President Obama’s Generation

Posted on | January 20, 2009 | Comments Off on President Obama’s Generation

Magee family and the passage of timeWatching President Obama’s speech today, as I was doing an emergency repair of my grand-daughter’s doll house in Cumberland, RI, I was very conscious of the passage of time, and the meaning of this historic event to various family generations. For Trish and I, born in the late 40’s, high schooler’s at the time of JFK’s assassination, young Americans who grew up in turmoil – Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, Vietnam, Kent State – so hopeful and yet so dashed of hope, this arrival has great meaning. It means that in our lifetime, there is the possibility of reaching for the potential and idealism that was shattered before our eyes many years ago. But as joyful and hopeful as this is, we are older now. Our children, born in the 70’s are no longer children. And our grandchildren – Anabella, Fiona, Lila, Amelia, Benjamin and Quinn – range from 7 years to 3 months, with four of them one year old or less.

It is clear that our new President is speaking to all us with an expectation that together, through service and ingenuity and caring, we might allow America and our human race to reach its full potential. But in our President’s determination to look forward rather then backwards, I believe he uniquely appeals to the young, as once John F. Kennedy did for us. This morning our daughter Meredith posted this comment on her blog as she watched the inauguration with her baby. She says so well what we felt so many years ago:

“I hear babies cry and I watch them grow. They’ll learn much more than we’ll know and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

“It is hard to express with words how emotional this day is. I’m overjoyed for my son that he gets to begin his life with a president who I believe truly not only wants our world to be a better place, but understands the importance of rolling up our sleeves and getting dirty in order to make the world better.

“Even before we began trying to have children, I always knew that I wanted service to be part of their lives. I want them to understand how blessed they are to have new clothes, food on the table, a comfy bed to sleep in, vacations to go on, and the unconditional love of a family. I want them to understand that when you lead a life of privilege you are born with a duty to serve others. It is this basic concept of service that energizes me when I think of Barack Obama being sworn in today as our 44th president.

“Obama has made it clear; he cannot change our world alone. He is our motivator, our facilitator, but it is all of us, it is my son, who has to be willing to put in the hard work if change is to truly take place. And it is my job, and I believe the job of all parents, to make sure our children understand that they have been called to duty.

“It is only when we all start owning up to the truth that we are the deciding factor on whether or not our planet survives and humanity is restored that the change actually begins.”

Change is Here.