In that moment, their view from the moon moved poet Archibald
MacLeish to write:
"To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in
that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as
riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness
in the eternal cold--brothers who know now they are truly
brothers."
In that moment of surpassing technological triumph, men turned
their thoughts toward home and humanity--seeing in that far
perspective that man's destiny on earth is not divisible; telling
us that however far we reach into the cosmos, our destiny lies not
in the stars but on Earth itself, in our own hands, in our own
hearts.
We have endured a long night of the American spirit. But as our
eyes catch the dimness of the first rays of dawn, let us not curse
the remaining dark. Let us gather the light.
Our destiny offers, not the cup of despair, but the chalice of
opportunity. So let us seize it, not in fear, but in gladness--
and, "riders on the earth together," let us go forward, firm in
our faith, steadfast in our purpose, cautious of the dangers; but
sustained by our confidence in the will of God and the promise of
man.
INAUGURAL ADDRESSES OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES
Richard Milhous Nixon
SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS
SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1973
***
The election of 1972 consolidated the gains that the President had
made with the electorate in 1968.
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