On January 10, 2017, President Obama said goodbye to the nation and The White House when he gave his farewell address in front of millions. It was only fitting for him to give his address in Chicago, the town that started his career as a community organizer and in the state of Illinois in which he started his political career. In his speech, he talked about progress, unity and democracy. Here are a few highlights.
Our Democracy is Being Tested “There have been moments throughout our history that threatened our solidarity. And the beginning of this century has been one of those times.” With growing inequality, shifts in demographics and the plight of terrorism, it’s been hard to remember that our country is about democracy -- where everyone has a voice and deserves a fair chance. This quote seems to highlight how divisive our country is recently on many topics and issues, and it’s great that Obama brought this to our attention. Progress is Hard Because our country has become so divided, progress has been uneven. “For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.” See below for a list of issues that have progressed in our country during Obama’s tenure. But Our Country Pulled Through In his speech, Obama outlined the progress our country has made as a whole in the past eight years. Our country’s progress has definitely been tested, especially since some issues received backlash. No matter how much backlash the issues received or how some steps forward resulted in steps back, our country has pulled through the toughness of it all. If Obama had told us eight years ago that America would…
So, what’s the major theme of Obama’s address? It’s all about unity and progress. In his final remarks, Obama encouraged us to come together to overcome challenges to believe. “Yes, we can. Yes, we did.” Leave a Reply. |
AuthorCarlos Sierra: “Severely” Independent. Country before Party. Former John McCain aide. Former Buddy Roemer National Campaign Manager. Anti-Sheriff Arpaio Committee Campaign Manager. President of Sierra Public Affairs and Partner of Renegade Public Affairs. Former CNN and POLITICO contributor. Co-Founder of The Reform Project. El Paso, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona. Archives
January 2017
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