Within the lifetime of most people now living,
mankind will celebrate that great new year which comes only once
in a thousand years--the beginning of the third millennium.
What kind of nation we will be, what kind of world we will live
in, whether we shape the future in the image of our hopes, is ours
to determine by our actions and our choices.
The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker.
This honor now beckons America--the chance to help lead the world
at last out of the valley of turmoil, and onto that high ground of
peace that man has dreamed of since the dawn of civilization.
If we succeed, generations to come will say of us now living that
we mastered our moment, that we helped make the world safe for
mankind.
This is our summons to greatness.
I believe the American people are ready to answer this call.
The second third of this century has been a time of proud
achievement. We have made enormous strides in science and industry
and agriculture. We have shared our wealth more broadly than ever.
We have learned at last to manage a modern economy to assure its
continued growth.
We have given freedom new reach, and we have begun to make its
promise real for black as well as for white.
We see the hope of tomorrow in the youth of today.
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