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On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. All are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. 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 been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
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.
Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift. What free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. 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 the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. That as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself. We seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. 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. 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.
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 required of us now is a new era of responsibility. 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 to future generations.
This is an abridged extract of Barack Obamas inauguration speech given on the 20th January 2009. If brands are to be successful in the 21st century, we believe they need to reflect if not lead the new political landscape. How does your brand fare when put through the Obama filter?
