Obama and the Old Truths

I was extraordinarily heartened by these words that the 44th President of the United States spoke at his inaugural today:

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.

What is demanded then is a return to these truths."

I suspect that I will disagree with Obama on many specific policy prescriptions, just as I disagreed with George Bush. However, Obama is completely right that hard work, honesty, courage, fair play, tolerance, curiosity, and loyalty are the bedrock of civil society and progress. I really do wish that he would have included risk taking and the entrepreneurial spirit among his virtues.