No One Exempt From Obama's State Of The Union

By Ross Zelen on February 13, 2013

CBS showed how effective the President’s speech was with viewers at home.

Last night, millions of Americans tuned in to hear President Obama speak about his plans for the future of this wonderful country. The country that resoundingly reelected him although still has a very partisan divide. Was President Obama going to continue his streak of being a more moderate collector of public support? Was he going to return to his early crusading for major overhauls to our how Americans look at government?

 

 
Well America, we got our answer and we got it over and over again. President Obama has big plans, progressive plans and innovative plans that will take meaningful steps to ensure a better American future.

 

By attempting to  reduce poverty, develop new forms of alternative energy, improve our education and better our infrastructure, the President did not leave one issue untouched. Most of the main headlines will be about his beautifully poignant point about giving the victims of gun violence a vote in the landmark bill on more federal arms regulation, with good reason to. The lives lost in Newtown, Wisconsin and Aurora need to be the image as Americans take back their right to feeling secure from random acts of gun violence.

 

But how does the State of the Union address affect everyday college students, looking to get a good paying job out of college? In practically every way, President Obama looked to grow the industry sector, the private sector and the education sector of this country.

 

 

For my friend Shayna who wants to be a teacher, there might be a job teaching Pre-K now. Instead of teaching layoffs, perhaps those pink slipped teachers will come back and teach at a slightly reduced rate in inaugural Pre-K programs for lower class areas.

 

 

Perhaps Shayna will be able to find that job and make a difference in a young person’s life. Studies have shown that Preschool and early childhood education determine so much in later success that it is a safe call that a child not enrolled in preschool is already at a disadvantage. Shayna would not want that. I don’t want that and America cannot thrive without everyone being capable of helping themselves. It is time that America reclaimed a top spot in the world when it comes to educating its youth. Otherwise, the trend of failing schools will lead to more apathetic generations who fail to champion the causes of our time.

 

 

Our parents protested against a war in Vietnam they did not believe in and our grandparents marched for Civil Rights and Women’s Liberation. We have so many issues to be active about, but now it is time to find the one that inspires you most.

 

Obama also touched the issue that was ignored throughout the election period: Climate Change. While making some innovative suggestions for localizing the energy sector and providing incentives for technological breakthroughs, Obama got real with America when it comes to climate science. He stated: “if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.”

 

It was not everything that needed to be said, but it affected all of us equally. From New York’s Hurricane Sandy victims to those living in despair due to the droughts in America’s heartland, last night connected all of us, uniting us and advocating the fact that we all should have a voice and a vote.

 

Obama did not forget to talk about those in college, preparing to take the reigns in shaping America’s future.In an attempt to link federal funding to the affordability and value a college offers, Obama discussed how “Colleges must do their part to keep costs down,”  and how his the administration is prepared to roll out a score card listing which schools do and do not offer the most “bang for the educational buck.”
 

Everyone was included in his marathon of a speech. Just because it was long does not mean that the words can go unheard, because it is too much work to listen to it over and over again. Even if we cannot have a vote in the process, as President Obama so clearly advocated for when it came to gun control, we can raise up our voices about change. The next four years will determine America’s future in the global spectrum, and hopefully when Obama delievers his last address in 2016 this country can be a little more like what was envisioned last night.

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