This past weekend, in honor of Barack Obama's inauguration, I experienced a tremendous yearning to listen to the inaugural address of President John F. Kennedy and his famous line, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
Those awe-inspiring words did not initially strike a chord with me, but instead caused me to inquire, rather simply, what President Obama can say on this day that will similarly ignite the passions of Americans. He inherits many problems, including our free-falling economic prospects, two protracted wars abroad and a host of other "minor" issues such as the ongoing battle in the Middle East. I, like many of my peers, anxiously await Obama's first steps to fulfill his promises of change.
But listening to President Kennedy's speech seems to have rightly and roughly awakened me from a passive and pathetic slumber. Certainly Obama's actions over the next few years will shape our country and our world in many ways, and in a greater sense determine the future success or failure of our American democracy. But why must we wait for our president to address the issues of our time? Why must we wait for our president to inspire us? Why must we sit on our couches and wait for the president's change to come?
JFK tried to remind us, "In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course." Yet it seems we have never learned that critical lesson.
Even at the time of Kennedy's speech, people were not ready to embrace his vision of participatory change. He spoke of a grand alliance to "struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself," and asked the people in attendance on Jan. 20th, 1961, "Will you join in that historic effort?" A few seconds passed, and just a handful of cries emerged from the crowd gathered on the Mall. Even those lawmakers and dignitaries seated behind the President appeared unmoved by his question. Eventually a sluggish crescendo of agreement was reached -- but it came too late to note any real sense of engaged action among the crowd.
A similarly lethargic attitude can be felt at this historic moment. Of course the crowd of millions that descended upon Washington today will be boisterous and jubilant, hanging on every word that our new president utters. But this superficial joy extends only from an underlying apathetic idea: that the president alone can effect change. Too many of us are simply optimistic about four years under a leader not named Bush.
The celebration our country experiences today represents a change in leadership, not in popular attitude. Especially among our generation, raised on endless political scandals and the satirical humor of "The Daily Show," this election gave us hope for a new day in politics.
This hope and energy led many a news network to run the generic "Obama energizes the youth vote" story, but only a select few of these young voters see Obama's election as a reason to take it upon themselves to "assure a more fruitful life for all mankind," as Kennedy recommended.
In many ways, President Obama represents the ideal of an active generation emerging from JFK's speech. Born less than seven months after Kennedy's address, Obama has dedicated his life to public service, asking what he can do for his country.
Yet most of our generation, myself included, has shunned this type of devotion to the common good, preferring to sit back and whine about the lack of national, bipartisan progress on issues like energy, global warming and health care.
At some point we have to stand up and take to heart Kennedy's 48-year-old message. He was right when he said, "The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world."
Obama can't light that fire alone.
