Perhaps it’s his poised demeanor, his pragmatic tone, or his seemingly genuine love for our country, but when President Barack Obama takes the stage to speak; we listen.
Despite any party affiliations or preconceived political notions and agendas, as a country, as voters and as Americans living in these crucial times, we’re all looking for answers.
We’re desperately searching for a shining light at the end of this economic tunnel of a recession that we’ve been trying to dig our way out of since we first entered in 2008. We’re not looking for temporary solutions or campaign promises. We’re looking for an America and an economy that is built to last.
Tuesday night, President Obama provided us with the blueprint for such a place in his State of the Union address.
“A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world,” he said.
The president’s speech touched on the economy, American manufacturing, the necessity to explore means of alternative energy, education, immigration, and a renewal of American values. We were reminded that; “For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country,” he said.
The president was adamant about the importance of American education in this global economy and how the responsibility of shaping the minds of our youth shouldn’t fall entirely on the shoulders of American teachers.
“Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones,” Obama said. “So tonight, I call on every state to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.”
In Arizona, we know that education is tantamount to success. However, this success begins with funding. In April 2011, $207 million was cut from the university system. Whether in anticipation of Tuesday’s speech or out of sheer necessity, Gov. Jan Brewer proposed $30.3 million in the 2013 fiscal budget to go to all Arizona universities.
In the past few years we’ve stood by as witnesses or been swept up in the storm as the American middle class has all but disappeared along with the American Dream of raising a family, owning a home and sending our children to college. The president’s speech transcended the now cliché “Wall St. vs. Main St.” argument and in a much more aggressive tone than years past, he called on Congress to take action.
And take action they shall, we hope.
Ultimately, as the address came to an end, Obama’s message of hope for the future as well as a motivation to learn from our mistakes of the past prevailed as an overlying theme of not only the speech, but his outlook on the presidency.
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