Tuesday, January 20, 2009

inaugural mashup

Humbled, grateful, and mindful of
rising tides and still waters,
gathering clouds and raging storms,
faithful to the ideals and true to our founding documents.

The indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics,
a sapping of confidence, decline is inevitable;
an end to petty grievances and false promises,
the time has come to set aside childish things.

Greatness is never a given; the makers of things,
obscure in their labor, begin the work of remaking America,
to restore science to its rightful place,
to harness the sun and the wind and the soil.

When imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage,
those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account;
the market can spin out of control,
but it is the surest route to our common good.

Power grows through its prudent use,
our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness;
shaped by every language and culture,
our common humanity shall reveal itself.

People will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy,
nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect;
the world has changed, and we must change with it,
a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.

Let it be said by our children's children
that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end;
we carried forth that great gift of freedom
and delivered it safely to future generations.

1 comment:

lulu said...

Thanks, Sven, for that much-needed Obama Motivation Infusion!