Bill Clinton
First Inaugural Address
Wednesday, January 21, 1993

My fellow citizens:

Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal.

This ceremony is held in the depth of winter. But, by the words we 
speak and the faces we show the world, we force the spring.

A spring reborn in the world's oldest democracy, that brings forth the 
vision and courage to reinvent America.

When our founders boldly declared America's independence to the world 
and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, 
would have to change.

Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals - 
life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Though we march to the music 
of our time, our mission is timeless.

Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an 
American.

On behalf of our nation, I salute my predecessor, President Bush, for 
his half-century of service to America.

And I thank the millions of men and women whose steadfastness and 
sacrifice triumphed over Depression, fascism and Communism.

Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the Cold War assumes new 
responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but 
threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues.

Raised in unrivaled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the 
world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant 
wages, increasing inequality, and deep divisions among our people.

When George Washington first took the oath I have just sworn to uphold, 
news traveled slowly across the land by horseback and across the ocean 
by boat. Now, the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast 
instantaneously to billions around the world.

Communications and commerce are global; investment is mobile; 
technology is almost magical; and ambition for a better life is now 
universal. We earn our livelihood in peaceful competition with people 
all across the earth.

Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and 
the urgent question of our time is whether we can make change our 
friend and not our enemy.

This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans 
who are able to compete and win in it. But when most people are working 
harder for less; when others cannot work at all; when the cost of 
health care devastates families and threatens to bankrupt many of our 
enterprises, great and small; when fear of crime robs law-abiding 
citizens of their freedom; and when millions of poor children cannot 
even imagine the lives we are calling them to lead - we have not made 
change our friend.

We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps. But we have 
not done so. Instead, we have drifted, and that drifting has eroded our 
resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence.

Though our challenges are fearsome, so are our strengths. And Americans 
have ever been a restless, questing, hopeful people. We must bring to 
our task today the vision and will of those who came before us.

From our revolution, the Civil War, to the Great Depression to the 
civil rights movement, our people have always mustered the 
determination to construct from these crises the pillars of our history.

Thomas Jefferson believed that to preserve the very foundations of our 
nation, we would need dramatic change from time to time. Well, my 
fellow citizens, this is our time. Let us embrace it.

Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of 
our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be 
cured by what is right with America.

And so today, we pledge an end to the era of deadlock and drift - a new 
season of American renewal has begun.

To renew America, we must be bold.

We must do what no generation has had to do before. We must invest more 
in our own people, in their jobs, in their future, and at the same time 
cut our massive debt. And we must do so in a world in which we must 
compete for every opportunity.

It will not be easy; it will require sacrifice. But it can be done, and 
done fairly, not choosing sacrifice for its own sake, but for our own 
sake. We must provide for our nation the way a family provides for its 
children.

Our Founders saw themselves in the light of posterity. We can do no 
less. Anyone who has ever watched a child's eyes wander into sleep 
knows what posterity is. Posterity is the world to come - the world for 
whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to 
whom we bear sacred responsibility.

We must do what America does best: offer more opportunity to all and 
demand responsibility from all.

It is time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing, 
from our government or from each other. Let us all take more 
responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our 
communities and our country.

To renew America, we must revitalize our democracy.

This beautiful capital, like every capital since the dawn of 
civilization, is often a place of intrigue and calculation. Powerful 
people maneuver for position and worry endlessly about who is in and 
who is out, who is up and who is down, forgetting those people whose 
toil and sweat sends us here and pays our way.

Americans deserve better, and in this city today, there are people who 
want to do better. And so I say to all of us here, let us resolve to 
reform our politics, so that power and privilege no longer shout down 
the voice of the people. Let us put aside personal advantage so that we 
can feel the pain and see the promise of America.

Let us resolve to make our government a place for what Franklin 
Roosevelt called "bold, persistent experimentation," a government for 
our tomorrows, not our yesterdays.

Let us give this capital back to the people to whom it belongs.

To renew America, we must meet challenges abroad as well at home. There 
is no longer division between what is foreign and what is domestic - 
the world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS crisis, the 
world arms race - they affect us all.

Today, as an old order passes, the new world is more free but less 
stable. Communism's collapse has called forth old animosities and new 
dangers. Clearly America must continue to lead the world we did so much 
to make.

While America rebuilds at home, we will not shrink from the challenges, 
nor fail to seize the opportunities, of this new world. Together with 
our friends and allies, we will work to shape change, lest it engulf us.

When our vital interests are challenged, or the will and conscience of 
the international community is defied, we will act - with peaceful 
diplomacy when ever possible, with force when necessary. The brave 
Americans serving our nation today in the Persian Gulf, in Somalia, and 
wherever else they stand are testament to our resolve.

But our greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still 
new in many lands. Across the world, we see them embraced - and we 
rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands, are with those on every 
continent who are building democracy and freedom. Their cause is 
America's cause.

The American people have summoned the change we celebrate today. You 
have raised your voices in an unmistakable chorus. You have cast your 
votes in historic numbers. And you have changed the face of Congress, 
the presidency and the political process itself. Yes, you, my fellow 
Americans have forced the spring. Now, we must do the work the season 
demands.

To that work I now turn, with all the authority of my office. I ask the 
Congress to join with me. But no president, no Congress, no government, 
can undertake this mission alone. My fellow Americans, you, too, must 
play your part in our renewal. I challenge a new generation of young 
Americans to a season of service - to act on your idealism by helping 
troubled children, keeping company with those in need, reconnecting our 
torn communities. There is so much to be done - enough indeed for 
millions of others who are still young in spirit to give of themselves 
in service, too.

In serving, we recognize a simple but powerful truth - we need each 
other. And we must care for one another. Today, we do more than 
celebrate America; we rededicate ourselves to the very idea of America.

An idea born in revolution and renewed through 2 centuries of 
challenge. An idea tempered by the knowledge that, but for fate, we - 
the fortunate and the unfortunate - might have been each other. An idea 
ennobled by the faith that our nation can summon from its myriad 
diversity the deepest measure of unity. An idea infused with the 
conviction that America's long heroic journey must go forever upward.

And so, my fellow Americans, at the edge of the 21st century, let us 
begin with energy and hope, with faith and discipline, and let us work 
until our work is done. The scripture says, "And let us not be weary in 
well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not."

From this joyful mountaintop of celebration, we hear a call to service 
in the valley. We have heard the trumpets. We have changed the guard. 
And now, each in our way, and with God's help, we must answer the call.

Thank you and God bless you all.

Bill Clinton
Second Inaugural Address
January 20, 1997

My fellow citizens:

At this last presidential inauguration of the 20th century, let us lift 
our eyes toward the challenges that await us in the next century. It is 
our great good fortune that time and chance have put us not only at the 
edge of a new century, in a new millennium, but on the edge of a bright 
new prospect in human affairs - a moment that will define our course, 
and our character, for decades to come. We must keep our old democracy 
forever young. Guided by the ancient vision of a promised land, let us 
set our sights upon a land of new promise.

The promise of America was born in the 18th century out of the bold 
conviction that we are all created equal. It was extended and preserved 
in the 19th century, when our nation spread across the continent, saved 
the union, and abolished the awful scourge of slavery.

Then, in turmoil and triumph, that promise exploded onto the world 
stage to make this the American Century.

And what a century it has been. America became the world&#146;s 
mightiest industrial power; saved the world from tyranny in two world 
wars and a long cold war; and time and again, reached out across the 
globe to millions who, like us, longed for the blessings of liberty.

Along the way, Americans produced a great middle class and security in 
old age; built unrivaled centers of learning and opened public schools 
to all; split the atom and explored the heavens; invented the computer 
and the microchip; and deepened the wellspring of justice by making a 
revolution in civil rights for African Americans and all minorities, 
and extending the circle of citizenship, opportunity and dignity to 
women.

Now, for the third time, a new century is upon us, and another time to 
choose. We began the 19th century with a choice, to spread our nation 
from coast to coast. We began the 20th century with a choice, to 
harness the Industrial Revolution to our values of free enterprise, 
conservation, and human decency. Those choices made all the difference. 
At the dawn of the 21st century a free people must now choose to shape 
the forces of the Information Age and the global society, to unleash 
the limitless potential of all our people, and, yes, to form a more 
perfect union.

When last we gathered, our march to this new future seemed less certain 
than it does today. We vowed then to set a clear course to renew our 
nation.

In these four years, we have been touched by tragedy, exhilarated by 
challenge, strengthened by achievement. America stands alone as the 
world&#146;s indispensable nation. Once again, our economy is the 
strongest on Earth. Once again, we are building stronger families, 
thriving communities, better educational opportunities, a cleaner 
environment. Problems that once seemed destined to deepen now bend to 
our efforts: our streets are safer and record numbers of our fellow 
citizens have moved from welfare to work.

And once again, we have resolved for our time a great debate over the 
role of government. Today we can declare: Government is not the 
problem, and government is not the solution. We - the American people - 
we are the solution. Our founders understood that well and gave us a 
democracy strong enough to endure for centuries, flexible enough to 
face our common challenges and advance our common dreams in each new 
day.

As times change, so government must change. We need a new government 
for a new century - humble enough not to try to solve all our problems 
for us, but strong enough to give us the tools to solve our problems 
for ourselves; a government that is smaller, lives within its means, 
and does more with less. Yet where it can stand up for our values and 
interests in the world, and where it can give Americans the power to 
make a real difference in their everyday lives, government should do 
more, not less. The preeminent mission of our new government is to give 
all Americans an opportunity - not a guarantee, but a real opportunity 
- to build better lives.

Beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to us. Our founders 
taught us that the preservation of our liberty and our union depends 
upon responsible citizenship. And we need a new sense of responsibility 
for a new century. There is work to do, work that government alone 
cannot do: teaching children to read; hiring people off welfare rolls; 
coming out from behind locked doors and shuttered windows to help 
reclaim our streets from drugs and gangs and crime; taking time out of 
our own lives to serve others.

Each and every one of us, in our own way, must assume personal 
responsibility - not only for ourselves and our families, but for our 
neighbors and our nation. Our greatest responsibility is to embrace a 
new spirit of community for a new century. For any one of us to 
succeed, we must succeed as one America.

The challenge of our past remains the challenge of our future - will we 
be one nation, one people, with one common destiny, or not? Will we all 
come together, or come apart?

The divide of race has been America&#146;s constant curse. And each new 
wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices. Prejudice and 
contempt, cloaked in the pretense of religious or political conviction 
are no different. These forces have nearly destroyed our nation in the 
past. They plague us still. They fuel the fanaticism of terror. And 
they torment the lives of millions in fractured nations all around the 
world.

These obsessions cripple both those who hate and, of course, those who 
are hated, robbing both of what they might become. We cannot, we will 
not, succumb to the dark impulses that lurk in the far regions of the 
soul everywhere. We shall overcome them. And we shall replace them with 
the generous spirit of a people who feel at home with one another.

Our rich texture of racial, religious and political diversity will be a 
Godsend in the 21st century. Great rewards will come to those who can 
live together, learn together, work together, forge new ties that bind 
together.

As this new era approaches we can already see its broad outlines. Ten 
years ago, the Internet was the mystical province of physicists; today, 
it is a commonplace encyclopedia for millions of schoolchildren. 
Scientists now are decoding the blueprint of human life. Cures for our 
most feared illnesses seem close at hand.

The world is no longer divided into two hostile camps. Instead, now we 
are building bonds with nations that once were our adversaries. Growing 
connections of commerce and culture give us a chance to lift the 
fortunes and spirits of people the world over. And for the very first 
time in all of history, more people on this planet live under democracy 
than dictatorship.

My fellow Americans, as we look back at this remarkable century, we may 
ask, can we hope not just to follow, but even to surpass the 
achievements of the 20th century in America and to avoid the awful 
bloodshed that stained its legacy? To that question, every American 
here and every American in our land today must answer a resounding 
&#147;Yes.&#148;

This is the heart of our task. With a new vision of government, a new 
sense of responsibility, a new spirit of community, we will sustain 
America&#146;s journey. The promise we sought in a new land we will 
find again in a land of new promise.

In this new land, education will be every citizen&#146;s most prized 
possession. Our schools will have the highest standards in the world, 
igniting the spark of possibility in the eyes of every girl and every 
boy. And the doors of higher education will be open to all. The 
knowledge and power of the Information Age will be within reach not 
just of the few, but of every classroom, every library, every child. 
Parents and children will have time not only to work, but to read and 
play together. And the plans they make at their kitchen table will be 
those of a better home, a better job, the certain chance to go to 
college.

Our streets will echo again with the laughter of our children, because 
no one will try to shoot them or sell them drugs anymore. Everyone who 
can work, will work, with today&#146;s permanent under class part of 
tomorrow&#146;s growing middle class. New miracles of medicine at last 
will reach not only those who can claim care now, but the children and 
hardworking families too long denied.

We will stand mighty for peace and freedom, and maintain a strong 
defense against terror and destruction. Our children will sleep free 
from the threat of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Ports and 
airports, farms and factories will thrive with trade and innovation and 
ideas. And the world&#146;s greatest democracy will lead a whole world 
of democracies.

Our land of new promise will be a nation that meets its obligations - a 
nation that balances its budget, but never loses the balance of its 
values. A nation where our grandparents have secure retirement and 
health care, and their grandchildren know we have made the reforms 
necessary to sustain those benefits for their time. A nation that 
fortifies the world&#146;s most productive economy even as it protects 
the great natural bounty of our water, air, and majestic land.

And in this land of new promise, we will have reformed our politics so 
that the voice of the people will always speak louder than the din of 
narrow interests - regaining the participation and deserving the trust 
of all Americans.

Fellow citizens, let us build that America, a nation ever moving 
forward toward realizing the full potential of all its citizens. 
Prosperity and power - yes, they are important, and we must maintain 
them. But let us never forget: The greatest progress we have made, and 
the greatest progress we have yet to make, is in the human heart. In 
the end, all the world&#146;s wealth and a thousand armies are no match 
for the strength and decency of the human spirit.

Thirty-four years ago, the man whose life we celebrate today spoke to 
us down there, at the other end of this Mall, in words that moved the 
conscience of a nation. Like a prophet of old, he told of his dream 
that one day America would rise up and treat all its citizens as equals 
before the law and in the heart. Martin Luther King&#146;s dream was 
the American Dream. His quest is our quest: the ceaseless striving to 
live out our true creed. Our history has been built on such dreams and 
labors. And by our dreams and labors we will redeem the promise of 
America in the 21st century.

To that effort I pledge all my strength and every power of my office. I 
ask the members of Congress here to join in that pledge. The American 
people returned to office a President of one party and a Congress of 
another. Surely, they did not do this to advance the politics of petty 
bickering and extreme partisanship they plainly deplore. No, they call 
on us instead to be repairers of the breach, and to move on with 
America&#146;s mission.

America demands and deserves big things from us - and nothing big ever 
came from being small. Let us remember the timeless wisdom of Cardinal 
Bernardin, when facing the end of his own life. He said: &#147;It is 
wrong to waste the precious gift of time, on acrimony and 
division.&#148;

Fellow citizens, we must not waste the precious gift of this time. For 
all of us are on that same journey of our lives, and our journey, too, 
will come to an end. But the journey of our America must go on.

And so, my fellow Americans, we must be strong, for there is much to 
dare. The demands of our time are great and they are different. Let us 
meet them with faith and courage, with patience and a grateful and 
happy heart. Let us shape the hope of this day into the noblest chapter 
in our history. Yes, let us build our bridge. A bridge wide enough and 
strong enough for every American to cross over to a blessed land of new 
promise.

May those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may 
never know, say of us here that we led our beloved land into a new 
century with the American Dream alive for all her children; with the 
American promise of a more perfect union a reality for all her people; 
with America&#146;s bright flame of freedom spreading throughout all 
the world.

From the height of this place and the summit of this century, let us go 
forth. May God strengthen our hands for the good work ahead - and 
always, always bless our America.

