At about 9:30 tonight, President Obama spoke to the nation about past year's accomplishments and failures as well as his plans for this year. He spoke of the subjects that this country has progressed in while there was still issues lacking improvement. Speaking for over 90 minutes, President Obama promised to accomplish new goals if the legislative branch is willing to go along with it. That's the main issue for this blog, whether or not that the divided government will set aside party goals and see the bigger picture. The first issue that grabbed attention was the economy growth.
Nobody can deny that the economy has gotten better and that people are going back to work. I have seen it myself in the area I live and in the area where I work. But President Obama still believes more can be done to strengthening the economy such as raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10. Most companies may obviously be against this because nobody wants to spend their own money for someone else's agenda plus some believe the minimum wage is high enough as is. President Obama believes by raising the wages it will give people more money to spend and raise the numbers higher than they are now.
The next issue he discussed was equality in the work force. President Obama stated that, "Women in the work force still make $0.70 less than men and work equally as hard." He also covered how since "The Great Recession" the opportunity to rise in companies has staled. These issues are focused on because they affect morale and why should people work hard for a management position they are never going to get? People's faith in the "American dream" need to be restored by the rise in wages and opportunity.
Obviously the president was going to talk about his main objective during his presidency and that's the health care law also known as Obamacare. He admit fault when it didn't go as smoothly as possible but still showed conviction and certainty in its success. He pointed out people who if they didn't have the health care provided under the law would be in worse shape then they are now. While it's clear that many in the audience didn't approve of the law, the fact is that it's happening and the president stressed that it was time to move on because it is helping people.
The sensitive issue he touched was the return of the soldiers coming home from the middle east and how President Obama is bring home more troops than ever. President Obama maintained his stand on defending the country and its allies but not at the expense of our military if it isn't necessary. With that he introduced Army Ranger Corey Remsburg, an army ranger who suffered severe brain trauma after surviving an attack during his time in the middle east. He is blind in one eye and still has little mobility on his left side but he fights every day to improve and hopefully go back to the Army Rangers.
This was the most powerful moment in the address for one main reason and that is Corey Remsburg symbolizes everything that America has gone through. He went to a war and suffered losses and just when everything seemed lost, he kept fighting and now he's capable of having a life when everyone assumed he wasn't going to make it. Now he stands a symbol of hope and an example that no matter what has happened, if you're willing to fight for what you have than you can win. America has suffered losses but just like Corey Remsburg, we will survive.
President Obama gave a great speech and spoke with strong confidence. He touched on issues that need to be addressed for this nation to be strong and I can testify that it is better than it was 8 years ago but more work needs to be done. The only problem the president didn't address is how he is going to get it done because the truth is that it's not just up to him. When parties get over themselves and start thinking of what the people want then that's when America will be strong, when comprises are made and egos thrown out the window. That's when this nation will be strong again.
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