A Chance to See History

I just received some great news today - when I opened my email today there was a new message from the office of Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas entitled "IMPORTANT: Inauguration Ceremony Tickets." On November 5th, the day after Barack Obama's historic election as president of the United States, I quickly called the offices of several representatives in Indiana (where I go to school) and Kansas (where my parents live). They all put me on waiting lists and told me that I would be contacted later with further information. I got that information today, when Sen. Brownback's office told me that they would be granting me three tickets to the presidential inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2009.

Eight years ago, I was able to go to the first inauguration of George Bush. While that ceremony was memorable, especially due to the controversy and closeness of Bush's win over Al Gore in 2000, the inauguration of Barack Obama is sure to be a much more historic event. In the past eight years, George Bush saw his approval ratings fall to abysmal levels, and it has become quite evident that a majority of Americans are unsatisfied with the direction of government is leading our country. During the presidential campaign leading up to the 2008 elections, Barack Obama committed to bringing the change to Washington that Americans are looking for. By going to his inauguration in January I hope to not only see the beginning of this change, but also to commit myself to keeping Obama accountable for this promise.

It is clear that the election of Barack Obama is a signal of change. He is the first African-American ever elected President of the United States, and even his name is a signal of something new. While on the campaign trail he made many promises to change various aspects of our federal government. It is too early to tell yet, but we will soon see if he is able to implement that change, or whether he really pushes for that change as he promised. On January 20 I am looking forward to hearing Obama first address to the people of the United States as president, and hear what his plans are for our country.

However, I know that it is up to the people of our country to hold President-elect Obama and the rest of our government accountable. It is up to us to pay attention to what our leaders, especially our president, are telling us. At the same time, we must take the time to let our leaders know what our thoughts are. If there are issues that I really care about that are not being talked about in government, I will not hesitate to send letters to my representatives. Hopefully they will be as responsive as they were with the tickets to the inauguration.

No matter what happens after Barack Obama's inauguration, January 20 will be a very memorable day. Millions of visitors are expected to visit our nation's capitol for the event and I am thrilled to be one of those visitors. I am also privileged to be one of the lucky visitors to receive tickets that will get me to one of the closer spectator areas. It will surely be a great experience, and hopefully the beginning to a successful presidency.

(Action #2 Get Political)