
we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere
in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere
intends to remain the master of its own house.
To that
world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last
best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced
the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support--to prevent
it from becoming merely a forum for invective--to strengthen its
shield of the new and the weak--and to enlarge the area in which its
writ may run.
Finally,
to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer
not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for
peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science
engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare
not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient
beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be
employed.
But
neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort
from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of
modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the
deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of
terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.
So let
us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign
of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never
negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
Let
both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring
those problems which divide us.
Let
both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise
proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring the
absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control
of all nations.
Let
both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its
terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts,
eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and
commerce.
Let
both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of
Isaiah--to "undo the heavy burdens . . . (and) let the
oppressed go free."
And if
a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion,
let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of
power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the
weak secure and the peace preserved.
All
this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it
be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this
Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But
let us begin.
In your
hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final
success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded,
each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to
its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the
call to service surround the globe.
Now the
trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we
need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call
to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year
out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a
struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty,
disease and war itself.
Can we
forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and
South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all
mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the
long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted
the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do
not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe
that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any
other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring
to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and
the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so,
my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask
what you can do for your country.
My
fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you,
but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally,
whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of
us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we
ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with
history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the
land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that
here on earth God's work must truly be our own.