Last August I began working with Ohio Together, a grassroots branch of the Hillary Clinton campaign at The Ohio State University. I have never been more proud of my effort and contribution to a cause in my life. When the news broke about Secretary Clinton's loss, I was crushed. I learned an important lesson that day: placing your hard work and passion into a cause will never guarantee success. Such is the reality of life, yet such is the true essence of the American Dream. This notion is counter-intuitive at best, but let me explain.
Today, November 8, 2017, marks one-year since the election of President Donald J. Trump. By chance, I stumbled upon a video of President Obama's election night speech in 2008. Yes, we can: the theme of the President elect's speech, and the perfectly captured spirit of America. Yes, we can. No, hard work will not always guarantee victory. No, passion does not entitle someone to anything. Nonetheless, never give up. I learned on election night last year that we cannot always win in this life. At some point, we will all suffer defeat, incur failure. There can be no doubt of this. However, there is hope.
American history is essentially a centuries-long chronicle of overcoming defeat by coming together, pursuing justice, and fighting the good fight. I cannot in good conscience say that all President Trump has done has been bad, but regardless of your status as a winner or loser on election night, it cannot be denied that the United States has a long way to go. We have seen worse. We have overcome worse. We are better for it. Just in the last 150 years, the United States has terribly unpopular Presidents of both parties, overcome the wicked institution of slavery and reunited the nation, fought against and defeated Nazi tyranny, survived the threat of Soviet nuclear extinction, brought down the Berlin wall, and recovered from some of the hardest economic times in modern world history.
Is the United States currently divided? Yes. Does racial inequality still prevail? Yes. Do white supremacist and Nazi sentiments still swirl around in some corners of society? Yes. Do countries still threaten the national security of the United States? Yes. Does the United States still face imperfect economic times? Yes. Here's the good news: we've been through all of this before, and we've always won.
Has the United States overcome troubling times in the past? Yes, we have. Can the United States overcome these current times of uncertainty? Yes, we can. Will the United States overcome hardships in the future? Yes, we will. The United States will certainly experience failures throughout the rest of its history. The United States will certainly never be perfect. No, hard work will not guarantee continuous, unbreakable perfection in life, but this will never be an excuse for apathy.
There is uncertainty behind hard work, but it is never wasted. When we work hard and fail, we are able to learn and grow. It then becomes a matter of personal responsibility to apply that same knowledge to work hard and work smart in the future. When hard work fails and when hard times come, we are given the opportunity to work to overcome. We can move forward.
We will always be the greatest nation in the world because we never give up when our best effort fails. That is the American dream; this is the only nation where failure provides an opportunity to bounce back better than before: this is the land of hope and dreams. The United States is faced with several ominous difficulties looming ahead, but that will always be the case.
America, Yes We Can. America, We Shall Overcome.