Hope, change and continuity

“Change has come to America.”
So reads the White House Web site, which itself changed in the flip of a switch as President Barack Obama was inaugurated.
Change, yes.
And hope.
And eagerness for a new future.

All the themes of the Obama story coalesced on the National Mall Tuesday, in the hearts of a million spectators and in the words of the man they had come to see.
We are a nation built on change — even radical change — filled with people impatient to reinvent themselves. As a nation founded by explorers and fueled by inventors, America thrives on change.

But we also require continuity. Without it, change can be directionless and dangerous.
The passing of power from one president to another is one of our proudest symbols of both change and continuity.
A new regime takes over from the old. But this is not the installation of a new junta in an act of rebellion. (It is well to remember how often power still passes through violence in many parts of the world.) This is a transition of order, accomplished in peace.
The people have spoken, through their votes. Change is accomplished, through an unchanged political process.

In a different context, Mr. Obama noted in his inaugural speech that we are still a young country. Our democratic experiment is still unfolding.
But there are certain truths that must stand immovable at the center of our system or else we sacrifice the freedoms that define our democracy.
Free enterprise, freedom of speech and of religion, the protection of law are as fundamental to the American democracy as is our freedom to choose our next leader.
But as enamored as we are of change, we must not blindly embrace it. We must ask: Change from what into what? As the country seeks deliverance from a severe economic crisis, we may be unwisely tempted to change too many of our fundamental freedoms in a reaction of fear.

We must also take care not to put too much faith in change alone. The inauguration of a new president will not by itself right the economy and reverse the recession.
Mr. Obama understands this — our challenges “will not be met easily or in a short span of time,” he said on Tuesday.
But he struck the right note of hope when he added, “But they will be met.”
He called for a reaffirmation of the noble foundations of our democracy. He called for hard work and persistence in meeting our problems. He called for unity of purpose among Americans, and an end to petty conflicts and recriminations among politicians.

And in the end he chose to quote George Washington’s exhortation to a young nation: that “when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”
Our nation has desperately sought hope in recent months. Let us now devote ourselves to virtue, the personal and national qualities of character necessary to preserve our freedoms.