Ladies and Gentlemen,
the President-elect
of the United States,
Barack H. Obama!
I've to say the applause on our rooftop
there, just near the Capitol, is deafning.
That is a crowd of millions,
applauding their new leader,
and this is the realization
of that dream
that M. Luther King spoke about
in the holy 1960's.
Notice also that
the announcer's announcement
is Barack H. Obama,
H of course stands for Hussein.
When he takes the earth of office,
he would say
Barack Hussein Obama,
that middle-name has been very
controversial throughout the campaign,
but it sends
an enormously important signal too,
many people around the world,
and especially in the middle-east.
That signal that precedes
today's speech
that precedes any policy,
to consume this White House.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
the chairman of the Joy Congrationnal
Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies,
the honorable Dianne Feinstein.
Mr. President and Vice-President,
Mr. President-elect,
and Vice-President-elect,
ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to the inauguration
of the 44th President
of the United States of America.
The world is watching today,
as our great democracy engages
in this peaceful
transition of power.
Here, on the National Mall,
where we remember
the founders of our nation,
and those who fought
to make it free,
we gather to etch another line
in the solid stone of history.
The freedom of a people
to choose its leaders
is the root of liberty.
In a world where political strike
is too often selled with violence,
we come here every four years
to bestow the power
of the presidency.
Upon our democratically
elected leader,
Those who doubt
the supremacy of the ballot
over the bullet
can never diminish the power
engedered by non-violence struggles
for justice and equality
like the one
that made this day possible.
No triumph, tainted by brutality,
could ever match
the sweet victory of this hour
and what it means
to whose who marched
and died to make it a reality.
Our work is not yet finished,
but future generations
will mark this morning
as the turning-point for real
and necessary changes in our nation.
The will look back,
and remember
that this was the moment
when the dream
that once echoed a cross history,
from the steps
of the Lincoln Memorial,
finally reaches the walls
of the White House.
In that spirit,
we today not only inaugurate
a new administration,
we pledge ourselves to the hope,
the vision, the unity,
and a renewed call to greatness,
inspired by the 44th President
of the United States,
Barack Obama.
Thank you. And God bless America.
At this time,
I call upon Dr. Rick Warren,
Pastor of the Celibate Church
in Lake Forest, California,
to provide the invocation.
Let us pray...
Almighty God,
our Father,
Everything we see,
and everything we can't see,
exists because of you alone.
It all comes from you.
It all belongs to you.
It all exists for your glory.
History is your story.
The Scripture tells us:
"Hear, Oh Israel,
the Lord is our God,
the Lord is one."
And you are the compassionate
and merciful one.
And you are loving
to everyone you have made.
Now today,
we rejoice not only
in America's peaceful transfer of power
for the 44th time,
we celebrate
a hinge-point of history
with the inauguration of our first
African-American President
of the United States.
We are so grateful
to live in this land,
a land of unequaled possibility,
where the son
of an African immigrant
can rise to the highest level
of our leadership.
And we know today that Dr. King,
and a great cloud of witnesses,
are shouting in heaven.
Give to our new President,
Barack Obama,
the wisdom
to lead us with humility,
the courage
to lead us with integrity,
the compassion
to lead us with generosity.
Bless and protect him,
his family,
Vice-President Biden, the cabinet,
and every one
of our freely elected leaders.
Help us, oh God,
to remember that we are Americans,
united not by race,
or religion, or blood,
but to our commitment to freedom,
and justice for all.
When we focus on ourselves,
when we fight each other,
when we forget you,
forgive us.
When we presume that our greatness
and our prosperity is ours alone,
forgive us.
When we fail to treat
our fellow human beings
and all the earth with the respect
that they deserve,
forgive us.
And as we face
these difficult days ahead,
may we have
a new birth of clarity in our aims,
responsibility in our actions,
humility in our approaches,
and civility in our attitudes
even when we differ.
Help us to share, to serve,
and to seek the common good of all.
May all people of good will today
join together
to work for a more just,
a more healthy, and a more prosperous
nation, and a peaceful planet.
And may we never
forget that one day,
all nations and all people
will stand accountable before you.
We now commit our new president,
and his wife Michelle,
and his daughters, Malia and Sasha,
into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one
who changed my life,
Yeshua,
Isa,
Jess,
Jesus,
who taught us to pray:
Our father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
forever.
Amen.
Pastor Rick Warren of California;
conservative, even evengelical Minister
seems to be
a controversial choice by Barack Obama.
overtstate rather the importance
of what he's just done here,
???? of the Nation
in this inaugural pray,
but this is a man who is
very to gay marriage,
very much opposed to abortion
and therefore very controversial,
and the ranking file of the movement
that helped to get
Barack Obama elected.
The first test
of his commitments to his base.
Here we have Aretha Franklin now
singing the National anthem.
My country,'tis of thee,
Sweet land...
... of liberty,
Of thee...
... I sing;
Land where...
... my fathers died,
Land of the...
... pilgrims' pride,
From every
every mountainside
Let free...
freedom... freedom ring!
Our father's God to Thee,
Author...
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our...
... land be bright,
With freedom's...
... holy light,
- Protect... Protect !
- Protect ! Protect !
Protect us by Thy might,
Oh, Free...
Freedom ring...
Let it ring! Let it ring!
Let it ring! Let it ring!
- Let it ring! Let it ring!
- Ring... Ring... Ring
Let it ring...
Let it ring...
The queen of soul Aretha Franklin
The lighting ????
of Dianne Feinstein
moving the ceremony along
as we move towards
the inauguration
of Vice-President Biden.
Also ???? on that;
she, I mean, Aretha Franklin,
an African-American woman singing
on the autel of democracy
on a building, the Capitol, that
was built by African-American slaves.
African-Americans
have had so many roads
in American History,
but never the road of President.
I, Joseph Robinette Biden Junior,
do solemnly swear...
I, Joseph Robinette Biden Junior,
do solemnly swear...
that I will support and defend
the Constitution of the United States...
that I will support and defend
the Constitution of the United States...
against all enemies,
foreign and domestic...
against all enemies,
foreign and domestic...
that I will be a true faith
and allegiance to the same...
that I will be a true faith
and allegiance to the same...
that I take
this obligation freely...
that I take
this obligation freely...
without any mental reservation,
or purpose of evasion...
without any mental reservation,
or purpose of evasion...
and that I will
and faithfully discharge...
and that I will
and faithfully discharge...
the duties of the office in which
I am about to enter.
the duties of the office in which
I am about to enter.
- So help me God.
- So help me God.
Thank you, Mr. Justice!
The oath of Minister
by associate-justice
John Paul Stevens who's 88.
A long and serving member
of the supreme court.
Joe Biden is now Vice-President
of the United States.
And of course that have been
too many times in American History when
the Vice-President...
and his oath, then became
the presidential oath at some stage
in a time ???? because
of assassinations or resignation.
We hope that never has to come
and pass, but it has passed
too many times
in the history of this nation.
And that is because of that
that Barack Obama's had
an unprecedent event of security,
even in the very beginning of
this presidential campaign, he received
secret-service agents
of secret-service security detail
whether the other candidates had not.
It gives you some idea of the
worries that surround the office,
and also especially this man.
Anthony McGill, clarinet.
Yo-Yo Ma, cellist.
And Gabriela Montero, pianist.
Performing "Air and Simple Gifts",
composition arranged for this occasion
by John Williams.
So the special compostion
by John Williams
with four of the most-gifted musicians
in the world, and all of this of course
part of a program that has been approved
by Mr. Obama himself,
and we'll enjoy the music in a second,
just a little frontier about
Barack Obama himself,
now that Joe Biden's been sworned,
and he's minutes away of this
winning-applause of the presidency.
He's indeed...
this will happen just after
transfer, he will be running ????
of course of these proceedings.
Then, he will have lunch
on Capitol Hill with members of Congress
and then we'll have the beginning of
the parade.
In-between all that,
that all-important presidential speech,
A little bit of history;
the longest speech
ever given by a new president;
President Harrison's
in the 1841 was so long
and he was wearing no hat.
He decided to oate
all the inaugural ????
and he could have ????
he could ????
and then he died a month later.
And it's not going
to happen this time.
But what will happen is that
the world and America will listen
to every single word
this man has to say.
And to see whether he can
turn his words into the kind of music
that we're hearing right now.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma,
Itzhak Perlman,
Gabriela Montero, Anthony McGill,
performing this piece
by John Williams.
A piece specially commissionned
and composed by John Williams.
As we approach the moment when
The President Inauguration
will take place very unusually
It just turned noon here
in Washington DC.
The Inauguration... The chief Justice
will be called up in a second
???? just a minut before noon.
But now everyone is standing
for what I think will be that keymoment.
Swearing of the 44th President
of the United States.
Barack Hussein Obama.
There he is.
This is a moment that even he and his
greatest auditions cannot...
Are you prepared
to take the oath, Senator?
- I am.
- I, Barack Hussein Obama,
- I, Barack...
- do solemnly swear
I, Barack Hussein Obama,
do solemnly swear
that I will execute the office
of the President of the US faithfully.
That I will execute...
The off... Faithfully the pres...
The office of President of the US,
and I will to the best of my ability
And will, to best of my ability
preserve, protect, and defend
the Constitution of the United States.
Preserve, protect, and defend
the Constitution of the United States.
- So help you God?
- So help me God.
Congratuations, Mr. President.
All best wishes.
It is my greatest honor
to present the 44th president
of these United States.
Barack Obama.
Thank you.
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 Sanh.
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 our 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...
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 that we are ready
to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations
faced down fascism and communism
not just with missiles and tanks,
but with 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 will 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...
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 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,
this is 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
future generations.
Thank you. God bless you.
And God bless
the United States of America.
The enhanced crowd
so leads to applause
the 44th President,
Barack Obama,
at the inaugural address
on the West front
of the Capitol.
Of course,
it was full of the souring arches
that you expected from this man,
but I think most crushly
sure he'd struck
an enormous business-like tone.
This is a man who takes office,
has taken office,
who'd be sitting in the Oval Office
tomorrow morning
with an enormous entry of problems,
and I think what he wants to do,
what he's trying to do first,
is to get away from this impression
that he's just
very very good with words,
he also has to be very very good
at vending this country,
and what he basically told us here
is that we'd take this crisis
and turn it into an opportunity,
all the time all the wild remindingless
that 60 years ago,
someone like him wouldn't
have been served in a restaurant,
in many states of this country,
how many said that in their speech
he got the biggest front of applause,
of the day so far.
The ceremony is not over;
after he's greeted
his vice-president, and
all the members there,
there would be
the traditionnal poetry reading,
after which the ceremony
would draw to close.
...of introducing an American poet,
Elizabeth Alexander.
Praise song for the day.
Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other,
catching each others' eyes or not,
about to speak or speaking
All about us is noise.
All about us is noise and bramble,
thorn and din,
each one of our ancestors
on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem,
darning a hole in a uniform,
patching a tire,
repairing the things
in need of repair.
Someone is trying
to make music somewhere
with a pair of wooden
spoons on an oil drum
with cello, boom box,
harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son
wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky;
A teacher says:
"Take out your pencils.
Begin."
We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth,
whispered or declaimed;
words to consider,
reconsider.
We cross dirt roads
and highways that mark
the will of someone
and then others who said,
"I need to see
what's on the other side;
I know there's something
better down the road."
We need to find a place
where we are safe;
We walk into that
which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain,
that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead
who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks,
raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce,
built brick by brick
the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean
and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle;
praise song for the day.
Praise song
for every hand-lettered sign;
The figuring it out
at kitchen tables.
Some live
by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."
Others by first do no harm,
or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love,
love beyond marital,
filial, national.
Love that casts
a widening pool of light.
Love with no need
to preempt grievance.
In today's sharp sparkle,
this winter air,
anything can be made,
any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim,
on the cusp
praise song for walking
forward in that light.
And now it's my privilege to introduce
the Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
to deliver "The Benediction."
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
thou who has brought us
thus far along the way,
thou who has by thy might led us
into the light,
keep us forever
in the path, we pray,
lest our feet
stray from the places, our God,
where we met thee,
lest our hearts,
drunk with the wine of the world,
we forget thee.
Shadowed beneath thy hand
may we forever stand
true to thee, O God,
and true to our native land.
We truly give thanks
for the glorious experience
we've shared this day.
We pray now, O Lord,
for your blessing upon thy servant,
Barack Obama, the 44th president
of these United States,
his family and his administration.
He has come to this high office
at a low moment
in the national and,
indeed, the global fiscal climate.
But because we know you got
the whole world in your hand,
we pray for not only our nation,
but for the community of nations.
Our faith does not shrink,
though pressed
by the flood of mortal ills.
For we know that, Lord, you're able
and you're willing to work through
faithful leadership
to restore stability,
mend our brokenness, heal our wounds
and deliver us
from the exploitation of the poor
or the least of these
and from favoritism
toward the rich, the elite of these.
We thank you
for the empowering of thy servant,
our 44th president,
to inspire our nation to believe that,
yes, we can work together
to achieve a more perfect union.
And while we have sown the seeds
of greed the wind
of greed and corruption,
and even as we reap the whirlwind
of social and economic disruption,
we seek forgiveness
and we come in a spirit
of unity and solidarity
to commit our support
to our president
by our willingness
to make sacrifices,
to respect your creation,
to turn to each other
and not on each other.
And now, Lord, in the complex arena
of human relations,
help us to make choices
on the side of love, not hate;
on the side of inclusion,
not exclusion;
tolerance, not intolerance.
And as we leave this mountaintop,
help us to hold
on to the spirit of fellowship
and the oneness of our family.
Let us take that power back
to our homes,
our workplaces, our churches,
our temples, our mosques,
or wherever we seek your will.
Bless President Barack,
First Lady Michelle.
Look over our little angelic
Sasha and Malia.
We go now
to walk together, children,
pledging that we won't get weary
in the difficult days ahead.
We know you will not leave us alone,
with your hands of power
and your heart of love.
Help us then, now, Lord,
to work for that day
when nation shall not lift up
sword against nation,
when tanks will be
beaten into tractors,
when every man and every woman
shall sit under his or her own vine
and fig tree
and none shall be afraid;
when justice will
roll down like waters
and righteousness
as a mighty stream.
Lord, in the memory of all the saints
who from their labors rest,
and in the joy of a new beginning,
we ask you to help us
work for that day
when black will not be asked
to get back,
when brown can stick around
when yellow will be mellow
when the red man can get ahead, man
and when white
will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice
and love mercy say amen.
Amen!
- Say amen!
- Amen!
- ... and Amen!
- Amen!
An inspiring Benediction there
by the Reverend Joseph Lowery,
one of the greatest figures
of the Civil Rights movement.
As we appraoch the end
of this inaugural ceremony,
there will be the national anthem
and then...
President Obama and the First Lady
will depart the stage.
Ladies and gentlemen, please rise
for the singing of our national anthem
by the United States
Navy Sea Chanters Chorus.
Following the anthem,
please remain in place
while the presidential party
exits the platform.
Thank you very much.
Oh, say, can you see,
by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed
at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes
and bright stars,
thro' the perilous fight'
O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming
And the rockets red glare,
the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there.
Oh, say, does that star-spangled
banner yet wave...
O'er the land of the free
and the home...
of the brave?
= [ BenJoji Team ] =
benji1000, Jojimoreau