"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865.
Today is a very significant day in the history of our country. Despite obvious situational differences, Lincoln's words from his 2nd Inaugural Address seem very fitting for today and the promise it holds. Our nation is poised on the threshold of opportunity and optimism. Let's walk through that doorway together as citizens and neighbors.
Good Luck, America, as we do what our new President has asked of us:
"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. ..We understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom...Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America...All this we can do. And all this we will do." President Barack Obama, January 20, 2009.
Now, let's go and be the doers, the risk-takers and the makers of things. We all have a stake in this chapter of our nation.
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