“My fellow Americans…” President Obama began amid cheers and applause. I, alongside my dad, sat in front of our television watching a beloved revolutionary icon the world over say his final words to our nation and the world at large. I keep going back to eight years ago when Obama was elected as the first African American president. I was still in elementary school and this whole politics thing was wild and new and confusing. I grew into my political being under President Obama’s administration and I remember well the backlash, at seemingly every turn, from the Republicans and far right. Enraged by governmental shutdowns and a complete lack of decency in even considering a supreme court nominee, I stewed over the seemingly hypocritical and hateful right.
I know for a fact, that I, a liberal, and President Obama have infuriated the right for years. Each side engages in hypocrisy and finger pointing. Always blame the other side, how dirty and un-American they are. These party lines are so easy to fall into. Trench in, fortify, defend, and never let the other side advance.
President Obama said it best in his Farewell Address, "Regardless of the station we occupy, we have to try harder, to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own."
I want to put that disdain aside for a better and a more unified nation. Yes, we do have our differences. Yes, we often vehemently oppose. Yet, at the end of the day we are all Americans. We each have families and have loving people in our lives.
The first family took every set back and challenge with grace and humility. After every senseless act of violence, Barak Obama took the stage with tears in his eyes. Each honor he bestowed on our fellow citizens was done with the utmost pride and honor. He treated his family with the greatest respect and love. He treated his friends with the same. Like his politics or not, President Obama is a great man and will be a defining part of the 21st century.
His grace and humility aside, what really struck me about his farewell was how much he sounded like a true progressive. He was calling on the people to stand up and take charge. For once, President Obama could say, without political ramifications, what he believed to be fundamentally true. No longer controlled by money or petty political lines, he let loose. He called out to the nation asking us for trust, not in himself, but in our own selves.
I fall into the trap of never seeing change. I think a lot of us do. Change is radically quick, yet at the same time it crawls along at a turtle’s pace. We were able to secure marriage equality, end the recession and rebuild together, and of course implement a major step towards a federal healthcare plan. Yes, these are only baby steps, but every revolution starts that way. Yet, all in all, the power of the citizen far outstrips the power of a world figurehead. When we stood up as a movement and as democrats and as a nation we made change. President Obama did not do all the work for us, he simply paved the way. “For all the real progress we have made, we know it is not enough.” Remember who this progress was meant to be for and who was to orchestrate it. This was never about Obama or democrats or the progressive cause (maybe just a little). Rather Obama’s presidency and his legacy will always be about us, the citizens. Like Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton after him, the grassroots and the millions of confident and powerful American citizens is all this was ever about.
We the people are the power.
We the people are the change.
We the people can assure our own futures.
We the people will safeguard our democracy.
We the people of the United States.
We, that is you and me. That is the Trump supporter and the Sanders supporter. That is every American; rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, Christian and atheist, immigrant and native. America no longer exists, indeed it never did exist, solely for the white man. America always has been a melting pot for all people from all walks of life. Together we can ensure that America will always be the world’s proud and strong melting pot.
There is never a correct time for divisiveness or finger pointing. There is, of course, time to stand for what is right and just. There is always time for this. We must first find this within ourselves (myself included). Once found we can then stand as one and ensure the legacy of Barak Obama and the United States.
“Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Thank you.” And with a raise of his hand President Obama stepped down from the stage heading straight to his family. Yes, an era has now come to a bitter close, but it is not the end of a revolution. Not by a long shot.
