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
--born in this century,
tempered by war,
disciplined by a hard and bitter peace,
proud of our ancient heritage--
and unwilling to witness or permit
the slow undoing
of those human rights
to which this nation has always been committed,
and to which we are committed today
at home
and around the world.