As the man faced his fellow Democrats, he insisted, "Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."

It was 1936, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt was accepting his party's nomination to run for a second term as president. The Great Depression weighed heavily on the minds and hearts of Americans, and FDR uttered one of his most enduring lines:

"To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."

The current recession, if indeed there is one, cannot compare to the Depression of the 1930s, but Roosevelt's words ring today with clarity and relevance. This is, in part, because we are faced with complicated economic issues of global import that befuddle even economists. We also must deal, in a time of tight federal, state and local budgets, with the danger of further postponing our fiscal obligations to fix what long has been broken.

This is as clear in the commonwealth as it is nationally. Gov. Deval Patrick, in his recent State of the State speech, warned of what he called "the cost of inaction," as he made a case for spending on early education, investment in life sciences, aid to municipalities and repair of our infrastructure.

On that last item alone, he said, "Failure to maintain our roads, rails and bridges has left us with a $15-$20 billion tab over the next 20 years. The cost of inaction is too high."

Patrick has been rightly criticized for including in his budget anticipated revenues based on casino licenses that may not be awarded and corporate tax loopholes that may or may not be closed. House Speaker Sal DiMasi opposes both.

To his credit, Patrick is fighting for both proposals. He cleverly has enlisted union support for casinos because building and operating them means jobs, jobs, jobs. He has offered a carrot to corporations in the form of reduced corporate taxes.

People also have questioned whether and how the governor should propose new expenditures when recession looms.

But with or without a recession, our local, state and national governments too often seem unwilling or unable to sufficiently address lingering problems that grow worse over time. Be it on behalf of kids who never get that crucial early education, or underground water and sewer pipes that are allowed to rot, Americans respond with indifference, at best, and resistance, at worst.

If for nothing else, give the governor credit for appealing to our better nature. For 16 years of Republican rule on Beacon Hill, we heard little of that. What emanated too often from the corner office of the Statehouse was an assault on the institution of government. The less government, the better, they and their appointees argued.

So it was, for example, that the potential for state officials riding herd on the Big Dig private contractors went by the boards, and disaster ensued. So it was that crucial expenditures for human service workers, community policing, rental subsidies and parks and recreation were cut.

For those who believe in the simplistic hogwash that government is the problem while the private sector is nirvana, there is a suggestion: If you do not believe in the institution of government, then don't run for public office.

It is, then, a pleasant turn of events that whatever criticism he may engender, the current governor believes in what government can and must do for all of us.

"There is a whole generation watching and waiting," Patrick said in his address, "like some tonight perhaps, to see whether we see our stake in their future and will act on that. I say let them look to us, to you and to me, and let us affirm their hope for tomorrow in the actions we take today."

The line may not rival a "rendezvous with destiny," but it's something for both the governor and the Legislature to keep in mind as they struggle this year to address some of what has been too long neglected in our commonwealth.

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Alan Lupo, a veteran Boston columnist who appears regularly on these pages, can be reached at alupo@comcast.net.