In the spirit of the fourth of July, I would like to take this moment to thank one of the people who best represents the spirit of patriotism in America — Barack Obama.
I'm not being sarcastic when I say this, but I believe Obama has been one of the best presidents of the United States. Call me young and naive, please. But his policies have largely advocated for the freedoms of all walks of people (from women, to religion, to LGBTQ), peace between them, economic fairness and job growth and environmental protections. Of course he did not achieve all of his goals, mostly because of his huge opposition. I just don't understand why. The goals he is reaching for are good ones, pure in intentions.
I could go on, but I don't want to sound like a spokesperson. Instead, I want to show you a bunch of cool stuff that he's done and said....like, hip cool. Not the kind of cool Hillary could achieve.
Yes, he actually said that during the White House Correspondent dinner's speech this past year. He's actually a really sassy president, if you think about it, but in a clean, humorous way. He's a little dorky too.
Look at that silly handshake between the North American leaders. Maybe they're all dorky, but our President is one of them. Maybe he's a dork, but he's our dork.
I mean, look at this guy. He's hilarious, making fun of the "Thanks, Obama" trope that blasted the internet, blaming the guy for everything from the price of beer to the Senate decisions. But he does other cool stuff too. I mean, look: he rode a skateboard into the Nuclear Security Summit in South Korea.
I love the jokes that he tells and light-hearted humor he brings to the presidency. I don't like it because it's cool or hip, though it's certainly refreshingly cool. I like it because you need to add some comedic relief to such a serious and all-consuming job. I like it because it makes Obama seem less like an all-consuming figure-head and more like an actual person, one of the citizens he's representing. That's what the office, what any office on Capitol Hill was meant to be — a citizen representing us all.
It's why it was so important when he was elected both times. A black man representing one of the most powerful nations in the world. Why many clamor for Hillary Clinton, so a woman can represent (on a personal side note, while I want a woman to represent us, I don't think Hillary is the right one).
Not only this, but his family is representative of us as well. The First Family always is this. The Obama family —Michelle, Malia and Natasha — have been scandal free, wholesome and loving. Michelle advocates for healthy lifestyles and his daughters are respectful, pleasant, and hard workers in school.
Not only this, but Obama is very serious when he needs to be. The President is expected to make addresses to the nation whenever something big or ominous happens.
That's a brutally honest statement. Too many times does a President have to step up and address tragedy, and it's important that he calls for changes to prevent it. How many more times will our President have to do this? Maybe we can lessen it.
I guess as Obama leaves the presidency, I want to impress on everyone what a huge decision looms in front of us. Voting matters. It affects everything we do, what people say, ripples that spread into interactions with different people. Who we vote for represents us, and I know a lot of Americans feel trapped. Trump, who cannot keep to anything he says, or Hillary, who just isn't transparent enough for us to trust her as a representative? There's been plenty of articles written on both accounts.
Just remember the last eight years. Did things improve? I think they did until the hype of the election came up, throwing everything into uncertainty. Nothing's perfect, and bad things happen, but I think it was okay. I kind of wish I had been eighteen to vote for Obama both times...being 13 in 2008 and 17 in 2012. But let me say this for you Mr. Obama, as you've already done:
