I've never been more hopeful about our future I've never been more hopeful about America And I ask you to sustain that hope I'm not talking about blind optimism The kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead Or the road blocks that stand in our path I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us To just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists Despite all the evidence to the contrary That something better awaits us So long we have the courage to keep reaching To keep working To keep fighting I believe that we can keep the promise of our founding The idea that if you are willing to work hard It doesn't matter who you are Or where you come from Or what you look like Or where you love It doesn't matter whether you are black or white Or Hispanic or Asian Or Native American Or young or old Or rich or poor Abled, disabled Gay or straight You can make it here in America I believe we can seize this future together Because we are not as divided as our politics suggests We're not as cynical as the pundits believe We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions And we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states We are, and forever will be, the United States of America And together with your help and God's grace We will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is That we live in the greatest nation on earth Thank you, America