Mr President, I'll Miss You!
By Abdul-Majeed Azad
Cleveland, Ohio
Come January 20, 2017, I will miss Mr Barack Obama: both as the US president and a wonderful human being.
I’ll miss his exemplary decency, his basic humanity and his unwavering fortitude. I’ll miss his generous, expansive and all-embracing outlook towards all Americans and others around the globe. I’ll miss his genuine compassion for all. I’ll miss his crying in public without an iota of embarrassment, shame or guilt, when talking about the Sandy Hook School massacre and the need for gun control.
I’ll miss the dignity he brought to the office of the President of the United States, unlike the disgrace this nation had to endure during the Watergate, Iran-Contra and Lewinsky fiascoes.
I’ll miss his strong and innate will of containment, thus avoiding bloody skirmishes on the international stage as much as possible. I’ll miss his diplomacy – both with his friends and adversaries on the national and global levels. I’ll miss his conscientious commitment to science and environment and the zealous pursuit to mitigate poverty, illiteracy and life-threatening diseases on a global level.
Today when the language of presidential debates - especially in the GOP camp - has reduced to nothing but a mixture of unabashed racial slurs, unchecked profanities and low-life guttural lingo, I’ll miss President Obama’s eloquent oratories. I’ll miss his fine statesmanship that reminded us of Rev. Martin Luther King, President John and Senator Robert Kennedy, all at once.
People might but history will not forget the speech of President George Bush to the Israeli Knesset where he denigrated aspiring Obama’s willingness to talk to Iran and Cuba calling it a ‘foolish delusion’ equating him to a ‘Nazi appeaser’. Today, Mr Obama's far-sighted diplomacy has tamed the hardliners in both these countries, thus thawing the decades-long animosity and transforming suspicion into cooperation and friendship. This too, history would not forget.
But most of all, as a Muslim and an American I’ll miss a president who had the courage to go to a mosque, venerate the greatness of Islam, remind my people of their rich legacy, acknowledge their contribution, appreciate their belonging and assure their place in the United States, especially when the rhetorical onslaught on Muslims has never been more vicious and anti-Islam sentiments never louder.
During his two terms in the office, we witnessed several fine traits of Mr Obama’s character as a President, as a loving husband and a devoted and doting father. He challenged the runaway and fugitive dads who by choosing to abscond shirked their paternal responsibilities and deprived their kids the greatest gift of their life: love.
When he was getting ready to run for the presidency, in an emotional letter to his daughters, which succinctly captured his yearning to serve the country, he wrote:
“I entered the race for the White House because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation. I want you to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.”
By this solemn proclamation, he put in the heart, mind and mouth the words that every father in America would like and should be able to tell his children.
Recently, he publicly crystallized his feelings for the First lady, Michelle Obama, saying: “ I’ve made a lot of great decisions as president. The best decision I ever made was choosing you. Thanks for putting up with me. I love you.”
If you ask me, that is the most awesome legacy of this man.
Yet, come January 20, 2017, I’m afraid many of these presidential as well as humane qualities would simply cease to exist or even matter, in the most sacred citadel of democracy on this planet.
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