President Obama - An Inspiring Figure for All 奥巴马总统
Listen to him again. Listen to his farewell address as the 44th President of the United Stated of America.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/10/us/politics/obama-farewell-address-speech.html?_r=0
And let me quote one little excerpt from his beginning of his speech:
” … And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better president, and you made me a better man.
” … 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.
” … It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
” … It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a perfect union.”
Such humility, so rarely found in a leader of a country, especially a country that leads the world’s democratic society.
Then read and listen to the ending part of his speech:
” … 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. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your president — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago.
” … I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.
” … I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into 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.”
What is President Obama’s legacy for us? For us, who are not Americans.
I venture to suggest that there are three aspects of his eight-year presidency that we can learn from.
Aspect # 1: Anyone - no matter what race he or she is, no matter how low his or her social status is, can rise up to be the top leader of a country.
Aspect # 2: Remain optimistic and positive no matter what the external conditions are.
Aspect # 3: Have a great sense of humor - as witnessed in his many speeches at the White House Correspondent’s dinners.
And so, we have to continue to live humbly, positively and optimistically for the rest of our lives.
So help us, God!
“President Obama has saved the US economy from ruin, has reshaped health care and environmental policy, and has reformed the financial industry. He leaves office as the most popular politician in America.” Quoted from Jonathan Chait ‘Intelligeneer’.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/01/obama-legacy-more-secure-than-you-think.html