Well, it’s official: President Barack Obama has given up on the current generation. Sorry, people. In his first speech since leaving office, Obama spoke at the University of Chicago where he spoke on the current state of politics.
Here’s a brief rundown on what President Obama said:
It’s Time to Hand Off the Baton
“Although there are all kinds of issues that I care about and all kinds of issues that I intend to work on, the single most important thing I can do is to help in any way I can prepare the next generation of leadership to take up the baton and to take their own crack at changing the world.”
After finishing up his eight-year presidency, Obama says that he plans to spend his retirement preparing America’s youth to take on the “daunting” issues of today.
It’s time to stop gerrymandering
“Things like political gerrymandering our parties have moved further and further apart and it’s harder and harder to find common ground. Because of money and politics.”
I don’t want to put words in Obama’s mouth, but this sounds a lot like, the Republicans are ruining our lives. The Repubs are huge fans of gerrymandering and manipulating regions to make them more likely to win political seats. Aka, it’s all their fault.
The Far-Right Political Pundits Are Distorting Reality
“Because of changes in the media, we now have a situation in which everybody’s listening to people who already agree with them and are further and further reinforcing their own realities to the neglect of a common reality that allows us to have a healthy debate and then try to find common ground and actually move solutions forward.”
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Maybe it’s time we add some political pundits from the other side to our Twitter feeds, huh, folks?
It’s All Up to Millenials
“The only folks who are going to be able to solve that problem are going to be young people, the next generation. And I have been encouraged everywhere I go in the United States, but also everywhere around the world to see how sharp and astute and tolerant and thoughtful and entrepreneurial our young people are. A lot more sophisticated than I was at their age. And so the question then becomes what are the ways in which we can create pathways for them to take leadership, for them to get involved?”
In other words, he has given up on the current generation and is moving on to millennials. It’s up to you, tweens.
