10 Words From Obama’s Farewell Speech (That You Won’t Hear Again For Awhile)

In 2005, I attended a Sojourner’s conference in D.C. The theme was ending poverty, and the gathering was mostly young clergy, social workers and community organizers. My friends and I had a series of misadventures getting there–everything from terrible weather to airline incompetence–and by the time we arrived, we were soaking wet, a day late and SEVERAL dollars short, and had no clothes but the ones we were wearing. We rolled through our first day grumbling that no way was this worth it.

Then on day 2, they introduced a speaker. I had not been paying attention when they gave his bio. I was tired, grumpy, and still didn’t have my damn luggage. Anyway. Let’s just say I was not feeling inspired about social change. But then, this guy started speaking. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I sat up straighter. “Who IS that??” I asked someone near me (who was, let’s assume, in a better mood and actually paying attention).

“Senator Barak Obama,” they said. And I was a goner. “This guy is going to be President someday,” I thought. And probably said out loud more than a few times in the days and weeks to come. Thing is, I looked at him and thought he seemed so impossibly young. I figured it would be 20 years before I actually saw him in the Oval Office.

Turns out, only 3 years later I had the privilege of voting for him, and never was I so proud to be an American than on his Inauguration day. I could not tell you a single thing he said at that conference, but I know this: President Obama has always been a powerful voice of equality, justice, and hope. He has always challenged and empowered young people to get involved in social change. He may not be perfect, but he has always been a man of vision.

I was reminded of that as he delivered the final address of his Presidency. With many of you, I gave thanks for the authentic, strong and gracious presence he has provided these 8 years, while simultaneously mourning. Because it is going to be awhile before we hear that kind of inspired and prophetic word from a President again. Here are 10 words that beautifully capture Obama’s term in the White House; 10 words that have been dropped from the Presidential lexicon now, at least for a season:

1. Peace. Clearly not a priority of the new regime. I pray that we will not forget what it’s like to have a leader who claims peace as a shared value of democracy.
2. Imagination. In the days to come, as creative problem solving and collaborative vision are sacrificed on the altar of expediency and sound bites, remember this: without imagination, there is no American experiment.
3. Equality. (Sigh)
4. Progress.  Somehow a bad word these days among many of our friends and neighbors… I’m grateful for ALL leaders who continue to speak of progress as an ideal, rather than letting nostalgia set us back a century (or 2).
5. Disaffection. Just because, come on, that’s a big word. The days of 4-syllable discourse are long gone. We now live in the age of “bigly,” and 140 characters or less.
6. Science. (sigh, again)
7. We. As in, We the People. Us. Together. These words reflect the spirit of empowerment and cooperation at the heart of Obama’s leadership. The future is “I,” “me,” and “my.” The unchecked financial gain of those in power, and the delusion that we all got where we are by ourselves. The false economy of individualism, and the false gospel of bootstraps.
8. Diversity. A clear value of the outgoing leadership, while the only thing diverse about Mr. Trump is the range of his conflicts of interest. (Snap).
9. Gratitude. Admit it: you ugly-cried when Obama thanked his wife, his daughters, the Bidens, and all the other people who have been by his side through it all. You know what? DJT never thanks anyone, because he lives so firmly within his delusions of grandeur. On that island, he needs no one, and therefore owes nothing to anyone. Except maybe Putin. We’ll see.
10. You. The defining moment of Obama’s speech was when he thanked the American people; called us all to do our duty as citizens by staying engaged in the democratic process; and challenged us to RUN FOR OFFICE OURSELVES if we don’t like how things are going. Hold this alongside the narrative of “I alone can fix it,” and you will have the clearest possible picture of how the next administration is going to go.

But I’m done sighing. I hope you are too. I take heart in knowing that this man of wisdom, with his powerful voice for justice, is about to join the ranks of We, the People. We are releasing him back to the private sector, where he can inspire and empower a new generation of visionaries, and work alongside us for the long haul. I’m going to leave you with his own parting words–they say more about his leadership, and our future together, than anything I could compose:

My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your president — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago.

I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.

I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written:

Yes, we can.