While the rest of the country is arguing, rioting, and stressing out, I would like to reflect on the last eight years under President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. As a Republican, most people would assume that I see them as the spawn of the devil, but that is not the case. Although I don't agree with some of their policies, I have a lot of respect for their efforts to unite our country and to make our country a better place to live for everyone. And let's face it, President Obama is the coolest president since JFK and VP Biden is an absolute sweetheart.
President Obama has passed a lot of life-changing legislation for countless Americans, but personally, his healthcare reform has impacted my life the most. I have a chronic, pre-existing condition that would have made it hard for me to find health insurance; but thanks to President Obama, health insurance companies cannot turn me away for having a pre-existing condition. He also made it so that I can stay on my parents' insurance plan until I'm 26 years old, which will give me time to save money to pay my own medical bills. This has a profound impact on my life and the life of many other young people with chronic illnesses.
The other major legislation that was passed under Barack Obama's presidency was the Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage. This was an indescribably amazing day for the gay community. It was also a very special day for me and my family. On this day (June 26th, 2015), my cousin (one of my best friends) came out to me and our family. I got very emotional thinking about the fact that I could one day watch as my cousin marries the love of her life, as could many other gay Americans. I know that many gay Americans came out to their families on this day (including my cousin), which had to feel like a weight off of their shoulders. After my cousin came out, she started to seem more like her true self, and much happier than I've ever seen her, which in turn makes me extremely happy too. This would not have been possible without President Obama's hard work and advocacy, and I could not be more grateful to him for this.
VP Joe Biden has also done a lot of work to improve this country. Most notably, his work to end campus sexual assault. 1 in 5 women are sexually attacked in college, and 1 in 16 men suffer the same fate. Although some ignorant people refuse to acknowledge this as a growing problem in this country, VP Biden is not afraid to speak out against this disturbing issue. He has participated in the It's On Us campaign and traveled to numerous college campuses in order to give speeches about the need to stop blaming the victim and to start a discussion about this topic. Even though this is still a serious problem in our country, VP Biden has played a major role in initiating a discussion to create a solution.
Vice President Biden has also advocated to end violence against women. Biden has been trying to end domestic violence since before he even entered the White House. As a senator, he introduced the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which cracked down on repeat sexual predators, reformed the criminal justice system and law enforcement, and provided many different services for victims of domestic violence. Once he became the vice president, he created the position of the first White House advisor on Violence Against Women, which makes it much easier to pass legislation to end/prevent domestic violence and other violence against women.
Not only have the president and vice president impacted the lives of millions of Americans, but they both have awesome personalities. Many people are entertained by their talk show appearances, like when President Obama "slow jammed" the news with Jimmy Fallon or when Joe Biden surprised Ellen for her birthday. And I couldn't talk about these two without mentioning their friendship, which is goals. Basically, President Obama and VP Biden are very down-to-earth, which makes it easy to see them as "one of us."
President Obama and VP Biden have gotten a lot of criticism from the Republican party, so I wanted to highlight some of their accomplishments as they prepare to leave the White House. They have had a profound impact on millions of Americans, and President Obama has provided a lot of hope to the African American community by making history as the first black president. So, for the last time, I'd like to say one thing: Thanks, Obama.
