Organizing for America | The Responsible Leader Group LLC: “You’ve come for the wedding, now stay for the marriage.”

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“You’ve come for the wedding, now stay for the marriage.”

By Andrea from Kirkland, WA - Jan 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 pm EST

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Tags: ethics, integrity, Leadership, responsible

“You’ve come for the wedding, now stay for the marriage.” Father Miles O’Brien Riley

On Tuesday, I watched with a renewed sense of hope and excitement the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States. While each Presidential Inauguration represents an important moment in our nation’s history what struck me at this time was the especially exuberant levels of energy arising out of our citizens. I couldn’t help but get the feeling, like those who gathered in Washington DC and around the country, a keen sense of optimism.

At the same time, I was reminded of a meaningful phrase that was communicated to the guests at my wedding, “You’ve come for the wedding, now stay for the marriage.” Our priest, Father Miles O’Brien Riley went on to advise our guests that while it is important to celebrate and take joy in the moment, the long term success of our marriage included the support and participation of our guests — our family and our friends — to help foster our commitment to each other and our marriage, in good times and bad.

I find this advice is fitting today for us as a nation. We have many challenges ahead, many of which are quite daunting to imagine. No single individual, political party or institution can alone make our country strong. Rather, it will take each one of us to do our share and take responsibility for our country’s success. It is a privilege to live in the United States. While some of us haven’t always felt proud of our past, we can certainly influence and shape our future. If we want it to be better, let’s make it that way. In addition to looking to the leaders before us, we need to look inward and ask ourselves what is our responsibility in making this country great. Instead of always looking to others to solve our problems, how can we, each day, do our part?

How can we do this you ask? We can begin by staying involved in our government. By voicing our standards for a better nation. We can take part and lead in our communities, schools, churches and places of employment. It is we who embody these institutions. We need to work to put aside our differences and seek common ground. We need to open our hearts and our minds by talking less and listening more. No matter what our role, we need to become better examples for each other. We all contribute to the success of our country and the new administration going forward.

America, we came for the wedding, now let’s stay for the marriage.

Andrea Spudich
The Responsible Leader Group, LLC

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