I was only trying to be nice...

I really need to start writing more...but I'm not a writer so don't push me.



This blog has turned into me just relasing information about people that do me wrong. This time, I guess I was the heartbreaker. I didn't mean to turn him on. I had him at "hello."



This story begins about 7 years ago. My sister and I celebrate our birthdays during the same month so we decided to do something advertureous and take a cruise. We traveled to the Keys, Cozumel, and Belize. It was a wonderful time! I need to do it about 5 more times before I die. Being the self proclaimed PIMPOLICIOUS DIVA that I am, I snagged a cruise boyfriend by the second day. Or did he snag me? Either way, he and I spent time together when my sister didn't want to do any of the things that I wanted to do. I was smaller than I am now, young...and my flyness was booooooooming!



On the last day of the cruise I guess I had given him all my information to contact me after we got off the boat. Well I quit my job, changed cell phone numbers and I thought I would never hear from him again. It was cool with me...I had started doing other things when I got back to Michigan. Then the invention of FACE.BOOK, and damn if that email still worked. He found me. He asked me if I remembered him, and of course I did. A whole lot has changed since departing from the boat. He had lived in the Bahamas and the North Pole, but he still considered FL home. I had moved to NC and now a tad bit closer to him, in proximity, than before.



I must have made an impression and I got that good-good because Dude really wanted to see me. That was pretty much all he talked about. I wanna come see you, you should really try to come see me. He even tried the guilt trip on me by saying that I visit everyone except him. I was like, Dude its a graduation party for my neice. Whatever. I should have told him that I didn't want to see him then, but I didnt. Shame on me. It was fun on the boat, but off the boat; I wasn't really interested.

He traveled all this way to see me, and instead of having something cooked by the time he arrived, I wanted to go out to eat. Oh, and not to eat in the city, but in another city all together. I don't believe that this brother would get back on the road for another hour just to appease me. Yes, The Cheesecake Factory is only in selected cities. Not to mention, in my head, I was pissed because they sat us outside!!!! OUTSIDE, where other people can see us!!!! D*&%
His conversation was wack! out of this world wack, or maybe I just didn't want to look at him. Whatever the case I kept my mind on something else. When nighttime came and he wanted to make sexytime, I ended up giving him my bed and getting on the couch and making phone calls to other men I know. I drifted off to sleep until morning when he told me he was about to leave. I said okay, signed him out of my building, changed my sheets and went back to sleep.


I had a discussion with the brother I never wanted in STL. I told him the story of what happened to me over the weekend. He basically called me out telling me that I date the same kind of dude over and over again. He told me that I was attracted to the AL.PHA male. Not the fraternity of Alpha.Phi.Alpha, but the characteristics of a dominate male. To see a comprehensive list of the characteristics of an al.pha male click here

I thought that this may be true, but I wasn't ready to admit it. After all, I like men. Plain and simple. I never thought of these characteristics until they were introduced to me. My intial thought was men came in all shapes and sizes but the bottom line is that they all have a penis. No, thats not entirely true since, there are some standards not a lot, but some.

I think I'm going to keep my preference but I gotta change it up a bit.

The Beginning of a Good Love Story

This would be the great beginning of a love story if somebody acted right.


He was a man in which I had many firsts. He was the first to to nasty naughty things that I like so much. He introduced me to the intoxicating sounds of
neo-soul in the music and CD of Joe - Everything. That was the prequel to Maxwell. He told me he liked hoop earrings, and from then on it became my staple accessory. He was the first to captivate every sense of my being. Verbal: Never before had I created and exchanged a special language with a man, where he could decode the meaning. Visual: Eye contact was seductive. Hearing: His baritone voice could calm me down, or take me to climax. Touch: When he hugged me, he held the small of my back and squeezed. The embrace protected me and I felt whole Taste: Oh so sweet, Yes he was the first for that as well. He held my hand as I entered my womanhood. I was only 19. We met as I was taking my math credits at a nearby community college rather than the university that I attended. He attended the same university yet I'd never seen him on campus. He had his own apartment, and his own snazzy Sidekick. I liked the independence that he owned, it was what I was yearning to achieve.

Together we became friends. For a little over a year and a half He spoiled me by being at my beck and call at any moments notice. He took me off of campus when I didn't want the cafeterias menu for dinner. He had cool friends. He was friendly to my friends, but I kept his attention. I made him laugh, reminding him that I was the funniest chick he would ever know. I was confident, conceited, and sassy. One day those traits became too much for him and he said he couldn't do it anymore. It didn't matter to me at the time because he was replaceable. In my mind there were more to be conquered. I was on a college campus, I was coming into my own and men were noticing. He never made a commitment, he just played the role.

Fast forward to about six months later: The attention that I craved from the black males on campus became lackluster. The whole game was obvious, and the chase became meaningless. He was one of a kind. I was tired of playing games. He ran across my mind way too many times until I decided to get him back. I contacted him, even in my cocky demeanor I told him what I wanted and what I wanted was him. I told him I would be good for him and so the games began. Still no real commitment, we held each others hand and played the role. This time with no direction. Where he led, I followed.


Fast forward an additional two months. He was someones daddy, and he told me "There would never be a (insert his name) & Sheletha" My insecurity of worthlessness began to bubble and brew. I pushed the hurt deep down and went on with my life. That one quote ran in my head back and forth millions of times feeding that insecurity as I failed in real time with different men until I became numb. He's not to blame, its just is what it is.

Fast forward 13 years: My life has changed drastically. The man that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt loved me unconditionally was now gone. I was armored with carrying his love legacy I'm stronger, wiser, better. So much better. I'm in a new state, new challenges, new fears. Its WMU's homecoming and I had to go home. The whole city was vibing with FACEBOOK connecting alumni for this meet and greet. It was great and within the next few hours I would be flying back to another reality. First, it was time to have some mother/daughter time, I'm sure she may have felt neglected during the short weekend back in the city. We stopped at the bank before some retail therapy (I get it honestly) and I see a gentleman that I recognize from my past but wasn't at the homecoming festivities. When I stopped him to say hello (I had acclimated to that southern charm) he quickly hung up from his cell phone conversation.

Me: I remember your face, but I'm sorry I can't remember your name. (That's pretty much how many of the conversations that weekend started)
Him: Yeah, I remember you too. Oh yeah you were _________ girl!
Me: Uh, I guess. How you doing?
Him: Great, just great. What are you doing now?
Me: I live in NC, working just doing my thang, yanno?
Him: What? (then he laughs) Yeah yanno ya boy lives in NC too, over there by Duke!

At this point my mother walks out of the bank, looks at him up and down and proceeds to the car. (I'm finally giggling about that!)

Me: Oh my Duke University? That's about 45 minutes away from me.
Him: Yeah, I sold him his car and the next day he drove there. He was supposed to get married a couple of months ago, but I got a call that it was called off. I'm not sure why, but yeah I was supposed to be in the wedding.
Me: Squo?
Him: Fa'Sho, yeah so are you married?
Me: Nahhh. Im not the marrying type.
Him: What does that mean? You wanna talk to ya boy? Im going to call him. He's going to get a kick outta me seeing you today.
Me: Nahh I don't wanna talk to him. Im good.
Him: Come on, Im going to call him right now.
Me: Im good. He doesn't want to talk to me anyway. He told me there would never be a _____________ & Sheletha. So Im just going to let that be. Im good, seriously.
Him: Awwww you can't hold that against him, we were young and stupid back then. We live and learn. Gimme your number.
Me: NO.
Him: Why?
Me: NO because you are going to give it to him and I don't wanna talk to him.
Him: C'mon!
My mom: Let's go!
Me. NO
Him: Okay, but I wanna keep in touch with you. You were always so sweet and cool.
Me: Uhhh, I know what you are going to do and I already don't like it XXX-XXX-XXXX

Fast forward 10 hours: My plane lands in RDU Im struggling to catch my bag because I packed to much and its moving too fast on the turnstile. My phone rings to the BOONDOCKS THEME SONG.

Married but Looking

Whats the difference between a hoe and a bitch?

A hoe fucks everybody, a bitch fucks everybody but you. ~Fear of a Black Hat.

Crazy Dudes must BEWARE...if you do -ish to mess with me you will get blogged about. Almost all of it is blog worthy. Case in point:

Making friends in a new city is kinda tough, especially when you are over 30. Imagine walking up to someone asking them "Will you be my friend?" then racing to the sandbox. It doesn't work that way. Furthermore, its not the same as going through the thick and thicker with someone and seeing them at their worst. Things like that make friendships develop into something more than a reason and a season.

There was this guy that I met that seemed to be cool. He was an educator and we really had some good conversations. In one of our conversations I found out he was a married man that didn't wear a ring. He gave me some round about reason on how it got lost and the only thing that I could think was "Damn, if I was his wife I would be really pissed." None of this fazed him in the slightest. He was very upfront about how he was happily married with two small children. I took a page from Steve Harvey (a book I never read, just listened to his radio show) and set boundaries quickly so that there wouldn't be any confusion. In the effort to be real clear I told him exactly what I wanted in him as a friend.

1. I wanted to be introduced to other friends both male and female.

2. I wanted more conversations like we were having both captivating and stimulating.

3. If needed, a possible ride to airport.

4. A dinner companion.

Nothing really too demanding just enough to satisfy male/female interaction. Notice no sex was going to be involved. Purely platonic. This was going to be a challenge for me because I haven't had a friend like this since Jason in college. He was great, and my prototype for a mature friendship.

Dude couldn't handle it, by the fourth month he was trying to make his move into the panties. I told him over and over again that he was in violation of the "contract." No longer was it understood that sex would not be involved between us. I told him that I could show him better than I could tell him. It made our interactions very uncomfortable. Each time he would try, I would say no. When he would call past midnight I would not answer the phone. I actually set his ring tone to "If your girl only knew" by Aaliyah. He started to take it personally as if I was rejecting him. I was attracted to him, but not with his marital status. He was off limits.

I'm not totally innocent either. One of the guys that he introduced me to was waaaay incredibly sexy...I couldn't/didn't resist, so when the opportunity presented itself I sprang into action. This guy was single and was getting ready to move to another city. One time...that's all I needed. I'm sure he told of the escapade. Dudes talk like that. They love gossip just like women.

Anyway, he came over one night and everything started as pleasant conversation and I was elated because this is how it was in the beginning. I must have thought that too soon because as the time ticked on he started to make his move again into the panties. This moved us into another conversation where in essence he thought I was full of shit for having some damn standards. He started coming at me with the bullshit of his own insecurities. That if he lied to me and tried to run some game the whole situation would be different. I told him all this was because he was MARRIED! nothing more, nothing less. I would hate to be the woman on the other side of infidelity and damn I'm not going to play the bytch on the side. What good is that??? How many times has he told me that he's happily married? Why would any woman want to mess that up? He doesn't understand me and I don't understand why he doesn't understand me. He thought he was going to be my "dick under glass." He thought he was going to be the one where in case of emergency of extream horniness, that he would be the first one I call. I believe there is enough single Mr. Right-Now to go around if I wanted one. Why do I have to be full of shit because I know my value and respect the institute of marriage? I involuntarily played that game in my twenties...and when you are grown and know better you tend to try to do better. That's one thing I know for sure.

He ended up telling me that he's going to fall back. He made the effort to have a platonic friend, but he couldn't do it because he was a promiscuous person. That's how he's been before and after marriage. He wasn't going to change that and he no longer was interested in putting me in a precarious situation. I still think that he thinks that I'm full of it...it could be because of his homeboy and I and I got my eye on another. :)

Random Thoughts on a Recycled Dick

He's a clusterfuck of words, deeds and actions. I like using that word particularly because of its suffix.

I am a bunch of wound up emotions, ready to burst or be buried. I try to not let the past "relationships" ruin current "relationships" but what happens when the past is the current? We have come full circle, and now at a stand still. I just want two stories to be the same, if not then what is the truth? If I can't figure out the truth then where is the trust? If there is no trust, is it really love?

Why must you ask me to pray for you and sometimes for us, when you can't see the blessing come to harvest before your eyes? When the instructions for divine direction is manifested and you blatently dismiss them, I feel as if my prayer is in vain. I already have a hard enough time dealing with my own obedience with God. You just messed it up for everyone. LOL, I laugh but my heart hurts because of it.

Cons~
Smokes
No Swag
Inconsistent
lies (?)

Pros ~
He loves me beyond my insecurities

Short list for now, but I'm sure both sides will grow. The "loves me beyond my insecurities" is big in my world. Its big because I got a lot of them, and it really doesn't bother him. I don't know of any other man that would still be around when I flip out or shrink into myself, so I'm free to be Sheletha. He loves me in spite of that. I'm trying to get him to listen to me and hear what I say because those insecurities are always present somewhere in my conversation, even when I try to suppress it. It could be fear, loneliness, failure, being unworthy or not good enough. I'm so used to being **** then left alone, I'm not sure how to handle myself in a grown up "relationship." Yet, he works with me on that.

If only...

"Night, you take care of you"
If that isn't the most passive aggressive statement of the universe I don't know what is. It implies more that what is actually being said, and I HATE IT!!! It wouldn't be so bad if it was said at the end of every conversation as we bid adieu. However, it's said at the end of an altercation, situation or fight. So what? are you giving up on me? I never know what it means.

Where do I draw the line? Is this another situation where I hang in there long after I should? Is it going to take me another five years to figure out that this may not be for me?

I am consistent in my beliefs and passions to a great extent. But I really don't believe that I'm oh so predictable. Does that even make sense? In my head it does.

If you are going to bring up old $hit, make sure that it is relevant to current events. "I don't want to see that Notre Dame shirt and khakis" refers to us having our relatively first night on the town. "You smell" refers to cigarette smoke and liquor. If you have been moving for the past two days neither one of those comments that I made in the past apply. Try again with a different point and comeback. I know I sure will.

"I'm not going to put in the effort to nurture a relationship"

Ahhh, I see clearly now. All these months rekindling something that would never come to fruition. I understand now. Maybe you were right all those years ago. All these months when you were looking at me crazily when I came through as being supportive, selfless, your sounding board, your flippin bank saving you from any additional financial hardships even when I was trying to keep my own at bay. I was the only one in the "relationship." I was the only one that thought that this was going to be for the long run. I was the only one thinking that there would be a return on the investment.

Every storm that you are going through right now is because you are too lazy. It could be as trivial as growing facial hair (every black man besides Maxwell needs facial hair) or major like quitting smoking. Don't tell me that you are weaning yourself away from it when you smoke just as much as you did two months ago. Thats a cop-out. You go to the doctor to get checked up and you still have food with your salt. You told her that she got you both into this mess with a mortgage it will be her that will get you out. But when she starts bustin a move, you get all bent out of shape because you ain't ready. Ya just lazy! I don't need a lazy lover anyway.

I'm sorry that I couldn't be more supporting when she cleaned you out of your home. I knew it was coming (I've been through this part before), I told you to look out (any woman would believe that she has a right to everything and will show no mercy), I gave you enough warning (you thought you knew women better than I did). It didn't come when we both initially thought but eventually it did. I didn't say "I told you so," but it was evident that you didn't believe me. You didn't have to go through that, but yet you didn't do anything to stop it.

Silly of me to think that I truly mattered. It's clear to me that you are resting on the laurels of fate, rather than pursuing a good thing. I mean actually trying, actually giving a fuck. But that's okay, you have fooled me enough times to know that that I'm through with the boolshyt. I love you enough to let go. I know you are not going to be stuck in your situation for very long, I can see you already rising above it. I regret that I won't be around to visit you in the Promised Land of Redemption.

No, we can't be friends. I don't need anymore friends. I thought you were different, I thought you would eventually would be my husband. When those thoughts are already set why settle for less? When I actually put these words to paper (err, web) the cons already out weighed the pros so why should I stick around?

Bad Habits....Still In a MAXWELL kind of mood

He is a bad habit, but I'm not talking about Maxwell. I'm talking about a real bad habit in my life that Maxwell was singing about. When he calls I get excited but I don't understand why he's thinking about me. He's unavailable. unattainable. I can't have him because he already belongs to someone else. I don't want hers, I want my own. Meanwhile, hes calling me for only God knows what. Who am I kidding? I know what. I'm just as much as his bad habit as he is mine. Truthfully we have tried to set boundaries, they didn't work.

This is the highest cost

Take you and make you off

Love you and leave you lost

Will you forgive me?

If I just had a few more weeks maybe everything would have been different. Had I not moved when I did, he could have had a friend in me. Someone he could hang with and have pleasant conversation. He wouldn't be in such a foul mood about his environment. A mutual friend tried to tell me about him. When we finally did connect I was amazed that we were in the same proximity and neither one of us knew the other existed. The irony of it all. When the connection finally came, it was on the evening when I moved away via an instant message. We talked and laughed and began feeling each other out. We finally met face to face and the chemistry was clear. It was going to go down. It's okay because by the following week I was going to be back in my own misery far, far away.

But he should not have kissed me. He should not have kissed me in a way that made the orgasm be mistaken for love. Kissing is too intimate. His kiss created a false sense of security and even though I knew better, even though I consider myself a fairly intelligent woman that moment inside the flesh was carried with me to North Carolina and remains to this day.

Lady when we lock it low (ah, ah)

We get together its an overdose

I'm slippin, I'm here, I'm on my knees

I feel my heart's about to explode

Now the whole situation has changed. Pseudo boundaries create an awkward interaction. Insatiable curiosity creates passion because of the distance between us. Guilt is left behind when the door is closed. Conversations are filled with angry words that penetrates deep within my soul. I'm sensitive and gentle yet he deliberately poisons my thoughts to hate him and simultaneously gives me the antidote to want him even more. A vicious cycle of pushing and pulling. I come back like a battered woman thinking that this time won't be as bad as the last time.

You got me, you got me

Slippin around with it

Around with it, oh why?

You got me sick with this love, baby

I'm so, I'm so in love I can't come down

Nothing good could ever come of this situation.

Will you forgive me?

Maxwell - New Music - More Music Videos

I miss you too!

Yeah, I've been gone for a while now. Trust me I've had a lot to say, but just refused to start blogging. IM SORRY...can you forgive me??? Speaking of "forgive me" I've seen MAXWELL three times in the last 10 months. I'm totally MAXXED OUT. I told myself that I wouldn't go to another concert until the SUMMER cd comes out in 2010. <>> We will see how that goes. I'll hollah at you all soon, I have more time on my hands now...I'll create the opportunity to catch my bloggers up.

1/20/2009

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.