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 responsibility 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.
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