If the president’s actions mirror his words, change is indeed upon us.

President Barack Hussein Obama devoted about half of his inaugural speech this week to domestic issues, half to America’s place in the world. While long on principle and short on practice, the speech reassured us that what will guide Obama along the difficult path ahead is at least in line with the vision our founding fathers held.

Everyone wants the economic crisis to be over, healthcare to become affordable, education to become effective. But Arab Americans and American Muslims listened to the speech with an eye and ear on some special issues.

“As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.”

We hope this means an end to the civil rights abrogations of Arab Americans and American Muslims, to racial profiling, to banks closing accounts for no reason, to families being forced off airplanes, to the FBI suddenly appearing at the doors of innocent citizens.

“And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.”

We hope this means an end to the “might makes right” behavior and the doctrine of preemptive warfare as espoused by the former administration.

We hope this means that America will love the Palestinian as it does the Israeli, that our first president’s warning to favor no nation above another will be heeded by the 44th president with respect to our relationship with Israel.

“For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

We hope this means a gradual changing of the disgraceful national discourse on Islam and Arabs toward one more accurate and objective. With that, we would see a reduction in the number of hate crimes this community currently experiences.

“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

We hope this means Israel will not be rewarded for its occupation and brutal oppression of the Palestinians and will be held responsible for the destruction of over 22,000 homes and the deaths of over 1,300 in Gaza in the three weeks before his inauguration. We hope this means that this country will stand for peace and justice in the Middle East, not aligning itself with the old autocratic regimes, but with the people who yearn for freedom and self-determination.

“We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

We hope this means America will work with Iran to resolve our differences at the negotiating table. And we hope this president recognizes and admits that Israel is perhaps the most dangerous nuclear power on earth, believing as it does that it has “divine right” to the land it has taken from Palestinians.

President Obama has made an excellent start. He has ordered that Guantanamo be closed within a year, putting an end to a very sad chapter in American justice.

And he has appointed former Senator George Mitchell his special envoy to the Middle East. Mitchell is perhaps best known for negotiating a cease-fire and power-sharing agreements between warring Catholic and Protestant factions in Northern Ireland in the late 1990s.

Mitchell is also known for authoring a 2001 report on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that was applauded for its balance and became the basis for later peace initiatives.

In remarks after naming Mitchell, President Obama outlined his vision to “actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace” between Israelis and Palestinians.

Some have bemoaned Obama’s choices for chief of staff and secretary of state — Rahm Emanuel and Hillary Clinton, respectively — as indicative of a pre-existing bias toward Israel. But if the United States is going to engage the parties in the Middle East conflict and enforce their peacemaking, he has to have people Israel will listen to who can also make the case for peace to the Israeli lobby. Choosing Mitchell nicely rounds out the team.

If, indeed, we have interpreted the inaugural speech correctly, Arab Americans will work to help Barack Obama restore America’s image around the world. He will find millions of Arab Americans on his side.