US Presidency
1985

We have begun well. But it's only a beginning. We're not here to congratulate ourselves on what we have done but to challenge ourselves to finish what has not yet been done. We're here to speak for millions in our inner cities who long for real jobs, safe neighborhoods, and schools that truly teach. We're here to speak for the American farmer, the entrepreneur, and every worker in industries fighting to modernize and compete. And, yes, we're here to stand, and proudly so, for all who struggle to break free from totalitarianism, for all who know in their hearts that freedom is the one true path to peace and human happiness. Proverbs tell us, without a vision the people perish. When asked what great principle holds our Union together, Abraham Lincoln said: Something in [ the ] Declaration giving liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world for all future time. We honor the giants of our history not by going back but forward to the dreams their vision foresaw.