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AXIOLOGICAL PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN THROUGH ITALIAN AND RUSSIAN
PAREMIAS
(IN SEARCH OF AN EVALUATION SUBJECT) E.V. Nichiporchik
Human factor finds manifold expression in building up axiological world image. Gender factor of the evaluation subject can appear relevant for evaluative definitions and is revealed through semantic, syntactic and pragmatic aspects of paremias. Their register factor, as the key one for their usage, accounts for the accent shift from the positive to the negative.
Axiological portrait of a woman through Italian and Russian paremias despite negative evaluation in the majority of definitions allows to see that, on the one hand, paremias are viable due to universal human values they proclaim, and, on the other hand, male unity in estimating female half of the humankind is not groundless, what with a considerable amount of identical qualifications.
Key words: paremia, paremia producer, evaluation subject, gender characteristics, evaluative qualifications.
© 2009
Н.О. Празян
ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ МЕТАФОРЫ В РЕЧИ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ
ЛИДЕРОВ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ МЕТАФОРЫ ДВИЖЕНИЯ В ВЫСТУПЛЕНИЯХ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА США БАРАКА ОБАМЫ)
В статье рассматриваются особенности функционирования метафоры в речи политических лидеров. Анализ последовательного использования метафоры движения в выступлениях американского президента Барака Обамы наглядно демонстрирует, что метафора не только делает политическую речь более живой и экспрессивной, но и является эффективным средством преобразования политической картины мира, существующей в сознании адресата.
Ключевые слова: концептуальная метафора, политический дискурс, воздействие, манипулирование, общественное сознание, движение.
Исследование метафоры в политическом дискурсе является на сегодняшний день одним из самых динамично развивающихся направлений современной лингвистики.
Неудивительно, что в последние годы различные аспекты функционирования политической коммуникации привлекают столь пристальное внимание исследователей, причем не только лингвистов, но и политологов, социологов, психологов. Ведь именно язык играет ключевую роль в публичных выступлени-
ях политических лидеров, в парламентских дебатах, в дипломатических переговорах. Современные технологии речевого воздействия позволяют оказывать реальное воздействие на сознание и поведение людей, влиять на результаты выборов, создавать определенный имидж тем или иным политическим деятелям или партиям.
Конечная цель любого оратора, его коммуникативное намерение заключается в том, чтобы убедить аудиторию в своей правоте, побудить ее к каким-либо действиям. Очевидно, что достижение этой цели осуществимо во многом за счет использования эмоционально-насыщенной речи, которая, безусловно, обладает наибольшей силой воздействия на адресата. Именно поэтому политики так широко используют в своей речи разнообразные риторические приемы, особое место среди которых занимает метафора.
В работах отечественных и зарубежных лингвистов неоднократно отмечалось, что метафора на современном этапе перестала быть лишь украшением речи и употребляется в качестве эффективного средства аргументации и эмоционального воздействия, что, в свою очередь, и является главной целью политической коммуникации.
Согласно определению А.Н. Баранова и Ю.Н. Караулова, политическая метафора есть речевое воздействие с целью формирования у реципиента (чаще всего—у общества) либо положительного, либо отрицательного мнения о той или иной политической единице (политике, партии, программе, мероприятии)1.
Следует отметить, что число научных работ, посвященных функционированию метафоры в политическом дискурсе, в последние годы заметно возросло. Значительный вклад в изучение политической метафорики внесли как зарубежные, так и российские исследователи: Дж. Лакофф и М. Джонсон, М. Осборн, К. де Ландтсхеер, Р.Д. Андерсон, А. Муссолф, Х. Келли-Холмс и В.О. Реган, А. Ченки, И.Р. Гоцци, Т. ван Дейк, Э. МакКормак П. Чилтон, A. Гоатли, А.Н. Баранов, Ю.Н. Караулов, Е.С. Кубрякова, А.П. Чудинов, И.М. Кобозева, Э.В. Будаев и др.
При этом интерес у современных лингвистов вызывают такие вопросы, как механизмы метафоризации, классификация основных видов и моделей метафоры, выделение характерных для политической коммуникации функций метафоры, закономерности развертывания метафорических образов в политических текстах, преобладание определенных метафорических моделей в конкретные исторические периоды.
Как уже было отмечено выше, роль метафоры в политическом дискурсе не ограничивается приданием речи выразительности и образности. В качестве основных функций метафоры в политической коммуникации, помимо художественной, или эстетической, выделяют коммуникативную, когнитивную и прагматическую. Помимо того, что метафора делает речь более образной и экспрессивной (эстетическая функция), она позволяет передавать информацию в наиболее доступной для адресата форме, объяснять сложные политические явления посредством более простых и знакомых адресату реалий (коммуникативная функция). Довольно часто встречается также эвфемистическое использование метафор, когда автор по тем или иным причинам не считает возможным обозначить информацию прямо.
Однако в текстах политического дискурса ключевую роль играет взаимодействие двух других функций метафоры — когнитивной и прагматической. Уникальность метафоры заключается, главным образом, в том, что она дает реальную возможность преобразовывать существующую в сознании адресата картину мира. Кроме того, метафора представляет собой эффективнейший инструмент манипулирования общественным сознанием и формирования у адресата определенного эмоционального состояния, на что неоднократно обращали внимание многие отечественные и зарубежные исследователи, такие как Дж. Лакофф и М. Джонсон, Ю.Н. Караулов, А.Н. Баранов, А.П. Чудинов, Е.С. Кубрякова и др. Необходимо отметить, что описанные функции политической метафоры лишь относительно автономны — в конкретных текстах они, как правило, тесно переплетаются.
Интересные наблюдения были сделаны рядом ученых относительно взаимосвязи между изменением политической ситуации и количеством метафор, а также соотношением между частотностью метафор и общественно-политическими изменениями2. Исследования показали, что в периоды общественно-политических и экономических преобразований, в предвыборный период, и во время любых других значимых в жизни общественности событий язык, используемый в текстах политического дискурса, становится в целом более ярким и экспрессивным. При этом заметно возрастает и количество метафор, в особенности, индивидуально-авторских, поскольку они обладают наиболее высоким прагматическим потенциалом. Это свидетельствует о том, что метафора выходит на качественно новый уровень — принимает непосредственное участие в решении проблемных ситуаций и оказывает влияние на процесс принятия решений.
Кроме того, в тот или иной исторический период активизируются различные концептуальные метафоры, появляются доминантные метафорические модели, характерные для каждой исторической эпохи. По словам А.П. Чудинова, изучение системы концептуальных метафор в различные исторические периоды позволяет сделать выводы о развитии национального политического сознания и о специфике того или иного этапа развития политической коммуникации3.
Как уже было отмечено, метафора активно используется в речи политических лидеров как средство воздействия на политические взгляды самых разных слоев общества. Именно политики наиболее заинтересованы в манипулировании общественным сознанием, в формировании выгодного им отношения аудитории к тому или иному явлению или событию, а также соответствующего эмоционального фона.
Умение эффективно использовать метафору в публичных выступлениях, рассчитанных, как правило, на массовую аудиторию, свидетельствует о высоком ораторском искусстве политика, которое, в свою очередь, оказывает непосредственное влияние на рейтинг его популярности.
Яркий пример блестящего владения ораторским искусством в современной мировой политике демонстрирует президент Соединенных Штатов Барак Оба-ма. Очевидно, что своим успехом на выборах и невероятной популярностью среди американского населения Обама обязан в значительной степени своему ораторскому таланту.
Наряду с другими риторическими приемами, Обама широко использует в своей речи метафору как один из наиболее действенных инструментов публичной политики.
В настоящей статье мы рассмотрим особенности использования концептуальной метафоры движения в публичных выступлениях американского президента, а именно: в обращении к нации на митинге в Чикаго после победы на выборах (Election Night Victory Speech, November 4, 2008) и в Инаугурационной речи, ставшей одним из центральных событий церемонии вступления Барака Обамы в должность президента Соединенных Штатов (Inaugural Address, January 20, 2009).
Речь нового избранного президента США насыщена разнообразными метафорами, аллюзиями, повторами и другими стилистическими фигурами. Его обращение к народу после победы на выборах отчетливо перекликается со знаменитой Геттисбергской речью Авраама Линкольна (1863) и не менее знаменитым выступлением Мартина Лютера Кинга в Мемфисе (1968), которому суждено было стать последним в его жизни.
Однако в рамках настоящего исследования наибольший интерес представляет последовательное использование метафоры движения на протяжении всей речи Барака Обамы.
Так, говоря о будущем своей нации, Обама в рамках одного абзаца неоднократно использует одну и ту же концептуальную метафору:
The road ahead will be long.
Our climb will be steep.
There will be setbacks andfalse starts.
Интересно, что в данном случае будущее американской нации образно представляется не просто в терминах дороги, некоего путешествия в пространстве и во времени, а как восхождение на вершину горы, которое, как правило, бывает сопряжено с большими усилиями и требует неординарного мужества и терпения.
Идея движения или пути получает развитие и в последующей части выступления. Она же звучит и в заключительной части речи:
This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.
America, we have come so far.
Отдельного внимания заслуживает отрывок, в котором новоизбранный президент Америки ссылается на Мартина Лютера Кинга, заимствуя использованные им образы:
We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you — we as a people will get there.
Показательно, что на первый план снова выходит идея пути, дороги, путешествия, однако на этот раз метафора движения приобретает более глубокий смысл, поскольку в терминах пути или дороги изображается вся история американского народа, его движение через множество препятствий навстречу благосостоянию и процветанию.
Интересно, что Обама в этом отрывке своей речи почти дословно воспроиз-
водит слова Мартина Лютера Кинга, произнесенные в апреле 1968 года во время его последнего выступления в Мемфисе, вскоре после которого он был убит.
В своем последнем обращении Кинг обращается к библейской тематике, а именно к Исходу евреев из Египта, проводя параллель между темнокожим населением Америки и народом Израиля, который Моисей 40 лет водил по пустыне в поисках Земли обетованной — the Promised Land. При этом, если евреи и в самом деле искали землю в прямом значении этого слова, то для Кинга Земля обетованная — это метафорический образ благополучной и счастливой жизни афроамериканцев, имеющих равные права с белым населением страны.
Сильнейшей по эмоциональному накалу, безусловно, является та часть выступления, в которой он говорит, что побывал на вершине горы и видел Землю обетованную:
«And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land».
Неслучайно именно эти слова, звучащие как пророчество, более 40 лет спустя повторяет в своей речи Барак Обама, ведь он стал первым темнокожим президентом в истории Соединенных Штатов, что можно рассматривать отчасти как заслугу Мартина Лютера Кинга, который всю свою жизнь посвятил борьбе за гражданские права афроамериканцев.
Избрание Барака Обамы президентом США, несомненно, стало важнейшей вехой в истории Америки, своего рода исполнением заветной мечты всех темнокожих американцев. Поэтому образ Земли обетованной, занимавший центральное место в выступлении Мартина Лютера Кинга, косвенно присутствует и в речи Барака Обамы. При этом в контексте его выступления этот образ несколько трансформируется и метафорически обозначает благополучие не только темнокожих американцев, но и всего населения Соединенных Штатов. Именно стремление найти эту «землю» дает надежду и силы американскому народу для борьбы с новыми вызовами и является стимулом к его постоянному движению.
Инаугурационная речь Барака Обамы также практически полностью построена на концептуальной метафоре движения. При этом идея движения представлена здесь более широким рядом лексем, как-то: journey, short-cut, path, route, road, travel, turn back, carry (forth).
Как и в случае с Victory Speech, в образах дороги метафорически осмысляется история Америки:
Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted....
Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things.who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity andfreedom.
This is the journey we continue today.
The success of our economy has always depended.on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
Обращаясь к народу, избравшему его президентом страны, Обама ссылается на долгий и нелегкий путь, пройденный предками, и призывает американцев к продолжению этого пути, невзирая на возникающие препятствия:
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.
В заключительной части выступления, которая традиционно является наиболее важной в речи любого оратора с точки зрения оказания эмоционального воздействия и призвана закрепить произведенный выступлением эффект, американский президент вновь развивает метафору движения. Следует особенно подчеркнуть, что в последнем отрывке речь Обамы достигает своей кульминации в плане экспрессивности языка именно за счет использования развернутой метафоры. Интересно, что по мере развертывания метафоры движения в своей речи Обама совершает переход от прошлого к будущему — стремясь вселить надежду в своих современников и стимулировать их продолжать начатый путь, он сначала обращается к опыту и достижениям предшествующих поколений, а затем напоминает аудитории о будущем поколении и о об ответственности за их благополучие. Свобода метафорически представляется как драгоценный подарок, который необходимо пронести через все препятствия и донести в целости и сохранности до следующего поколения:
Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift offreedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Анализ выступлений Барака Обамы продемонстрировал, как одна и та же концептуальная метафора последовательно используется при оценке политической действительности, появляясь в самых разнообразных контекстах. Рассмотренная в статье метафора движения, безусловно, является одной из наиболее частотных стертых метафор в английском языке, однако, благодаря ее высокой продуктивности и способности к развертыванию, создаются чрезвычайно яркие, живые, неповторимые образы. Кроме того, последовательное развертывание одной и той же концептуальной метафоры на протяжении всего выступления обеспечивает его смысловую и эмоциональную целостность.
Представленный материал позволяет сделать вывод о том, что метафоричность является одним из важнейших признаков современного политического дискурса. Она не только делает речь политических лидеров более живой и выразительной, но также дает им возможность говорить более понятными и близкими народу образами и аналогиями.
В руках одаренного политика и искусного оратора метафора оказывается мощным инструментом воздействия на эмоционально-волевую сферу аудитории, преобразования ее политической картины мира и в некоторых случаях даже манипулирования общественным сознанием.
ПРИМЕЧАНИЯ
1. Баранов А.Н., Караулов Ю.Н. Русская политическая метафора (материалы к словарю). М., 1991. С. 189
2. Anderson R.D. Metaphors of Dictatorship and Democracy: Change in the Russian Political Lexicon and the Transformation of Russian Politics// http://www.sscnet.
ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/anderson/Metaphor13.htm;Landtsheer Ch. de. Function and the Language of Politics. A Linguistics Uses and Gratification Approach. // Communication and Cognition, 1991. Vol. 24 ? s; MussolfA. Metaphor and Political Discourse. Analogical Reasoning in Debates about Europe. Basingstoke, 2004.
3. Чудинов А.П. Российская политическая метафора в начале XXI в. // Политическая лингвистика. Вып. 1(24). Екатеринбург, 2008. С. 87
METAPHORS IN POLITICAL LEADERS SPEECH (MOVEMENT METAPHORS USED BY US PRESIDENT BARAK OBAMA)
N.O. Prazyan
The article deals with specific functions of metaphor in political leaders' speech. Analysis of movement metaphors recurrence in the speech of Barak Obama, US President, gives a vivid example of metaphors making political speech not only more lively and expressive, but also presenting an effective tool for modifying political world image in addressees minds.
Key words: conceptual metaphor, political discourse, impact, manipulation, social consciousness, movement.
Приложение
Election Night Victory Speech
November 4, 2008
Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics — you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to — it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington — it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory. I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers
and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you — we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers — in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House — a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn — I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world — our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down — we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security — we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright — tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or
the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America — that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing — Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time — to
put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth — that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
Obama Inaugural Address
January 20, 2009 Washington, DC
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and
digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can
meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
