Opinion
Obama can, will inspire change
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Also by Alec Slocum:
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- Grade inflation threatens value (March 30, 2009)
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There was another defining moment in the history of America when a bright, young, inexperienced idealist was elected to the presidency. In 1960, John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency and in only 3 short years in office became, according to almost every modern poll, one of the five best presidents in American history.
Ever since, scholars have vigorously debated why history and public sentiment have been so kind to his presidency. Aside from his handling of the Cuban missile crisis and foresight regarding the space program, Kennedy’s presidency is remarkably lacking in great accomplishments. In fact, it wasn’t until Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” that many of Kennedy’s stalled “New Frontier” initiatives were passed into law.
So why is Kennedy considered such a successful president? It’s not because he pushed through legislation or vetoed excessive government spending with discipline. Nor has he been regarded so highly because of the nature of his death — William McKinley was assassinated in the same century but certainly does not share Kennedy’s popularity.
Kennedy holds a special place in the national psyche because while he held office a vast majority of Americans felt he was leading our country in the right direction. Kennedy governed as a true leader by envisioning the future and challenging every citizen to help create it. He empowered people to work for something bigger than themselves through his rhetoric and service programs like the Peace Corps; 48 years later, in another defining moment in United States history, we have elected who I believe to be another such leader who can motivate us to transform our country when we need it the most.
As of Election Day, only 9 percent of the United States population felt our country was headed in the right direction. When nine out of 10 Americans are dissatisfied with the general direction of the country, the problems are undoubtedly substantial and the solutions necessary are likely more than minor legislative fixes. This is a time that requires big ideas brought about in fundamentally different ways. As Kennedy suggested, “Ask not what our country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country,” so too will Obama challenge our generation to double the size of the Peace Corps or to serve our communities in exchange for a tuition break.
In a greater way, he will challenge us to live up to the better angels of our nature, suppress some of the worst of our human instincts toward others both at home and abroad and believe in the power of hope for the future rather than fear.
In fact, he already has. He has asked those in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia to get past the fact that he is a biracial man with the middle name Hussein and look instead to the ideas he conveys.
He has instructed parents that more sacrifice and discipline is required of them to improve the education of their children, and he has asked young people to look past their cynicism of the political process to take back their rightful seat at the table in the interest of a better democracy.
A big reason Obama has been so successful is because his ideas and words have motivated and inspired us to meet these important challenges. I believe he will be a transformational president because he will be able to continue to empower and inspire hope in people to imagine and work for a better nation and world, just as Kennedy did. He will challenge us to live up to the best of our own and our nation’s ideals and, just as Kennedy did so successfully almost 50 years ago, will finally be leading our country in the right direction. But we, as citizens, cannot tune out now. We must accept and rise to the new opportunities we will be given and not be content to sit back and expect an Obama presidency to do everything for us. Perhaps foreshadowing these days in our history, Obama said four years ago at the Democratic National Convention, “…out of this political darkness, a brighter day will come.” A brighter day has come, but this should not be the end; it should be a great beginning.
Alec Slocum (awslocum@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in philosophy and legal studies.
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Let’s hope the man can bring about change. It will be hard to get the most self centered, materialistic, me first, generation to work for something other than their own benefit. But here’s to hoping Obama can do it.
And while Obama’s at it, he might consider getting a little work done. The country’s in ruins with high unemployment. Also, we could stand to get rid of a few more illegal aliens. Not only that, he should end the temporary guest worker program. They come from a country where the government subsidizes fuel prices so they can fill their tanks at $2.50 a gallon, a country where unemployment is a paltry 3.8%. The richest man in the world is now a Mexican citizen! What’s wrong with this picture?! I’m also fed up with hearing all these illegals claiming they’re honest, hard workers and that they deserve to be citizens just because of that, after they committed a federal offense to get here! Unemployment in the US is now 6.4%! No more tears for them!
Your rhetoric is as empty as Obama’s.
Action is what initiates change… not shallow speeches that use ambiguous words like “hope” and “change.”
I miss Bill Clinton. We need more moderates in the Democratic Party.
boring article.
If you think Kennedy was one of the greatest U.S. presidents, so be it. But let’s dispel this idea that that is the consensus. While it is true that various public opinion polls have ranked Kennedy quite highly, very few historians consider him to be a great president. In fact, I can’t think of a single survey of historians that lists Kennedy in the top 5. The most notable survey I can think of is the Murray-Blessing survey of the 1980s, in which historians (both those who identified as liberal and those who identified as conservative) were asked who they considered the best U.S. presidents. Kennedy didn’t even make the top 10, not even when you isolated just the opinions of the liberal historians. The JFK presidency has been completely idealized merely because Kennedy was a dashing character who serves as the perfect main character to an heroic story. It is called Camelot for a reason, because it basically legend but with very little factual substance. Other than the Cuban Missile Crisis and the establishment of the Peace Corps, Kennedy achieved very little. You seemed to focus on the Peace Corps a lot in your article, but even George W. Bush, who by almost any standard has led a terrible administration, accomplished similar feats with the humanitarian efforts he has spearheaded in Africa. On the other hand, Kennedy is responsible for the bungled Bay of Pigs invasion, he created many of the stepping stones that led us into Vietnam and is given credit for feats in the space program that were actually accomplished by Johnson and Nixon. So if you think Obama can, will be like Kennedy, fine. But I’d think you’d want to set the bar a little higher than that.
So when is BHO’s “Cuban Missle Crisis” going to happen?
To all the wing-nuts who miss Clinton: You impeached one of the greatest modern presidents for lying about a blow job. He could have accomplished so much more for the country, but he was distracted by a band of holier-than-thou mouth breathing, drooling ditto heads.
Hold Obama accountable, but let him do his job. If he fails, we all fail. Believe in your democracy.
First of all, your picture makes you look like a deuche bag. Second, Obama has done absolutely nothing to give any evidence that he can and will bring change. His experience as a Senator is minimal at best, and he brought about no significant legislation or change as a Senator. Unfortunately, if Obama does have a factor in any changes, they won’t be for the overall good for the country, but will simply serve the left wing agenda. We just have to hope that no other Supreme Court Justices retire or die during his term so that the Conservative Court (which has ruled correctly on many important social issues in the last year) can keep him and idiots like nancy pelosi and harry reid under control.
Anonymous (November 7, 2008 @ 8:27am): If you think that “Mexicans” are the only illegal alieans in this country you are far misguided and ignorant. The only reason why illegals from Canada are not interigated as much as Mexicans are is because they look like the “typical” white american and therefore with just thier looks have a higher status that other alieans.
Unless your going to draft em in the Peace Corps good luck with that one our overweight kids are too busy playing play station 2 to be bothered with world problems.
5:18pm, you are so full of crap! 8:27 singled out Mexicans because they are by far the largest group of illegal aliens. The number of Canadian illegals doesn’t even approach that. Also consider the fact that Canada’s economy is in much better shape than ours, so what’s the big motivation for them to sneak in to the US?
Take your race-baiting anti-white crap and stick it back where it came from!
5:18pm, if you don’t like white people then why don’t you get out of Wisconsin? It’s 80% white here. And in the winter it’s even whiter! ha ha!
So shut up and go back to Mexico! Racist asshole!
“The only reason why illegals from Canada are not interigated as much as Mexicans are is because they look like the “typical” white american and therefore with just thier looks have a higher status that other alieans.”
No, moron, they’re just harder to spot. They’re white and they speak English so they can pass for American more easily. We don’t want them here either.