Men have walked the surface of the moon and soared to new heights of discovery.
This same spirit of discovery is helping us to conquer disease and suffering that have plagued our own planet since the dawn of time.
By working together with the leaders of other nations, we have been able to build a new hope for lasting peace--for a structure of world order in which common interest outweighs old animosities, and in which a new generation of the human family can grow up at peace in a changing world.
At home, we have learned that by working together we can create prosperity without fanning inflation; we can restore order without weakening freedom.
THE CHALLENGES WE FACE
These first years of the 1970s have been good years for America.
Our job--all of us together--is to make 1973 and the years to come even better ones. I believe that we can. I believe that we can make the years leading to our Bicentennial the best four years in American history.
But we must never forget that nothing worthwhile can be achieved without the will to succeed and the strength to sacrifice.
Hard decisions must be made, and we must stick by them.
In the field of foreign policy, we must remember that a strong America--an America whose word is believed and whose strength is respected--is essential to continued peace and understanding in the world. The peace with honor we have achieved in Vietnam has strengthened this basic American credibility. We must act in such a way in coming years that this credibility will remain intact, and with it, the world stability of which it is so indispensable a part.