A President Who Made Me Proud

I’ve experienced a total of 10 Presidents during my 56 years on this planet, some of whom I was too young to remember. But of the ones I can remember, I can’t really say that any of them inspired me to any great extent…well, except for this last one.

Now, does that mean I agree with EVERYTHING he did?

Hardly…

There are many things regarding the Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama that I didn’t like. However, none of them have the slightest thing to do with his birth certificate, his heritage, ethnicity, or the name that his parents chose to bestow upon him.

My objections have more to do with his promising a lot of change and delivering far too little. He was a too neoliberal and not nearly progressive enough for my preferences.

But his farewell speech last night was a great one. He always did give great speeches, you’ve got to give him that.

I particularly liked these lines…

So regardless of the station we occupy; we all have to try harder; we all have 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 just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.

And that’s not easy to do. For too many of us it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods, or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. In the rise of naked partisanship and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste, all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable.

And increasingly we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there.

There’s a great message of inclusivity in those lines. Earlier in this speech, I believe I even heard him use that all too familiar line that I’ve used quite often in this blog…”we’re all in this boat together.”

However, I am afraid that contained within that inspiring rhetoric is an ominous warning for the years to come.

Today I am watching with amazement (as well as amusement) the stark contrast between the President we said goodbye to last night and the reality posed by the one we face today. Donald Trump gave his first press conference. It was nothing less than I expected…in short, “a circus.” But wouldn’t you say that’s a fitting description for most of what surrounds this new President.

The problem, as I see it, is that I could never imagine Donald Trump uttering inspiring lines like those I lifted above from Obama’s farewell speech. I just don’t think Trump has it in him. Trump is a lot of things, but inclusive is not among them. Trump is about Trump. Either you’re for him, and what he stands for, or you’re an enemy. His press conference displayed that truth very well.

Now, I know many just loathe Obama. Many are my friends and acquaintances from my youth, growing up in South and North Carolina. That’s not Obama country! I’ve seen that hatred on display every day in my Facebook feed for the past 8 years.

However, I’m always a bit curious as to why. I’m afraid that all too often that hatred has as much to do with his birth certificate, his heritage, ethnicity, or the name that his parents chose to bestow upon him, as it does with any actual policy disagreement.

And therein lies the legacy of this president…

But, more than anything else, he is and always will be a president who made me proud.