Since becoming President, Barack Obama has received immense criticism compared to previous. However, he has taken action on more issues than a majority of presidents, despite being faced with constant setbacks and hatred.

During his presidency, Obama passed health care reform, became one of the first presidents in many years to actively take part in climate change and helped kick start a clean-energy revolution- something that most politicians put on the back burner. He also actively supports many same-sex couples' rights.

In addition, as opposed to popular belief, he has helped the nation work towards a better economy. What most people seem to forget is that he stepped into office initially with the debt burden and recession that Bush left, which, as happens when it comes to incorrect politics, means that when the economy was not fixed immediately, it was deemed Obama’s fault. However, the unemployment rate fell to five percent (which is the natural rate of unemployment) in 2015, a decrease from the 10 percent unemployment rate in 2009.

Let me be clear. This article is not intended to simply list President Obama’s accomplishments or to try and persuade readers to agree with his viewpoints. I do not agree with some of his stances. I believe that parts of his health care reform were poorly written, and I disagree with many of his foreign policy decisions. The purpose of this article is to address misconceptions, inaccuracies, and the inability to allow a man, who has actively followed his slogan “Change,” to do his job.

My theory for a majority of this rebuttal reflects the concept of the 'Age of Fear.' Sadly, we still live in a nation in which some of the anger and resentment toward the president is fueled by roots of racism and prejudice. For the citizens who do not demonstrate these types of ignorance alone to create unsound arguments against the president, much of the backlash goes back to this seemingly increasing state of paranoia that our nation is under that has led to misinterpretation of almost every thing the president has proposed.

A couple years ago, I wrote in an editorial, “if Obama, or any president for that matter, decides to permanently buckle down on foreign policy, especially after the 2001 calamity, he/she will be blamed for any breaches of security, or the unlikely case of another terrorist attack. So, in order to maintain public support, intervention prolongs.” My statement was in response to the United States’ inexplicably high military spending and constant need to intervene in other countries, even though foreign aid represents only one percent.

And, in reference to the past week in politics concerning gun control, we approach this drawback again. Certain groups of Americans fear that the notion Obama has taken to implement gun reform means that our nation will suddenly fall into a pit of terrorism and crime in which all guns are taken away and that we will have no protection.

One statement during the CNN town meeting on gun control accurately summed up the recent gun reform and is applicable to any type of initiative Obama has taken: “...I think it’s really important for us not to suggest that if we can’t solve every crime, we shouldn’t try to solve any crimes.”

No policy in this nation will be perfect, and no policy will satisfy all groups of people. Even the president knows that there is no foolproof solution to the complicated subject of gun control (and many other problems within our nation). But the point is, he is doing something.

But, as usual, past resentment, lack of education, and fear that exists has spun the issue from the president trying to take action on a very important issue into something that has been misinterpreted, even to the extent that Fox News had no better argument against the proposal than to imply that his crying was a publicity stunt. And this is the country we live in.

We live in a country where people only consider their personal lives when discussing politics instead of thinking about the wellbeing of the nation as a whole. We live in a country where so many facts and statements are misunderstood that the president has to state before addressing the nation, “No matter how many times people try to twist my words around…” before continuing. We live in a country where it is so difficult to get legislation passed that executive action is usually the only way to do anything at this point (despite all of the criticism against it).

Regardless of one's political stance, one should at least acknowledge and appreciate the intentions of President Obama. He is not trying to take away guns. He is not trying to break the law and completely disregard the Constitution. He is not trying to abuse his executive power but simply responding to a system in which drastic measures are necessary to fulfill obligations as a leader. Consider the bigger picture. Whether Obama has taken the correct approaches or not, he did not ignore immigration problems, climate change, the rights of same-sexual couples, education, and many other things that he could have overlooked to preserve his approval ratings, as have many other politicians. That is more than many in Washington can say. Let him do his job.

Facts compiled from CNN.com, thewashingtonpost.com, esquier.com, npr.org and forbes.com