Second Inaugural Address

Richard Milhous Nixon: SecondInauguralAddress
delivered
January 20, 1973
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Senator Cook, Mrs. Eisenhower, and myfellow citizens of this great and good country we share together:
寒々とした

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When we met here four years ago, America was bleak in spirit, depressed by the prospectof seemingly endless war abroad and of destructive conflict at home.
出発点

As we meet here today, we stand on the threshold of a new era of peace in the world.という決意をする

The central question before us is: How shall we use that peace? Let us resolve that this era
we are about to enter will not be what other postwar periods have so often been: a time of撤退孤立停

滞retreat and isolation that leads to stagnation at home and invites new danger abroad.
Let us resolve that this will be what it can become: a time of great responsibilities greatly
borne, in which we renew the spirit and the promise of America as we enter our thirdcentury as a nation.
This past year saw far-reaching results from our new policies for peace. By continuing to再 活 性 化 す る

revitalize our traditional friendships, and by our missions to Peking and to Moscow, wewere able to establish the base for a new and more durable pattern of relationships among
the nations of the world. Because of America's bold initiatives, 1972 will be longremembered as the year of the greatest progress since the end of World War II toward alasting peace in the world.
薄っぺらい間奏

The peace we seek in the world is not the flimsy peace which is merely an interlude
between wars, but a peace which can endure for generations to come.
It is important that we understand both the necessity and the limitations of America's rolein maintaining that peace.
Unless we in America work to preserve the peace, there will be no peace.

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Unless we in America work to preserve freedom, there will be no freedom.
But let us clearly understand the new nature of America's role, as a result of the newpolicies we have adopted over these past four years.
We shall respect our treaty commitments.
We shall support vigorously the principle that no country has the right to impose its will orrule on another by force.
We shall continue, in this era of negotiation, to work for the limitation of nuclear arms, andto reduce the danger of confrontation between the great powers.
We shall do our share in defending peace and freedom in the world. But we shall expect
others to do their share.
The time has passed when America will make every other nation's conflict our own, or make大胆に～するevery other nation's future our responsibility, or presume to tell the people of othernations how to manage their own affairs.
Just as we respect the right of each nation to determine its own future, we also recognize
the responsibility of each nation to secure its own future.
Just as America's role is indispensable in preserving the world's peace, so is each nation'srole indispensable in preserving its own peace.
Together with the rest of the world, let us resolve to move forward from the beginnings wehave made. Let us continue to bring down the walls of hostility which have divided theworld for too long, and to build in their place bridges of understanding--so that despite
profound differences between systems of government, the people of the world can befriends.
Let us build a structure of peace in the world in which the weak are as safe as the strong--in
which each respects the right of the other to live by a different system--in which those who
would influence others will do so by the strength of their ideas, and not by the force of theirIISecond Inaugural Addressarms.
Let us accept that high responsibility not as a burden, but gladly--gladly because the chance
努力to build such a peace is the noblest endeavor in which a nation can engage; gladly, also,
because only if we act greatly in meeting our responsibilities abroad will we remain a greatNation, and only if we remain a great Nation will we act greatly in meeting our challenges athome.
We have the chance today to do more than ever before in our history to make life better in
America--to ensure better education, better health, better housing, better transportation, a
取 り 戻 すcleaner environment--to restore

respect for law, to make our communities more

生きがいのあるlivable--and to insure the God-given right of every American to full and equal opportunity.
Because the range of our needs is so great--because the reach of our opportunities is so
勇敢なgreat--let us be bold in our determination to meet those needs in new ways.
Just as building a structure of peace abroad has required turning away from old policies
that failed, so building a new era of progress at home requires turning away from oldpolicies that have failed.
Abroad, the shift from old policies to new has not been a retreat from our responsibilities,but a better way to peace.
And at home, the shift from old policies to new will not be a retreat from ourresponsibilities, but a better way to progress.
Abroad and at home, the key to those new responsibilities lies in the placing and thedivision of responsibility. We have lived too long with the consequences of attempting togather all power and responsibility in Washington.
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Abroad and at home, the time has come to turn away from the condescending policies of
温情主義

paternalism--of "Washington knows best."
A person can be expected to act responsibly only if he has responsibility. This is humannature. So let us encourage individuals at home and nations abroad to do more forthemselves, to decide more for themselves. Let us locate responsibility in more places. LetIII

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us measure what we will do for others by what they will do for themselves.
That is why today I offer no promise of a purely governmental solution for every problem.
We have lived too long with that false promise. In trusting too much in government, we
供 給 す る膨 ら ん だhave asked of it more than it can deliver . This leads only to inflated expectations, toむしばむ

reduced individual effort, and to a disappointment and frustration that erode confidence
both in what government can do and in hat people can do.
Government must learn to take less from people so that people can do more for themselves.
Let us remember that America was built not by government, but by people--not by welfare,but by work--not by shirking responsibility, but by seeking responsibility.
In our own lives, let each of us ask--not just what will government do for me, but what can I
do for myself?
In the challenges we face together, let each of us ask--not just how can government help,
but how can I help?
Your National Government has a great and vital role to play. And I pledge to you that where
this Government should act, we will act boldly and we will lead boldly. But just as importantis the role that each and every one of us must play, as an individual and as a member of hisown community.
From this day forward, let each of us make a solemn commitment in his own heart: to bearhis responsibility, to do his part, to live his ideals--so that together, we can see the dawn of a
new age of progress for America, and together, as we celebrate our 200th anniversary as a
達成nation, we can do so proud in the fulfillment of our promise to ourselves and to the world.
As America's longest and most difficult war comes to an end, let us again learn to debate
礼節品位

our differences with civility and decency. And let each of us reach out for that one precious
quality government cannot provide--a new level of respect for the rights and feelings of one
大切なanother, a new level of respect for the individual human dignity which is the cherishedbirthright of every American.
Above all else, the time has come for us to renew our faith in ourselves and in America.

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In recent years, that faith has been challenged.
Our children have been taught to be ashamed of their country, ashamed of their parents,
ashamed of America's record at home and of its role in the world.
取り巻くAt every turn, we have been beset by those who find everything wrong with America and少しのもの

little that is right. But I am confident that this will not be the judgment of history on these
remarkable times in which we are privileged to live.
並 ぶ も の の な いAmerica's record in this century has been unparalleled
寛in the world's history for its

容responsibility, for its generosity, for its creativity and for its progress.
Let us be proud that our system has produced and provided more freedom and more
豊

かさabundance, more widely shared, than any other system in the history of the world.
Let us be proud that in each of the four wars in which we have been engaged in this century,
including the one we are now bringing to an end, we have fought not for our selfish
advantage, but to help others resist aggression.
揺るぎのなさLet us be proud that by our bold, new initiatives, and by our steadfastness for peace withhonor, we have made a break-through toward creating in the world what the world has notknown before-- a structure of peace that can last, not merely for our time, but for
generations to come.
乗り出すWe are embarking here today on an era that presents challenges great as those any nation,or any generation, has ever faced.
We shall answer to God, to history, and to our conscience for the way in which we use theseyears.
神聖なAs I stand in this place, so hallowed by history, I think of others who have stood here
before me. I think of the dreams they had for America, and I think of how each recognizedthat he needed help far beyond himself

in order to make those dreams come true.

Today, I ask your prayers that in the years ahead I may have God's help in making decisions
that are right for America, and I pray for your help so that together we may be worthy of ourVSecond Inaugural Address
challenge.
Let us pledge together to make these next four years the best four years in America's history,
so that on its 200th birthday America will be as young and as vital as when it began, and as
bright a beacon of hope for all the world.
Let us go forward from here confident in hope, strong in our faith in one another, sustained
奉仕するby our faith in God who created us, and striving always to serve His purpose.

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