The addresses are separated by three asterisks: ***
Dates of addresses by George H.W. Bush in this eBook:
January 31, 1990
January 29, 1991
January 28, 1992
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State of the Union Address
George H.W. Bush
January 31, 1990
Tonight, I come not to speak about the "State of the Government", not todetail every new initiative we plan for the coming year, nor describe everyline in the budget. I'm here to speak to you and to the American peopleabout the State of the Union about our world, the changes we've seen, thechallenges we face. And what that means for America.
There are singular moments in history, dates that divide all that goesbefore from all that comes after. And many of us in this chamber have livedmuch of our lives in a world whose fundamental features were defined in1945. And the events of that year decreed the shape of nations, the pace ofprogress, freedom or oppression for millions of people around the world.
Nineteen Forty-Five provided the common frame of reference the compasspoints of the postwar era we've relied upon to understand ourselves. Andthat was our world until now. The events of the year just ended, theRevolution of '89, have been a chain reaction, changes so striking that itmarks the beginning of a new era in the world's affairs.
Think back think back just twelve short months ago to the world we knew as1989 began.
One year, one year ago the people of Panama lived in fear under the thumbof a dictator. Today democracy is restored. Panama is free.
"Operation Just Cause" has achieved its objective. And the number ofmilitary personel in Panama is now very close to what it was before theoperation began. And tonight I am announcing that before the end ofFebruary the additional numbers of American troops, the brave men and womenof our armed forces who made this mission a success, will be back home.
A year ago in Poland, Lech Walesa declared he was ready to open a dialoguewith the Communist rulers of that country. And today, with the future of afree Poland in their own hands, members of Solidarity lead the Polishgovernment.
And a year ago, freedom's playwright, Vaclav Havel, languished as aprisoner in Prague. And today it's Vaclav Havel, President ofCzechoslovakia.
And one year ago Erich Honecker of East Germany claimed history as hisguide. He predicted the Berlin Wall would last another hundred years. Andtoday, less than one year later, it's the wall that's history.
Remarkable events, remarkable events, events that fulfill the long-heldhopes of the American people. Events that validate the longstanding goalsof American policy, a policy based upon a single shining principle: thecause of freedom.
America, not just the nation, but an idea alive in the minds of the people,everywhere. As this new world takes shape, America stands at the center ofa widening circle of freedom, today, tomorrow and into the next century.
Our nation is the enduring dream of every immigrant who ever set foot onthese shores, and the millions still struggling to be free. This nation,this idea called America was and always will be a new world, our newworld.
At a workers' rally in a place called Branik on the outskirts of Prague theidea called America is alive. A worker, dressed in grimy overalls, rises tospeak at the factory gates. And he begins his speech to his fellow citizenswith these words, w