In 2008 America elected a man whose very presence in the oval office meant an astounding, though not total, victory against hatred and oppression. Barack Obama is himself a symbol of hope. But now, after two terms of America's first black president, the nation is faced with a president-elect who evokes the antithesis of hope and of peace. The 2016 election results are a stark and vivid reminder that while some strides have been made in the direction of peace and equity in the past 8 years we have not achieved a post-racial society. However: as valid and important as the fear, anger, and pain so many Americans are feeling is, nothing can take away the fact that Barack Obama, a black man, made history and held office for 8 years.
During his farewell address, President Obama spoke to and of his hometown of Chicago. "It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss," he said of his beginnings there. "This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it."
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Change has been the platform from which President Obama has inspired so many. He has risen above challenges time and time again as a champion of the people. In late January of 2009 he signed his first piece of legislation: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This set a precedent and became the first of many ways he supported women, families, and the working class. Just one month later, he signed a stimulus bill which, among many other things, made for $212 billion in tax cuts, saved and created more than 1.6 million jobs, and funded a 145% increase in the generation of wind-energy.
Years later, in 2012, President Obama was reelected. With income inequality between the working class and the 1% at a record high for recent years, Obama shifted his platform to focus more critically on aiding the middle class. Though times were, and continue to be, troubling in many ways. No one man can solve all the problems of a nation. President Obama did a great deal for the country and continues to do so even as his time in the oval office draws near its close. Looking back, we are fortunate to have a president under whom marriage equality was made nationally legal, a president who worked for women's rights, and one who worked for the underprivileged and oppressed.
These past 8 years we have been, as a nation, fortunate in our leadership. And so -- for everything-- thank you, Obama.
