I have confidence that you are going to lead us to a new era of American greatness by refreshing our values of service, generosity, and creativity. Quite frankly, we have had enough of calls to moral rectitude. We are ready to roll up our sleeves, like the "greatest generation" of the past, and respond to a call to service and sacrifice to make our nation, once again, the "shining city on the hill." We have been down before, and yet we have always pulled ourselves up, brushed ourselves off, and worked through rough times to a better place.

We are not a nation suffering from some social or moral pathology; we are not just a nation of consumers, bereft of values; we are not pawns in a large corporate-politico game. We are a people with a vision of equal opportunity and justice; we are a people with a large (and unique) spirit of generosity and caring for our neighbors; we are a people ready to serve our fellow (wo)man and our nation. We do not need our consciousness changed. What we need is leadership. We need you to give us a vision and direction and we will each do what we need to do to work our way through this challenging time. And we are, in our different ways, ready to respond to your lead.

We are encouraged that you are drawing centrist problem solvers into your administration, eschewing an ideological litmus test for your cabinet. We have problems in this country; we need solutions. We do not need those with a fixed vision of what America is or should be, other than to allow the American people the freedom and capacity to decide what America is and should be. What we need are experienced professionals, ready to listen to all proposals, and capable of acting to restore American leadership in the world and enabling us to put ourselves on the path to prosperity.

You and your campaign demonstrated a capability to reconcile contradictions, to harmonize dissonance, and to bridge divides. Listening to a full range of American perspectives as you shape the solutions to American problems is more likely to lead to a shared path all Americans can embrace than adopting the particular perspective of one ideological wing of your party. Solutions driven by ideological rigidity aimed at reshaping our consciousness will lead to partisanship, divisiveness, and failure.

Your decision to bring in your former rivals into your cabinet demonstrates a confidence in your ability to listen to, yet not be gridlocked by, disparate viewpoints. Do not fear to act in the face of dissonance and uncertainty.

America is ready for "change" leadership that is hopeful and optimistic, even as it is pragmatic and realistic. In the face of our most recent national challenge, our president told us to "go shopping." What a missed opportunity! There was no call to service, no call to sacrifice. That was not the leadership we needed or deserved. We need leadership that will call us to our highest values, not our lowest.

I was a child of parents from the "greatest generation." My parents, like most in their generation, endured the Great Depression and responded to the call to fight in World War II. For them, endurance, resilience, and service were the values that drove their response to the circumstances in which they found themselves. And when the depression had passed and the war had ended, my father started a small business and my mother volunteered for service to her community by managing the local symphony orchestra. My father struggled, sometimes failing and sometimes succeeding, but always striving. My mother's efforts sustained a civic organization that lasts to this day. These values of entrepreneurialism and resilience, generosity and community service are the backbone of America and what makes America great.

When I was of age and my nation was at war in the late 1960s, I felt the same impulse as my father to serve my country through military service. And after a career in law and business, I have committed to give back to others less fortunate. This is the spirit of America.

Today, Americans are waiting for a call to service and sacrifice. JFK did so in January 1961, inspiring us to serve our neighbors here and abroad. I believe you can and will do so in January 2009. Again, Americans are ready to respond.

George Vradenburg, who writes the Contrarian column to present a voice that consistently argues against Tikkun's editorial perspective, is, with his wife Trish Vradenburg, the co-publisher of Tikkun and chairman of the board of The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.