(MinnPost asked several Minnesota leaders and public-policy experts to share their thoughts on Inauguration Day and the Barack Obama presidency. To read more of their responses, click here.)

Aretha's soulful — and creative — rendition of "My Country Tis of Thee" set the tone. Individual souls around the world were touched. Our collective soul as Americans, as world citizens was nourished by the call of the 44th president to rise above division and pettiness and care for each other.

The vision he offered was not merely an airy reference to a bright future based on high ideals, nor an air-brushed, nostalgic view of history. No, he looked full-on at the mixed history of this nation, acknowledged our Civil War, our civil-rights struggles, our failures to live up to foundational ideals. At the same time he reached into the mix of history to pull forth what he identified as timeless American values: honesty, hard work, courage, curiosity, loyalty, patriotism. The current challenges are new, he said. New tools are needed to deal with them, but the values are "old and true."

Focusing on the present, he acknowledged the sober setbacks of recent months and years. "The challenges are real, serious, and many." Yet already, he seemed to say, U.S. citizens are moving toward an "era of responsibility," in which bridges and roads will be rebuilt, schools transformed, science put to better use, new modes of energy developed, and global alliances rebuilt. Pointedly, he emphasized that this is not the work of government alone. Government must do its part and do so effectively, but much is up to citizens. "A spirit of service must inhabit us all" as we carry out our duties to self, nation and world.

In so many words, Barack Obama was reminding us that human souls are nurtured not by self-serving actions and aspirations, not by valuing our own group above others. Rather they are nourished by mutuality, by individual and group achievement that contributes to the common good.

At the Humphrey Institute Tuesday, Cowles Auditorium overflowed with diverse students, staff, faculty and visitors who stood as President Obama took his oath of office, clapped and cheered, and finally sang the national anthem together. The dignitaries gathered on the Capitol steps couldn't hear us. But we could hear each other. For the moment, at least, we glimpsed "a more perfect union."

Barbara Crosby is an associate professor at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.