I recorded this video in appreciation of the President I spent a year of 16 hour days working for in 2008 - 2009. It was a personal thank you to a man who’s job I believe should be measured by simply the class and kindness he brought to the office of the President. If nothing else, he made the world a much more hospitable place to live in.
I, of course, expected some negativity, but nothing like I got today. I’m not even going to regurgitate the racist and disgusting words of the group that sent me a message, but I feel like I should probably just sum up some of the points in the video succinctly.
If you go to the YouTube link, I sourced all my statements with at least one article that was well sourced as well. This is more of a summary, because clearly some people have no interest in doing that much research.
Now, if you’re thinking, “Wow, there’s not all that much negativity in the comments section of the video,” you’re right. But that’s only because I think a classy President doesn’t deserve to go to that video and see a bunch of classless comments. Any racism, trolling, and arm chair blogger vomit (everyone’s favourite line, it seems) has been deleted.
Now, here’s the summary.
Introduction
Yes We Can, 3 such simple words, Spoken by millions, From Wall Street to the suburbs.
Here, I am articulating that his Presidency was won by appealing to many groups in America, and not just black voters, or youth voters, as some have claimed.
8 years ago, We rallied for a man, Got hope from his passion, And trusted in his plans. It was November 4th, 2008, Grant Park in Chicago, Where he met his fate. Oprah cried, And yes, so did I. After all that work, We felt especially alive.
I worked the 2008 campaign, and was at Grant Park. I’m speaking of the team that got behind Obama here.
This man promised us change, Promised of great resolution. He promised succinct answers, And absolute solutions.
I’m simply an echo chamber with this statement. This is what we were offered during his campaign.
He asked of us to unite, Ignore past stereotypes, Stand up and fight, To do what is right.
I feel a point many of us forget is that Obama said from day one, that he couldn’t do this without everyone being involved. He asked the US to set aside petty differences, so that the job could get done. That happened to a degree, but not as much as anyone on his team would have liked. The people failed in this regard.
We cheered him on, We road the wave, Then he took the house, And started the change. But what did he do with his time, You may ask. The world doesn’t seem better, 8 years after taking the task.
Here, I’m talking about the fact that he did the job, but after 8 years, there’s so much negativity, many don’t feel like anything is better.
Divide seems all consuming, There’s still wars we’re pursuing, Police violence is looming. Debt is blooming, Do you feel like we’re losing? Like perhaps we’ve taking a bruising? Did Obama fail, Or are we caught up in confusion?
It’s easy to get lost in a sea of negativity, if that’s where you place your focus. That’s what opposing candidates want. They don’t want you to measure Obama by his successes, because then you’d like the man they have to tear down, as the system dictates this approach.
His Accomplishments
If your heart isn’t filled with hate, If tolerance is a word you define, Then don’t let propaganda lead you blind. His success is measured through acts of good, For me at least, And for you it too should.
I’m articulating the fact that I believe, even if you’re not so sure about his trade, or immigration, or other policies, that his time in office can be measured by how much healing he brought to the world, and how he was able to take marginalized groups and make them whole (or at least start the process).
If your son is gay, He can now live free, Get married to his love, And pursue his dreams.
Simply, he made life much better for the LGBTQ community.
If your mom is sick, She can afford to survive. Her meds are cheaper, Her care is not longer deprived.
This is the most controversial part of my video. People are pissed! So, let me clear the air. Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, that is now being repealed gave health insurance to millions upon millions of people that couldn’t get it before. The most notable of those people are those with pre-existing conditions. But that’s not where people think I’m lying. It’s in the “meds are cheaper” line. It seems the consensus is that meds are more expensive. Yep, you’re right, but you’re not examining the line or the sourcing of it. Meds are more expensive, but not because of Obamacare. It’s because medicine is continually evolving and with each evolution the price goes up. These days, a lot of meds are seeing quarterly evolution. There’s also a greed factor. Look at the epipen debate. A manufacturer just jacked up the price because they could. No reasoning; they just want to be richer. Cut through the noise though, and you’ll see that third-party independent report after report show that meds would be much more expensive without Obamacare. To put this in relatable terms; remember the first plasma TV? It was 28″ and cost $48,000. Now you can buy a 65″ plasma for $300. But there’s LED, and curved TVs with 8k resolution that cost what that plasma did. But hey, don’t take my word for it … you just have to wait a bit for Obamacare to be blown up, and you’ll see. “Her meds are cheaper,” is actually accurate.
Science is progress, And no longer blocked. If you need stem cells, You’ve got it, Because of Barack.
Dubya outlawed progressive science like stem cell research and implementation. Obama killed that legislation. Now go and look up the science. It’s remarkable. If you aren’t religious, stem cells are absolutely the way to cheaper healthcare, and more cures for you and your family.
Does your friend have a limitation, Mental or physical? For the first time ever, They are seen legally as equals.
Obama passed countless bills to make life better for those with disabilities.
Don’t even get me started, On how he’s saved your wallet. Stimulus with accountability, And jobs to follow it. Provisions to stop the greedy elite, From charging you more, Arbitrarily. Measured cuts in nasty taxes, So you can afford a better life, And so too can the masses.
The second most contentious piece of my video. Look, the economy is never going to be 100%, holy shit amazing. No economy is. However, by working with the public and private sector, there are more jobs, and there are fewer people starving. His stimulus came with conditions, unlike Dubya’s. He cut taxes in measured places so people could afford Obamacare if they budgeted properly. But, he can only do so much. If you have 6 kids, smoke, drink, and refuse to better your life, then he can’t better your life either. It’s that simple. You need to hold yourself accountable, and then you can be integrated into the system. Just please, go take a look at all the executive orders and bills he passed to make your life easier financially. It’s seriously staggering.
Your planet, The one thing keeping you alive, Is healthier today, Despite all the lies.
“97%” of scientists say climate change is largely influenced by humans. The Paris Accord and other efforts brought us closer to halting that. Now, when I say largely, I mean over 50% of the problem is us. That’s a huge number. That’s a larger percentage of people than those that voted for Trump. If the crime stats in your community said 50% of the crime was caused by people not leaving their lights on at night, what would you do?
Fallen soldiers get the homecoming they deserve. Veterans have more support. Imagine the nerve.
POTUS made it so families could be at Dover Air Force Base when fallen soldiers were returned home. That’s respect. He also made it so that media could attend (which he took a lot of shit for) despite his reasoning, “People seeing this, puts a real genuine human emotion on war.” In regards to veterans, please do your research. More bills and executive orders for vets than any other President. He would have done more, but … well, you know.
From Colorado to Washington state, Pot is emerging because of Obama’s mandates.
Obama knew fighting the war on, the war on drugs would not be won at a Federal level, so he cut some red tape to make it possible for the States to legalize. Do you think it’s a coincidence that under Obama, 29 states have legalized some sort of marijuana use. NOTE: I’m not 100% sure that all 29 states legalized under Obama, but I do know that 0 legalized under Bush.
Pell grants, and making lender subsidies illegal, Allow more kids into college, check it, it’s real.
College should be free, but with a population like the US, that won’t happen overnight. More executive orders and bills from Obama made college affordable for some in the US.
And if that was all we could say of his legacy, He would be a positive force representing humanity. There’s more, go ahead, take a look. Educate yourself and see what it took. A divided government in constant dead heat. Obama still did more than most for you and me.
I’m just echoing my thoughts throughout the video. He did good. Real good. Tangible good.
Conspiracies Debunked
But of course there’s those voices in the crowd. Shouting conspiracies, and fuck are they loud. They take to Facebook comments like destructive comets, Spewing arm chair blogger vomit.
Go online, and take a look. The longest, more insult laden comments are coming from those that oppose Obama. They end debates with comments like “I feel sorry for you”. It’s a gross side of humanity.
I saw that Obama is actually satin. If you can believe that I guess Beck was using the right bait then. Rush, Chomsky, Matthews, they said the end was near, But stronger we stand, after these 8 years.
The worst of the worst; the fear mongrels. Give me a break.
Did he trample on your liberty? Did he take your guns? Did he allow Jihadists to block out the sun? Did this man ever force you to read the Quran? Did he reenact the draft? Were his scandals amassed? Did he take your gold? Did he force a 3rd term as proposed? Where were the large scale terror attacks? Where are the FEMA concentration camps? Did Obama block Trump? Did he raise your price at the pump? Did unemployment skyrocket? Did the stock market plummet? Did you lose your freedom … Your ability to live free? None of that happened, None of the fear mongering prophecy.
These were just some of the endless conspiracies that people believed from the time Obama ran to the day he left office. None of it came true. Perhaps those people should be evaluating their contributions to humanity, not Obama’s.
Now I’ll admit we’re not where we want to be. Even after 8 years of progressive policy. There’s still war, and lack of total justice, Still hate, and divide that lives amongst us. But what did you expect? Everything to be just all good? That’s a fairytale man, But he did all that he could. Never once did he say that he is the messiah, Despite what you can Google on pages of liars. Sure pot is still illegal in most states. Sure drones are still a contentious debate. And maybe yes, his promises had some flaws, And yes there were moments that were cause for pause. And no he’s not leaving this world perfectly right, But today there’s fewer clouds and the sun is bright.
This is just me admitting that he isn’t God, nor did he ever say he was. He made mistakes, and there was zero chance that he could fix everything. The same people that complain about Obama not doing enough are the same people that gave Republicans control of every other division of government. I say division, because those choices truly created a divide. But what do you want? A guy to come in and change everything? Not going to happen. Never in history has it. You bitch about soldiers dying unnecessarily in war, so they use drones which come with their own ethical questions, but they save soldiers lives with less boots on the ground. Yes, there are flaws, but you can even find little nicks and crooked lines in the Mona Lisa.
So thank you Obama, For 8 years of grace under fire. I know its been long, And surely you are tired. For me, Your legacy, Is plain to see. You stood up as a symbol of love and harmony. The world is better because of 2008, So thank you again from those that appreciate.
If you can read this and still not agree that Obama’s Presidency made the world a better place, then I guess I can’t help you. We’ll agree to disagree because clearly your morals and ethics are different than mine. That’s not to say you’re a bad person. Not at all. Some of my best friends are Republicans, Trump supporters, and disagree with every word I say. Let’s just not allow politics to divide us at home from our neighbours.
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