Obama is my JFK

I never understood completely why my mom got so emotional when talking about the assassination of JFK. Yes, it is incredibly tragic that a man with a young family and bright future lost his life too soon. It is scary that in an instant, the U.S. lost its leader in such a violent way. I could even say that the assassination made my mom so emotional because it hit home - although she didn't know him personally, she knew his face, his family, his mannerisms...

I never understood completely until last night, after I watched Barack Obama's final State of the Union address. Surprisingly (mostly to myself), I was engaged for all 58 minutes of the address, even emotional at times. His SOU was incredibly thought provoking - instead of focusing on his previous accomplishments and last year in office, he presented his hopes for our country 5, 10 years down the road.

Without going into the nitty gritty, my favorite moments of his speech were:

- His out of the box recommendations to encourage income equality, including free Pre-K and Community college, bolstering unemployment hand outs with vocational training programs, and creating a tax break for low income, single earners who do NOT have children.

- His rebuttal for critics of global warning: "Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You will be pretty lonely, because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it."

-  His declaration that the U.S. is not weak when it comes to defense: "No nation attacks us directly, or our allies, because they know that’s the path to ruin. Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead -- they call us."

- The final point of his speech addressing the problems with politics; voting districts should not be drawn by politicians and a handful of families and groups should not have the ability to bankroll our elections. Wall Street was responsible for the collapse, not "food stamps".

- His enthusiastic and firm declaration at the end "And that’s why I stand here confident as I have ever been that the State of our Union is strong!"

I turned off the TV after the speech and felt hope, because of this one man. With all of the negative rhetoric about "America going to shit" because of our weakening international presence and favoring the 1%, Obama reminded me that we have great people fighting the fight. He does it without yelling, without needing to feed his own ego. He displays true compassion and manages expectations - nothing will happen overnight, but if we work together for the common good, we will succeed.

If I were to wake up tomorrow and turn on the news and see that Obama was assassinated, I would be devastated. I am getting emotional simply typing these words. I would remember exactly where I was and who I was with, just like my mother.

JFK, to his generation, signified a changing of the guard, a new hope during the incredibly volatile Cold War. He was the beacon of hope to my mother in a time where fear was penetrating the U.S. In his 1962 SOU, JFK presented a familiar unifying sentiment to the people with "It is my task to present the State of the Union - to improve it is the task of us all."  He and Obama signify a young, smart, diplomatic and ambitious America - one that will not be bullied by extremes or injustice. They signify qualities that I admire and want to represent. They make me proud to be an American.