We have a place, all of us, in a long story. A story we continue, but whose end we will not see. It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old, a story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom, the story of a power that went into the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer.
George H. W. Bush (1924-2018) American politician, diplomat, US President (1989-1993)
Inaugural Address (20 Jan 1989)
(Source)
I believe the date given for this quote is incorrect, it should be for January of 1989. (The 2001 date would have been the inauguration date for his son, GWB)
Good spot, Mike! Date corrected.