Bill Clinton's Inaugural Address

(translated to Ebonics)
Mah fellow citizens, today we celebrate de  mystery o' American renewal.
Dis ceremony be held in de depth o' winta', but by de words we speak
and de faces we show de world, we force de sprin'. A sprin' reborn in
de world's oldest democracy, dat brings forth de vision and courage
t' reinvent America. When our foundahs boldly declared America's independence
t' de world, and our purposes t' de Almighty, dey knowed dat America,
t' endure, would gots t' change. Not change fo' change sake, but change
t' preserve America's ideals, dig dis: life, liberty, de pursuit o' happiness.
Dough we march t' de music o' our time, our mission be timeless.
Each generashun o' American's must define whut it means t' be an American.
On behalf o' our nashun, Ah salute mah predecesso', Super-dude Bush, fo' his
half-century o' service t' America. And Ah dank de millions o' dudes
and honky chicks whose steadfastness and sacrifice triumphed ova' depression,
and communism.
Today, some generashun raised in de shadows o' de Cold War assumes new
responsibilities in some world warmed by de sunshine o' freedom, but threatened
still by ancient hatreds and new plagues. Raised in unrivalled prosperity,
we inherit an economy dat be still de world's strongest, but be weakened by
business failures, stagnant wages, increasin' inequality, and deep divisions
among OUR OWN suckas.
When George Washington fust took de oath Ah gots plum sworn t' uphold, news
travelled slowly across de land by horseback, and across de ocean by boat.
Now de sights and sounds o' dis ceremony be broadcast instantaneously t'
billions around de world. Communications and commerce be global.
Investment be mobile. Technology be mos' magical, and ambishun fo'
some betta' life be now universal.
We earn our livelihood in America today in peaceful competishun wid suckas
all across de Earth. Profound and powerful forces be shakin' and remakin'
our world, and de URGENT quesshun o' our time be whetha' we kin make change
our friend and not our enemy. Ya' know? Dis new world gots'ta already enriched de lives
o' MILLIONS o' Americans who be able t' compete and win in it. But when
most suckas be workin' harda' fo' less, when others cannot work at all,
when de cost o' health care devastates families and threatens t' bankrupt
our enterprises, great and small; when de fear o' crime robs law abidin'
citizens o' deir freedom; and when millions o' poo' children cannot
even imagine de lives we be callin' dem t' lead, we gots not made
change our friend.
We know we gots t' face hard truths and snatch strong steps,
but we gots not done so's. Instead we gots drifted, and dat
driftin' gots'ta eroded our resources, fractured our economy,
and shaken our confidence.Dough our challenges be fearsome,
so's be our strengths. Americans gots eva' been some restless, questin',
hopeful suckas, and we must brin' t' our task today de vision
and gots'ta o' dose who came before us. Fum our Revolushun t' de
Civil War, t' de Great Depression, t' de Civil Rights movement,
our suckas gots always mustered de determinashun t' construct fum
dese crises de pillars o' our history. Ya' know? Domas Jefferson believed
dat t' preserve de real foundations o' our nashun we would need
dramatic change fum time t' time. Well, mah fellow Americans,
dis be OUR time. Let us embrace it.
Our democracy must be not only de envy o' de world but de engine o'
our OWN renewal. Dere be nothin' WRONG wid America dat cannot be cured
by whut be RIGHT wid America.
And so's today we pledge an end t' de era o' deadlock and drift,
and some new season o' American renewal gots'ta begun.
T' renew America we must be bold. We must do whut no generashun
gots'ta had t' do before. We must invest more in our own suckas,
in deir jobs, and in deir future, and at de same time cut
our massive debt. . .and we must do so's in some world in which
we must compete fo' every opportunity. Ya' know? It gots'ta not be easy. Ya' know?
It gots'ta require sacrifice, but it kin be done, and done fairly. Ya' know?
Not choosin' sacrifice fo' its own sake, but fo' OUR own sake.
We must provide fo' our nashun de way some family provides fo' its
children. Our founders saw demselves in de light o' posterity. Ya' know?
We kin do no less. Anyone who gots'ta eva' watched some child's eyes
wanda' into sleep knows whut posterity be. Posterity be de world
t' mosey on down, de world fo' whom we hold our ideals, fum whom we gots
borrowed our planet, and t' whom we bear sacred responsibilities.
We must do whut America duz best, offa' more opportunity TO all
and demand more responsibility FROM all.
It be time t' break de bad habit o' 'spectin' sump'n fo' nothing, dig dis:
fum our guvment, o' fum each otha'. Let us all snatch more
responsibility, not only fo' ourselves and our families, but fo' our
communities and our country. Ya' know? T' renew America we must revitalize
our democracy. Ya' know? Dis beautiful capitol, likes every capitol since
de dawn o' civilizashun, be often some place o' intrigue and calculashun.
Powerful suckas maneuva' fo' posishun and worry endlessly about who be
IN and who be OUT, who be UP and who be DOWN, forgettin' dose suckas
whose toil and sweat sends us here and paves our way. Ya' know?
Americans deserve betta', and in dis city today dere be suckas
who wants t' do betta', and so's Ah say t' all o' ya' here, let us resolve
t' reform our politics, so's dat powa' and privilege no longa' shout down
de voice o' de suckas. Let us put aside personal advantage, so's dat we
kin feel de pain and see de promise o' America. Let us resolve t' make
our guvment some place fo' whut Franklin Roosevelt called "bold, persistent
'sperimentashun, some guvment fo' our tomorrows, not our yesterdays."
Let us give dis capitol back t' de suckas t' whom it belongs.
T' renew America we must meet challenges abroad, as well as at plantation.
Dere be no longa' some clear division between whut be foreign and whut be
domestic. De world economy, de world environment, de world AIDS crisis,
de world arms race, dig dis: dey affect us all. Today as an old orda' passes, de new
world be more free, but less stable. Sheeeiit. Communism's collapse gots'ta called forth old
animosities, and new dangers. Clearly, America must continue t' lead de world
we dun did so's much t' make. Sheeeiit. While America rebuilds at plantation, we gots'ta not shrink
fum de challenges no' fail t' seize de opportunities o' dis new world.
Togetha' wid our friends and allies, we gots'ta work togetha' t' shape change,
lest it engulf us. When our vital interests be challenged, o' de gots'ta and
conscience o' de international community be defied, we gots'ta act; wid peaceful
diplomacy wheneva' possible, wid force when necessary. Ya' know? De brave Americans
servin' our nashun today in de Persian Gulf, in Somalia, and whereva' else
dey stand, be testament t' our resolve, but our greatest strength be de
powa' o' our ideas, which be still new in many lands. Across de world,
we see dem embraced and we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands,
be wid dose on every continent, who be buildin' democracy and freedom.
Deir cause be America's cause. De American suckas gots summoned de change
we celebrate today. Ya' know? Ya' gots raised yo' voices in an unmistakable chorus,
ya' gots cast yo' votes in historic numbers, ya' gots changed de face o'
congress, de presidency, and de political process itself. Yes, YOU, mah
fellow Americans, gots forced de sprin'. Now WE must do de work de
season demands. T' dat work Ah now turn wid ALL de authority o' mah office.
Ah ax de congress t' join wid me; but no super-dude, no congress,
no guvment kin undertake THIS mission alone. Sheeeiit.
Mah fellow Americans, ya', too, must play yo' part in our renewal.
Ah challenge some new generashun o' YOUNG Americans t' some season o' service,
t' act on yo' idealism, by helpin' troubled children, keepin' company
wid dose in need, reconnectin' our torn communities. Dere be so's much
t' be done. Enough, indeed, fo' millions o' others who be still young
in spirit, t' give o' demselves in service, too. In servin' we recognize
some simple, but powerful, truth, dig dis: we need each otha', and we must care fo'
one anotha'. Today we do more dan celebrate America, we rededicate
ourselves t' de real idea o' America, an idea born in revolushun,
and renewed through two centuries o' challenge, an idea tempered by
de knowledge dat but fo' fate, we, de fortunate and de unfortunate,
might gots been each otha'; an idea ennobled by de faith dat our nashun
kin summon fum its myriad diversity, de deepest measure o' unity;
an idea infused wid de convicshun dat America's journey long, heroic
journey must go foreva' upward.
And so's, mah fellow Americans, as we stand at de edge o' de 21st Century,
let us begin anew, wid energy and hope, wid faith and discipline,
and let us work until our work be done. De Scripture says, dig dis: "And let us
not be weary in well-doin', fo' in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Fum dis joyful mountaintop o' celebrashun we hear some call t' service in
de valley. Ya' know? We gots heard de trumpets, we gots changed de guard,
and now each in our own way, and wid God's help, we must answa' de call.
Dank ya', and God bless ya' all.
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