I needed some inspiration so I decided to re-watch the President's speech in Tucson, Arizona from several months ago (click on my nicely embedded video to the right if you would like to as well). I first watched it the day after the speech was given, and I still remember tearing up at the end.
I have copied (from here) the ending below, just as a tribute to how all of us can be better, and not just for ourselves....
Together We Thrive: Tucson and America
(all of the emboldened parts are where I get goosebumps!)
"...They believed - they believed, and I believe that we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved life here - they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us.
"And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.
"That's what I believe, in part because that's what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed.
"Imagine - imagine for a moment, here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that some day she, too, might play a part in shaping her nation's future.
"She had been elected to her student council. She saw public service as something exciting and hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
"I want to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. All of us - we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.
"As has already been mentioned, Christina was given to us on Sept. 11, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called 'Faces of Hope.' On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child's life. 'I hope you help those in need,' read one. 'I hope you know all the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart.' 'I hope you jump in rain puddles.'
"If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on this Earth - here on this Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit..." - President of the United States Barrack Obama January 12, 2011
I can't remember a moment where I've been prouder that he is my President. And I wanted to ask: do you think America is thriving and coming together? I feel like we have exited the time of depolarization and the country is once more characterized by its political divisions than its commonalities. Even though it was short-lived, I hope we can get back to that time when we did not let our divisions define us.
Just some other things that motivate me...
Alicia Keys on CNN's Impact Your World - "I want to be known as an incredible, global citizen and a person who has made their mark in an inspiring, positive way....this is my generation--we're about to do something really big."
A 'Jeremy original': "What happened in your past does not determine your future because expecting future outcomes to be the same as past outcomes is naively assuming nothing has changed between then and now." It comforts me to know this when I am struggling. It tells me that any failure or unrealized opportunity from the past does prevent me from being able to realize my potential in future endeavors.
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