Can 'firsts' in politics be inspiring?

Most readers of this blog seem politically in tune and were likely engrossed by some of aspect of this past November’s elections, the results of which were ‘enacted’ this past week. Still, the reality is that the majority of Americans do not vote and according to comments I hear from people who don’t exercise this right are usually along the lines of ‘if things are going OK for me why I should bother’ or ‘what I think or vote doesn’t really matter’.

None the less, the major shift in power in Washington with a Democratically controlled Congress and Senate as well as in the Governor's office in our capitol in Ohio, has several firsts that make for interesting observation and cause for reflection. Nancy Pelosi is one of 87 women in the US Congress with 71 of them in the House of Representative. She is the first woman ever to be the Speaker of the House. At a time when the number of women in the Ohio legislature is down to 23, the lowest it has been since 1992, Pelosi’s position can be a bright light at the national level for young women who may be interested in politics.

Another contemporary ‘first’ of Pelosi in the House is rookie Congressman Keith Ellison, the Democrat from Minnesota, who happens to be the first Muslim elected to Congress. Ellison, an African-American who can trace his roots in America to 1742, created some hoopla when he indicated he would take his ceremonial oath into Congress with his hand on the Quran, the holy book of Muslims. Though he certainly was not the first Congressman to take his oath on something other than the Bible, and despite the fact this was not the official swearing in where no scripture is used, it brought about animosity from certain talk shows and even one of his fellow Congressman, Rep Goode of Virginia. Ellison stayed his ground in his low key dignified way. Interestingly, he used a Quran from the Library of Congress that belonged to Thomas Jefferson and was a 1764 English copy that was part of Jefferson's original library. With minority religions not new and some interesting religious diversity in Congress, I hope this "much ado," contrasted with the down to earth views of Rep. Ellison , does not deter other minorities from serving this nation.

So can any of these firsts inspire more people to vote or encourage our brightest and hardest working young people to pursue the life of public service in the future? What, if anything, will you do to encourage that?