The inauguration of our 44th president is generating the kind of excitement normally reserved for the National Football League playoffs. Here in Miami, the Performing Arts Center is holding a community viewing of the inauguration so that Miamians can experience the event together –– a giant Super Bowl party of sorts, complete with large screen and a catered lunch.

It's a splendid idea, as far as it goes. Still, most of us will be observers of this historical event. We won't be any closer, in distance or in deed, to the taking of the oath of office than we will be to playing for one of the Super Bowl teams that will take the field a couple of Sundays from now.

What happens in an NFL game happens principally to the players and coaches, no matter how involved we may feel as fans. It does not enrich us (unless we bet on the game), and it does not materially affect our lives.

What happens to Barack Obama as he takes the oath of office next Tuesday happens to each of us. As spectators, we are witnesses to the transition of presidential power, with a vested interest in the outcome of the game.

As Americans, the days of seeing the needs of our nation as ''the President's problem'' are over. They need to be. If we are to transcend the troubles we face, all of us must hold the Bible for him as he swears to uphold our Constitution and to protect our nation. We must be his partners in our national enterprise.

For Obama to succeed, his call to national service must be our own. He cannot stand alone to take his oath.

One way to stand with him is by reciting a simple oath of our own. It's called the ''Citizen's Oath,'' and it was authored by former Pennsylvania Sen. Harris Wofford and other prominent Americans convened by the National Conference on Citizenship. The Citizens Oath reminds us of our responsibilities as Americans by asking us to consider our civic duties, even as our new president considers his:

As an American I embrace the responsibilities of self–government.

• I pledge to learn and live the principles set forth in the charters that define our freedoms: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

• I pledge to keep myself informed about the challenges that face our country and world and to work with others to meet those challenges.

• I pledge to assist persons in need and thereby strengthen the bonds among us.

• I pledge to register and vote when I am of age, in every election in which I am eligible.

• I pledge to conduct myself according to the highest standards of civic decency, to foster those standards throughout my community and to expect them of all public officials.

Through these acts, I commit myself to building a more just, humane and ethical nation, for my own and all future generations.

By reciting the Citizen's Oath on Jan. 20, we remind ourselves that a good government starts with self–government and that America is the responsibility of every American.


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Michael Weiser chairs the National Conference on Citizenship, which was chartered by Congress in 1953 to encourage a more active and engaged citizenry.