President Barack Obama delivered his eighth and final State of the Union Address to the United States’ Congress on Jan. 11, 2016.
In a video released by The White House preceding his speech, the president said, “Since I took office seven years ago in the midst of crisis, I don’t think I have ever been as optimistic about a year ahead than I am right now.”
In some of Obama’s former State of the Union Addresses, such as in 2010, He focused on the ongoing economic recovery and the progress his administration had made in restoring the markets in the U.S. In 2011, he sought to inspire the nation about its bright future.
The next year focused on an array of topics, most notably gun control, job creation, raising minimum wage, health care and education.
Last year, the president emphasized his accomplishments and defended his health care law and legacy of keeping the nation safe.
In this, his last address, Obama focused mainly on the future. Jokingly vowing at the beginning to make his speech shorter than previous addresses, Obama continued that his speech would be different from others he as given in the past.
“Tonight, I want to go easy on the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty, from helping students learn to write computer code to personalizing medical treatments for patients. And I will keep pushing for progress on the work that I believe still needs to be done.”
The president included fixing a ‘broken immigration system,’ protecting America’s children from gun violence, equal pay for equal work, paid leave, and raising the minimum wage.
“All these things still matter to hardworking families,” He said, “They’re still the right thing to do. And I won't let up until they get done.”
Obama went on to say that in the past seven years, America has seen a lot of change, both good and bad. He spoke of the progress the United States has seen in the past seven years and cautioned, “such progress is not inevitable. It’s the result of choices we make together. And we face such choices right now.”
Obama began by asking the American people two questions: “Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, turning against each other as a people? Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, in what we stand for, in the incredible things that we can do together?”
The president followed this question with four “big questions” that he asked the American people to focus on. They concerned the economy, technology, security and democracy. The first of these questions was, “How do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy?”
The president recognized the workers struggling due to economic changes. Obama then agreed to work alongside Paul Ryan, the Speaker of The House, to determine ways to alleviate poverty across the nation.
The second was, “How do we make technology work for us, and not against us – especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change?”
Obama answered this with a call for slowing climate change, generating clean energy and curing cancer, reminding the nation that it has always shone in the area of innovation.
His next question was, “How do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman?” To this, the president laid out a strategy for keeping America safe without isolating the United States or trying to nation-build all over the world.
This led him to his last question: “How can we make our politics reflect what’s best in us, and not what’s worst?” Obama answered by calling for an end to the stark political divide. He also called for a limit to the influence of big money in politics, and no restrictions on voting rights.
“The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity, and our openness, and the way we respect every faith,” Obama said.
According to New York Times, the strongest reaction from readers to the address came in response to the issue of polarization. “Best thing [Mr. Obama] said: We are Americans first and insert-personal-description second,” said PS of Massachusetts.
Taylor Mower, a senior political science major from Idaho said of the distanced political parties, “It's definitely increased the gap- everything that the parties are debating currently is in complete opposition.”
In his final words, Obama exhorted all Americans, “Whatever you may believe, whether you prefer one party or no party, our collective future depends on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen. To vote. To speak out. To stand up for others, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us. To stay active in our public life so it reflects the goodness and decency and optimism that I see in the American people every single day.”
Mower said, “It was good to see the president speak on the importance of working together.”
The president ended his address by reaffirming the state of the Union.
“I stand here as confident as I have ever been, that the state of our union is strong.”