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From The Hill’s Pundits Blog: America’s Best Days Are Ahead: Al Gore’s Inaugural
Brent Budowsky
… (T)o you, to God Almighty I repeat again the obligation I accepted this noon: to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States every hour, of every day, that I am honored to serve in this special house of this extraordinary place we call America.
America truly is the land of the free and the home of the brave, where tyranny and injustice must never stain our shores, where timidity and fear will never trump the courage and valor that is our legacy from those who fired the shots at Lexington and Concord.
America, one nation, indivisible, where we must always stand together for the values we cherish and commonly believe...
America, where we lift our sights and shed our blood for the self-evident truth that all men and women are created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights.
America, where we value our diversity, give back to our community, and are bound by our patriotism, faith and honor to leave a better world to our children and grandchildren who will follow.
America, where we know that power must be tempered with principle, and that we must bind our wounds and heal the nation…
If Jefferson were with us today, he would tell us, as he told America when put his hand on the Bible and took the oath we repeat today: We are all Democrats, we are all Republicans.
Let us end the acrimony of our politics and renew the good will of our democracy with two political parties, three branches of government and a spirit of mutual respect bestowed to us by our Founding Fathers.
To my fellow Americans, I promise that I will always aspire to be the president of “we the people,” all the people, and I ask that you continue, and redouble, all of your efforts of service, sacrifice and patriotism in this nation where every man and woman can be a hero, in his or her personal way.
To our allies around the world, your voice will always be heard in our highest councils of government, your interests will always be taken into account, your advice will always be respected and your suggestions will often be followed.
Let us journey together into the future in the spirit of those who triumphed together over fascism, communism and dictatorship. Let us aspire together to a world where all of our people will be safe, where war will someday be no more…
Let us declare to the children of the world:
Our earth is your earth; our future is your future; our world is your world; and our prayer is your prayer. In the end we will save the world together from the ravages that would otherwise someday destroy it; and if we fail, none of us will have ancestors alive to condemn us.
On this day of American renewal, when one era ends and another begins, let us think anew with Lincoln, and act anew to build a national spirit of great dreams, great expectations and great aspirations.
Together let us lift our land, and light the world, as the beacon that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams dreamed we would be on July 4, 1776, and dreamed we would always remain on July 4, 1826, when they left this earth together, and bequeathed their legacy to us, in this great and magnificent land we call America.
Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and to Bill Alexander, then-chief deputy whip of the House. He is a contributing editor to Fighting Dems News Service. He can be read on The Hill’s Pundits Blog and reached at brentbbi@webtv.net. Click the title, above, to read more and to post a comment that may be read by your congressman and senators!Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com The excerpt above is posted with the full knowledge and permission, even encouragement, of the author, who wants his essays to be read by as many people as possible. |
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