Today's was the first presidential inauguration that I've watched. It was significant for me because it marked a new chapter. I have my doubts about the government and am skeptical about the incoming administration, just like I was the last one. But I will give it a chance, just like I did the last one. Platitudes were offered today--it is our responsibility as citizens to hold our leaders accountable to them. That is how we can begin this new chapter together, in unity: to remember not just our rights as American citizens, but our responsibilities in governing ourselves. We have much work to do. Let today be an awakening of our obligation to each other, an acceptance of the burden of living in a free, just, and equal society. That burden is a continuous road of difficulty and uncertainty.

Our democracy is never assured; it must be protected and acted upon with each successive generation. Hopefully, we can not only maintain it but strengthen it. Our attention is now focused upon the state of the country, its problems and opportunities. Will we forget tomorrow? Will we turn away from the political reality next month, next year? It is up to each of us to find a sustainable way to individually participate in our democracy, however that may be for each one of us.

What kind of nation do we want? What kind of world do we want to build? It starts now, and it continues tomorrow, next week, next term...for the rest of our lives. Do we accept that responsibility? Will we choose to rise to the occasion, to forever form a more perfect union, so that our children enjoy a world better than our own? Let today mark the inauguration of an informed, active citizenry that engages in the tumultuous process of democratic governance. Today is our inauguration. What will we do tomorrow?