It's the last week that Barack Obama will be in office as our nation's 44th President. And through speeches to his fellow Americans...and interviews on a number of television news programs...President Obama is reflecting on his eight years in The White House.
The President is reminding us what America stands for...and what our country has always stood for...throughout nearly two-and-a-half centuries.
In recent weeks, Mr. Obama has expressed emotional and electrifying addresses...of which two of them rank up with some of our nation's finest speeches. His "Farewell Address" - on Tuesday, January 10th, 2017 - brought President Obama to tears, as he saluted First Lady Michelle Obama, his children - Malia and Sasha... plus the man who has been called "the best Vice President in history" - Vice President Joe Biden.
At MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida...President Obama communicated with heartfelt pride...that as our Commander-In-Chief...he has protected each and every one of us against major terrorist attacks from abroad...and he did so by "upholding our values and adhering to the rule of law." The President noted that..."No foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland. And it's not because they didn't try. Plots have been disrupted. Terrorists have been taken off the battlefield."
It was a speech that was televised nationwide...and President Obama was cheered by our troops...and by Americans all across the country...who have supported and praised him through his two terms in office.
Therefore...I'm dedicating this commentary to our 44th President...by publishing part of his remarks...exactly how he presented them.
"Protecting liberty...that's something we do for all Americans...and not just some."
"The United States of America is not a country that imposes religious tests as a price for freedom. We're a country that was founded so that people could practice their faiths as they choose. The United States of America is not a place where some citizens have to withstand greater scrutiny, or carry a special ID card, or prove that they’re not an enemy from within. We’re a country that has bled and struggled and sacrificed against that kind of discrimination and arbitrary rule, here in our own country and around the world."
"We’re a nation that believes freedom can never be taken for granted and that each of us has a responsibility to sustain it. The universal right to speak your mind and to protest against authority, to live in a society that’s open and free, that can criticize a President without retribution...a country where you're judged by the content of your character rather than what you look like, or how you worship, or what your last name is, or where your family came from...that's what separates us from tyrants and terrorists."
"We are a nation that stands for the rule of law, and strengthen the laws of war. When the Nazis were defeated, we put them on trial. Some couldn’t understand that; it had never happened before. But as one of the American lawyers who was at Nuremberg says, 'I was trying to prove that the rule of law should govern human behavior.' And by doing so, we broadened the scope and reach of justice around the world. We held ourselves out as a beacon and an example for others."
"We are a nation that won World Wars without grabbing the resources of those we defeated. We helped them rebuild. We didn't hold on to territory, other than the cemeteries where we buried our dead. Our Greatest Generation fought and bled and died to build an international order of laws and institutions that could preserve the peace, and extend prosperity, and promote cooperation among nations. And for all of its imperfections, we depend on that international order to protect our own freedom."
"In other words, we are a nation that at our best has been defined by hope...and not fear. A country that went through the crucible of a Civil War to offer a new birth of freedom...that stormed the beaches of Normandy...climbed the hills of Iwo Jima... that saw ordinary people mobilize to extend the meaning of civil rights. That's who we are. That's what makes us stronger than any act of terror."
"Remember that history. Remember what that flag stands for. For we
depend upon you - the heirs to that legacy - our men and women in
uniform...and the citizens who support you...to carry forward what is best
in us - that commitment to a common creed. The confidence that right
makes might...not the other way around." "That’s how we can sustain this long struggle. That's how we’ll protect this country. That's how we’ll protect our Constitution against all threats...foreign and domestic. I trust that you will fulfill that mission, as you have fulfilled all others."
The words articulated by Mr. Obama - in both addresses - cannot be expressed any better. This President's speeches are always filled with applause and jubilation. His addresses are art. And they are an art form. And with his stellar record of distinguished service behind The Oval Office desk...nobody can ever question the legitimacy of Barack Obama as our President of the United States of America.
So from President Obama's farewell speech..."If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession...reboot our auto industry...and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history...if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people...shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot...and take out the mastermind of 9/11...if I had told you that we would win marriage equality...and secure the right to health insurance for another 20-million of our fellow citizens - you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. You answered people’s hopes...and because of you...by almost every measure...America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started."
"Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it's really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. We, the people, give it meaning...with our participation...and with the choices that we make and the alliances that we forge."
"My fellow Americans...it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won't stop. In fact...I will be right there with you...as a citizen...for all my remaining days. I am asking you to believe. I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written in to our founding documents...that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists...that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders...and those who marched for justice... that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon...a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written. Yes, we can. Yes, we did. Yes, we can. Thank you. God bless you. And may God continue to bless the United States of America."
I think that says it all. So thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much.And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of
GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B.
Duglin.
Now, please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Now, please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Copyright 2017 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment