Ode to Obama

Though I did not know what it really meant, I had always heard the word “president” during the holidays when I listened to the adults of my family chatting in angered voices about topics I did not understand. I may have heard it in my years of kindergarten and first grade, but only once or twice. It was only when 2008 rolled around that I kept hearing of this impending “election,” or when one teacher paraded around school wearing her dangling red, white and blue elephant earrings, that I began to get a sense of what our government meant.To me, an African-American man and a white woman were nothing more than normal candidates. To my parents, they seemed an immensely bigger phenomenon. On Nov. 8, 2008, I went with my parents to vote. My mom gave me her “I Voted” sticker and I wore it around school like some of the other kids who liked to pretend they voted just like I did. However, they too did not know what a big deal it had just been for many of our parents to vote for an African American presidential candidate. That night, there was a large crowd of my friends and their parents gathered at my house to watch the election returns. My parents invited mainly families from my class to come watch, and all of the kids still did not really know what was going on - or care for that matter. While our parents stood in our living room biting their nails and pacing and staring nervously at the TV, all of the kids were crammed in a room watching Finding Nemo or The Aristocats, oblivious to the change that was being made. After the votes were counted and it was decided, one parent came bursting into our room. “Kids, we have just elected the first black president of the United States: Barack Obama!” she said. Naturally, in response to her happiness we all cheered, and followed her into the living room where Obama was giving his acceptance speech. I remember vaguely a few people crying in the room. Watching him speaking that night at his headquarters in Chicago was the first time the idea of race became clearer to my naïve mind. Prior to that moment I only had a vague idea of race in general; when I was young, my classmates all seemed more similar to me than different. Race was never something that I used to differentiate between my friends. However, that night, as I saw some of my mother’s friends with happy tears in their eyes, I began to understand what it meant for someone who looked a lot different than the rest to something that no one like him had ever done before. I do not remember George W. Bush as my president; I only remember Barack Obama. I am lucky; my generation is lucky. We are lucky to have grown up knowing only him as the commander in chief. Not to mention, he has done quite a few memorable things for our country: (to name a few) he gave over twenty million access to healthcare, ended Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program, secured U.S. commitment to a powerful global agreement on climate change, “eliminated” Osama bin Laden, established diplomatic relations with Cuba that had been severed for 56 years, strengthened the civil rights division in the Department of Justice, cut veteran homelessness in half, improved school nutrition (with the leadership of Michelle) and mandated 4.5 billion in spending toward higher nutritional standards for school lunches, reaffirmed protection for LGBTQ from employment discrimination, constantly supported the fight for same-sex marriages before it was legalized nationally, and created over fifteen million new jobs since the recession in 2009, sending the unemployment rate downward from a high of 10% in 2009 to 4.6% as of 2016. We can acknowledge hundreds accomplishments of Obama, and these were just a few that stood out to me. In addition to accomplishing so much politically despite strong opposition in the house and the senate, Obama became a person the whole county could admire. He lead our country so gracefully. He also made it evident that he was just as good of a father as he was a president. Despite being the most powerful man in the world, he revealed this  vulnerable side of himself to the public. This sensitivity made him seem personable, relatable, and humane. He was a man who cared about inclusivity and cared greatly about the lives of young people. He was outspoken without fear in supporting those of the LGBTQ community. He was gentle and tender and was not afraid to let his true emotions be shown, even when it meant crying in a public setting with the country watching. He wholly mastered and perfected the art of public speaking. I have heard many people of my family say that he was one of the best public speakers of all presidents in their lifetimes. His ability to engage with thousands of people at a time while still being professional and presidential allowed him to personally connect with everyone who watched him speak. He was deliberate and direct, but also moving and compelling. For example, I believe he reached his presidential peak when he spoke at the funeral for the seven killed in a church shooting in Charleston. After speaking so movingly that it seemed that he was preaching, he started to sing. He ended a sentence with the words “amazing grace” and then proceeded to sing the song as the whole congregation joined him. He also was a president who brought humor to the table unlike former presidents. The notion of presidential humor has always been that of a cheap knock-knock joke, but Obama brought a different kind of funny to the White House. While agreeing with the president’s policy is important, people also feel more secure when they actually like him. He brought the kind that infused quirky, dry humor with attention to pop-culture and was not afraid to refer to viral memes and fads of our generation. He will be remembered greatly for his successes with his White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues and his involvement in televised comedy and talk shows; he has become known lightly as “The Late Night Comedy President.” His goofy and witty humor and his efforts to entertain and crack up an audience will carry with him in his legacy. As hard as it is to believe that Obama is no longer the president, this election was beneficial in that it helped me appreciate our former president for who he was. I feel that at certain points, we were so used to having him that we took him for granted. This past election made me realize how lucky we were to have a president like him and how lucky I was to grow up with him as my role model. There is no doubt that he was flawed. He made some big mistakes, without question. But he was there for our country at its low points, and even at his own low points, he held his head high and always looked forward to a solution. He entered office at the most difficult financial periods in the 21st century, during the housing market crash in 2008. Despite national despair, he was optimistic and  He made himself into not only a role model for the younger generation, but a role model for all Americans. His elegance and decency was prevalent in the way he lead our country, but also in the way he presented himself as a human being. He encompassed arguably so much of what our society believes is a good person. He was rare; he was smart, cunning, compassionate, and kind. We have been very lucky. I can say that I have lived through his presidency with pride and admiration throughout. Seeing the effect he made on other people made me realize how big of an effect he had on me. His grace throughout so much unjust criticism as well as blatantly racist questioning of his qualifications taught me how taking the high road, even when difficult, is prudent. He taught me that when facing social injustice, mental strength not just an expectation, but a necessity.To me, his leave means the loss of a very big role model. I looked up to him always with so much respect and admiration. I have always aspired to be someone who can attack such complicated issues with so much calm and morale. From the moment I knew who he was, I wanted to be just like him, and it is because of this that I feel that he has had such a big role in my life. Growing up with him as my president made it easier to believe that I had just as much of a chance as everyone else did to do something big in the world. That is not something my parents can say, so for that, my generation and I are extremely lucky. Seeing him in front of the presidential seal for eight long years was a metaphor telling me that the world really is my oyster. Thank you, Barack Obama.