Zach Litif
Inauguration Theme

"Community," say many contributors to the craziness in the capitol, "it's not political, were just coming together." While many people line the streets and at 4 am on Tuesday morning the public viewers fill in the free section, awaiting history, sharpshooters line across the White House and 10,000 Coast Guards and 8,000 policemen fill the city.

On the other hand, Obama is succeeding in bringing together the "community" and enriching the culture. With celebrity speakers, famous music acts, and live news coverage all over, the public joining in the activities representing the entire country and most of the world.
Today, I spent most of my day exploring the National Art Museum, and conversing with other students attending the Smithsonian Tour. The atmosphere in DC is absolutely breath taking though. The impressive sense of community reminds myself of the immediate months after the attack of 9/11. Although the 9/11 attacks were very solomn, the idea of community was reborn.

"Hope" is the common slogan and the cause of the renewed sense of community.

An elderly white Republican woman from Minnesota as well as an elderly black Democratic man joined me at a street side vender and shared a short conversation with each other. Before the moment none of us had ever met, and although we were all from different backgrounds and political beliefs, we put aside our differences and enjoyed becoming acquainted with one another. The truth of the matter is, "community" and "culture" are engulfing DC, spreading like wildfire through the rest of the nation Tuesday
January 20th at 12 pm.

"History in the making," "Hope," and "Culture" bring together this renewed sense of community. No we are not at Woodstock, and no we are not VIP's, but we're here and like apostles, we are to deliver and induce this new sense of community at "Home."