GRACE

Today marks the end of an era - the end of the Presidency of Barack Obama. In these past eight years, there has been incredible change in the world. However, one thing has remained constant in this country - President Obama's grace and character under extreme duress. Therefore, it was no surprise that President Obama delivered one of the most impassioned yet dignified farewell speeches in American history.

The catastrophe Obama inherited from George W. Bush - two wars and an economy in free fall - is probably only rivaled by the disaster Franklin Roosevelt faced during his Presidency. However, Obama did not complain. Rather, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work to help turn our country around and to putt us on much surer footing.

Because of President Obama, millions more Americans now have health insurance. Auto mileage standards are higher than ever, which may make a lasting effect on improving our environment. Bin Laden is dead. All of these achievements are even more remarkable when one considers the obstruction President Obama faced from the Republican Congress whose stated mission was to oppose the President at all costs. These "leaders" knew that Obama's vision of the country was one of post-partisanship, post-discrimination, post-fill-in-the-blank. If they could just prove that his vision was wrong, they knew that they could defuse his mandate and create a sense of cynicism in the American public. That they succeeded in this mission explains so much about the turn to populism that our country now faces. Let it be said - no, let it be screamed from the mountaintops - that the Republicans will own the havoc that will be wreaked in the next five years. They were enablers, appeasers, and villains.

Rather than merely hold these people in contempt, it is our job to speak up, to protest, to make our voices heard at the ballot box. There is no room for violence despite the fierce urgency of now. My hope is that the greatest movement for resistance will be created in this country and that we will win our country back through our words, deeds, and votes. Join in! The ride will be so much better with you along.