Obama's Farewell Address

On January 10th, ten days before departing from his office as president, President Obama delivered his farewell address to the United States and the world, in the midst of protest, turmoil, and confusion in this nation. A tradition started by George Washington when he decided not to run for a third term, farewell addresses have traditionally reminded the country of past accomplishments, current events, and future problems and hopes, and advised the people to unite as one against a common enemy. As George Washington said, “The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry.” Obama’s speech was met with strong reactions on both political fronts from protests to crowds chanting for him to lead the nation for “four more years.”

He began by praising the United States and the highlighting the gifts the Founding Fathers gave to the people: freedom, democracy, and “certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” He praised the defenders of these rights: patriots that “[chose] republic over tyranny”, slaves that “[braved] that makeshift railroad to freedom,” immigrants and refugees that “pulled... across oceans and the Rio Grande,” women that “[reached] for the ballot, [and] powered workers to organize,” GIs that “gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan,” and men and women “from Selma to Stonewall [who] were prepared to give theirs as well.”

Praising the way America had progressed through time and the “contentious and sometimes bloody” “work of democracy,” he went on to highlight major events of his own presidency. How America “reverse[d] a great recession,” “reboot[ed] the auto industry,” and created large amounts of jobs; how America first reached out to Cuba in fifty years, “shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot,” and killing Osama Bin Laden; how America “[won] in marriage equality,” and “secure[d] the right to health insurance to another 20 million” citizens. Though no presidency was perfect—even the most accomplished ones carried some fault—Obama has certainly accomplished a lot of good in his eight years as the leader of the free world.

Moving on from the past to the present, Obama cautioned the people of the United States about the dangers of conflict in democracy. Though “our founders quarrelled and compromised,” he reminded the crowds that though ideologies may be different, though that racial and socioeconomic barriers separated us, and that religious walls partition the crowds, the American people were always one, and will always be one. He urged the nation to ensure the “smoothest possible transition” between the two administrations, and advised the nation to be open minded and accepting.

He reminded us of the problems that we are facing and will have to face in the future: “stark inequality,” and that our economy “doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class.” This nation has been faced with many problems in the past, and will face more in the future, and there is no way to fight these problems unless the American people work together. He talked about ISIS, and how it posed a threat to the United States only if the people “betray [the] constitution and [their] principles in the fight.”

Acknowledging people that support him during his presidency, namely Joe Biden, his vice president, his White House staff, and his family: his wife, Michelle Obama, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, Obama ended the speech on an optimistic note, asking his fellow citizens to have hope in the future of the country. These are tumultuous times indeed, and we need every bit of hope we can get.

Jeffrey ‘17