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Let the word go forth
from this time and place
to friend and foe alike
that the torch has been passed
to a new generation of Americans
Let every nation know
whether it wishes us well or ill
that we shall pay any price, bear any burden
meet any hardship, support any friend
oppose any foe to assure the survival
and the success of liberty.
Now the trumpet summons us again
not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need
not as a call to battle, though embattled we are
but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle
a struggle against the common enemies of man
tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
In the long history of the world
only a few generations have been granted
the role of defending freedom
in its hour of maximum danger
I do not shrink from this responsibility
I welcome it
The energy, the faith, the devotion
which we bring to this endeavor
will light our country
and all who serve it
and the glow from that fire
can truly light the world
With a good conscience our only sure reward
with history the final judge of our deeds
let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing
and His help, but knowing that here on earth
God's work must truly be our own
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