Obama raised the bar. That might be overstated at this point and lost some of its meaning, but if you think about it, it is true. He raised the bar for me and others around my age: too young to remember Bush but just maturing as Obama first took office. Obama inspired us as children and saw us through middle school and was there for us throughout high school. He was there from our first conscious thoughts and was a constant and a given through the tumultuous times of our teenage years. It might sound cheesy, but his sophisticated, elegant leadership was a constant we could all rely on as our worlds were changing.
That’s not to say that Obama blended into the background; not at all. He was there and he was a beacon every day. I remember Osama bin Laden’s assassination equally as I do hearing Obama’s refined speech. I remember the scenes from the news when I was in 5th grade as much as I do his State of the Union Address from my freshman year of high school. All done so eloquently, a true example of what it meant to be a strong and composed leader (even in a room filled with people refusing to clap for your statements).
He was also a good guy. We saw him on late-night talk shows being a good guy. He was funny without being rude, clever without seeming arrogant. He was like a work friend: someone who you could trust at work but also could not wait to kick back with after work. To be transparent, his actions as president are not saintly, nor is he free of any wrongdoings. However, the way he outwardly presented himself to the country and to the country’s youth absolutely allowed us to be so aware of all of Trump’s inexcusable actions as president.
We have something to compare Trump’s emotional, informal, bullying, incoherent speeches to. We have a respectful, decent person who is a good leader to compare him to. However, the small children of this day do not know what an American president is or should be. They think it is someone who is constantly on the news, for new scandals literally every day. They think it should be someone who selfishly corrupts others for his own personal gain. They think it is an unhinged person that is allowed to tell the people of America to inject themselves with poisonous materials- in full honesty.
I have interacted with literal six and seven-year-olds who account to me the happenings with their president as if it were a matter of fact:
“Did you hear about the masks? He told people not to wear masks.”
“I wish Trump would open the borders and let our friends visit from other countries.”
Small children should not be having to have their thoughts, homes, and days filled with talk about an incompetent and dangerous person, they should not have to deal with stress. They also deserve to know what a leader, a president for God’s sake, should act like. One naturally associates a country with the leader. As children, we saw the USA as intelligent, calm, sophisticated like Obama. What are the children of this age seeing the country as? As a cut-throat, divided, chaotic place to live? One where each day is unpredictable?
These years will be ones that shape children’s view of America, American politics, and just generally how to be a leader and treat others. If a president can be one of the most important teachers in children’s lives, I am terrified of what the new generations will be learning.
What we can do is use our voice to vote in respectful, compassionate, and competent people into office. Of course, policies impact us, certain groups, and the world. If we can afford to, we also need to be aware of who the person we are electing is. Four to eight years is a long time, one that can form the thoughts of an entire generation. We need to be conscious about who we let our children be exposed to.
Use your vote, always.