Reflection From Obama's Farewell Address: FITFO

In his Farewell Speech Tuesday night, President Barack Obama made some very powerful ,candid remarks about moving forward as a country. He basically challenged us a democracy that we, the citizens, have the power and if we don’t like like something to change it. To do something. And he started off with one of the best books that showed what the United States was like in the 1950s.

Many students today have no idea of Obama’s quoting of Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird “you really never understand a person until you consider things from their point of view. Until you climb into his skin and walk around.” These students may have no idea who the fictional character, Atticus Finch is.

Some school districts across the nation, mainly in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region have banned the book To Kill A Mockingbird because of its use of racial epithets and discriminatory language. It’s a shame.

Not only was it one of my favorite books in high school, it teaches the gloomy past of the United States. A time when it was perfectly fine for a southerner to use the n-word in reference to an African-American or beat up a young black teenage male to the point they were unrecognizable for whistling at white woman in a southern store. It’s the history of the United States. It’s our history. It needs to be taught.

Not everything is all “moonlight and canoes.” We didn’t get to where we are today – a world power – because things went smoothly. We faced adversity. We went through tough times. Back when the United States was little kid, believing it is ‘ok’ to count black males as only “three fifths of a person.” Thinking the only professional opportunities out there for women was: teacher, secretary or nurse.

These concepts as dark as they may seem are part of our past. It is what made us who we are as a nation – as a world power. They need to be preserved in American history. To show us how far we have come as a nation and motivate us to continue to move forward and not be afraid of change.

It is similar to getting your first “big boy” or “big girl” job right out of high school, college or graduate school. It’s great but you know absolutely nothing and it scares you. You’re going to screw up and make some mistakes. And they will be some doozies. But these mistakes you made will help you learn new skills or teach you new concepts or ideas. You will succeed but many times you will find yourself looking back and remembering the difficult times as the best because it required working together as a team.

Soon a decade will fly by and you will no longer be that “cute little kid” who knew nothing; you will be the experienced one, the person the new young graduate will look to for the same experience you once needed. You may feel like these youngsters are coming in and taking your job but they are not, they are adding to it. You’re thrust into a leadership role – no matter what your title may be – it is up to you to show them the exact same things you learned when you were coming up. And eventually what you will come to find out is that while you’re no longer that “cute little kid,” you still know nothing.

It’s the circle of life and the United States is not any different. The difficult times are what strengthen us as both a person as a nation and it is imperative that we cannot lose sight of that.

Going back to Atticus’ quote, as a nation, we need to do a better job at working together and as a team. We can't be separated by partisan politics. We have to be able to come to the table not by an identifying label of Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or Green but as one core unit - the United States. This is what separates the GREAT teams from the mearly good and mediocre teams. 

Technology is a huge asset but we are relying on it way too much. It has become too easy to sit behind a computer and send an email instead of talking to them directly. While is great to be able to communicate with co-workers in Philadelphia via a conference call, it is still even better to meet in person every often. It brings a human connection that the internet and smart phones have taken away. We need to bring everyone to the same table without parties, without calling people name or mocking them to be a GREAT team. #OneTeamOneDream

(On a side note: I challenge you to go one day without your smart phone. Can you do it?)

It was also nice to hear President Obama’s more eloquent terminology of a phrase that I have come to use the last few years: Get Shit Done. Don’t care how it gets done but as long as in the end everything that needs to be completed is completed that’s all that matters. If you see something that needs to be done, take action. Don’t wait for someone to say something. Do it! Figure it out! FITFO – Figure It The F*ck Out)!

President Obama left us with one thing: to keep going. You are the change America needs to be successful. Keep pushing forward. Face new challenges. Don't play the safe route.