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朝日 01/21 19:21 ◇ブッシュ米大統領就任演説要旨◇

1.キイワード；米国大統領
2.関係者；米国
3.概要；ブッシュ新大統領の就任演説の要旨は次の通り。
　■国民のみなさん。権力の平和的な交代は歴史上まれだが、この国では普通のことである。我々はここにその伝統を確認し、新しい出発としよう。まず、米国のために働いたクリントン大統領と、選挙を全力で戦い、潔く戦いに終止符を打ったゴア副大統領に感謝する。
　■２０世紀の大半を通じて、米国の信じる自由と民主主義は、荒れ狂う海に立つ岩であり、いまは風に乗って飛ぶ種子として、多くの国に根付きつつある。民主主義は米国だけの信条ではない。人類が生来持つ希望である。これを我々は理念として掲げ、責務として引き継いでいかねばならない。（建国以来）２２５年近くを経たが、まだ道のりは遠い。　■豊かになった人びとがいる一方、この国の未来どころか正義さえ疑う人々もいる。荒廃した学校、隠れた偏見、生まれた環境によって向上心をくじかれる国民がいる。時に相互の違いは非常に深いものとなり、同じ大陸に住んでいながら、同じ国家の国民ではないような思いすらいだく。我々はこれを認めはしないし、許しもしない。私はここに厳粛に誓う。私は正義と機会に裏打ちされた統一国家をつくるために働く。
　■我々は米国のかかげてきたこうした理念を、礼儀、勇気、思いやり、品性をもって実現することを約束する。平和な時代には重要な問題もないのだから、政治がわい小なままでもよいと考える人たちがいる。しかし、米国が自由の大義を先導しなければ、だれも自由を導こうとはしない。子供たちの心に知性と品格を育てなければ、彼らの才能は失われ理想主義はむしばまれる。経済を後退させれば、最も苦しむのは弱者である。我々は使命にこたえねばならない。
　■自由に敵対し、米国に敵対する勢力は誤解してはならない。米国は世界に関与し続ける。歴史的にもそうだし、我々の選択としてもそうだ。我々は自由を促進するような勢力均衡を形づくる。同盟国と米国の国益を守る。目的を示すが、ごう慢さは排する。侵略と悪意に対しては、断固として戦う。そしてすべての国に対して、米国の建国の価値を訴える。
　■米国は個人の責任に価値が置かれ、期待される場所だ。公共の利益は、個々人の人格、市民としての義務、家族のつながり、公正さといったものに左右される。民主主義の最も大事な仕事はすべての人によってなされるのだ。国民の皆さんの行動は、政府の行動と同様に大切だ。自己の快適さに安住せず、共通の幸福を追求し、安易な攻撃から必要な改革を守り、祖国のために奉仕するよう求めたい。市民は傍観者でも従属者でもない。責任ある市民として、奉仕に取り組み、品格ある国家をつくってほしい。
　■米国人は寛容で強く礼儀正しい。それは我々が自分たちの力を信じているからではない。我々自身を超える信条を持っているからだ。この市民精神が失われたら、いかなる政府の施策も代わることはできない。この精神があれば、どんな悪もこれに立ち向かうことはできないだろう。
[2001-01-21-19:21]

RTw 01/20 1206 TEXT-Prepared inaugural address of George W. Bush
WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Following is the prepared text of George W. Bush's inaugural address, delivered shortly after he was sworn in as 43rd president of the United States on Saturday:
This peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country. With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions, and make new beginnings. As I begin, I thank President Clinton for his service to our nation. And I thank Vice President Gore for a contest conducted with spirit, and ended with grace.
I am honored and humbled to stand here, where so many of America's leaders have come before me, and so many will follow. We have a place, all of us, in a long story; a story we continue, but whose end we will not see. It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. The story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom. The story of a power that went into world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer. It is the American story; a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals.
The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding American promise: that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant person was ever born. Americans are called to enact this promise in our lives and in our laws. And though our nation has sometimes halted, and sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course.
Through much of the last century, America's faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea. Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations. Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity; an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along. And even after nearly 225 years, we have a long way yet to travel.
While many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise --even the justice -- of our own country. The ambitions of some Americans are limited by failing schools, and hidden prejudice, and the circumstances of their birth. And sometimes our differences run so deep, it seems we share a continent, but not a country. We do not accept this, and will not allow it. Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation. And this is my solemn pledge: I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity.
I know this is within our reach, because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves, Who creates us equal in His image. And we are confident in principles that unite and lead us onward. America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests, and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.
Today we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion and character. America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility. A civil society demands from each of us good will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness.
Some seem to believe that our politics can afford to be petty because, in a time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small. But the stakes, for America, are never small. If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led. If we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose their gifts and undermine their idealism. If we permit our economy to drift and decline, the vulnerable will suffer most.
We must live up to the calling we share. Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment. It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos. And this commitment, if we keep it, is a way to shared accomplishment.
America, at its best, is also courageous.
Our national courage has been clear in times of depression and war, when defeating common dangers defined our common good. Now we must choose if the example of our fathers and mothers will inspire us or condemn us. We must show courage in a time of blessing, by confronting problems instead of passing them on to future generations.
Together we will reclaim America's schools, before ignorance and apathy claim more young lives. We will reform Social Security and Medicare, sparing our children from struggles we have the power to prevent. We will reduce taxes, to recover the momentum of our economy and reward the effort and enterprise of working Americans. We will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge. We will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors.
The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake. America remains engaged in the world, by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom. We will defend our allies and our interests. We will show purpose without arrogance. We will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength. And to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth. America, at its best, is compassionate.
In the quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise. And whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault. Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love. And the proliferation of prisons, however necessary, is no substitute for hope and order in our souls.
Where there is suffering, there is duty. Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens; not problems, but priorities; and all of us are diminished when any are hopeless. Government has great responsibilities, for public safety and public health, for civil rights and common schools. Yet compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government. And some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer. Church and charity, synagogue and mosque, lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an honored place in our plans and laws.
Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty. But we can listen to those who do. And I can pledge our nation to a goal: When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side.
America, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected. Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. And though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment. We find the fullness of life, not only in options, but in commitments. And we find that children and community are the commitments that set us free.
Our public interest depends on private character; on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness; on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom.
Sometimes in life we are called to do great things. But as a saint of our times has said, every day we are called to do small things with great love. The most important tasks of a democracy are done by everyone. I will live and lead by these principles: to advance my convictions with civility; to pursue the public interest with courage; to speak for greater justice and compassion; to call for reponsibility, and try to live it as well. In all these ways, I will bring the values of our history to the care of our times. What you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor. I ask you to be citizens. Citizens, not spectators. Citizens, not subjects. Responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.
Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves. When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it. When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it. After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson: "We know the Race is not to the swift nor the Battle to the Strong. Do you not think an Angel rides in the Whirlwind and directs this Storm?"
Much time has passed since Jefferson arrived for his inaugural. The years and changes accumulate. But the themes of this day he would know: our nation's grand story of courage, and its simple dream of dignity. We are not this story's Author, Who fills time and eternity with His purpose. Yet His purpose is achieved in our duty; and duty is fulfilled in service to one another.
Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today: to make our country more just and generous; to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.
This work continues. This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.
God bless you, and God bless our country.