Every year, for the past 220 years, the president of the United States has addressed members of Congress, as our Constitution mandates, to give information about the state of your union.
For most Olympic College students, this just means hearing about the State of the Union speech from your political science professor, and that if you watch it you can get some extra credit. Even then, only some do.
There was no excuse to not watch it. It was streamed live on youtube.com, CBS and NPR, among others. To those that have not watched it, take a moment and look it up on Youtube. Our president’s oration may renew your hope for our nation, or give you knowledge you can use.
If you’re one of those who have never seen it before, what happens is this: the president enters the bicameral congressional chamber and climbs the stairs to stand at America’s most famous lectern. Throughout his speech as he makes different points, different members of Congress will stand and cheer if they agree with what he says, or sit and boo if they do not.
This yearly event is one of the highlights of Washington, D.C.’s political intrigue; with all the spectators (actually at the congressional building or watching vicariously through cameras) trying to ascertain what position each congressperson and/or senator is taking on a certain issue.
Not so long ago, it used to be very newsworthy – many Americans going out of their way to view it or read the transcripts. They cared about what information the president was going to give Congress. In my political science class, only three students said they had watched part of it.
In this year’s State of the Union however, Obama said some things that OC students – and college students in general – would be wise to pay attention to.
Amid the politicking and grandstanding, there were nuggets of information about the direction our nation is heading. You don’t have to be an egghead to pay attention, and you don’t need to follow politics to understand how what our president said will effect an entire year of American politics, business, and life in general.
Obama said he understands that we are losing money to foreign competitors, and if we as a nation stand a chance, we will have to educate our citizens to be able to compete in a global market.
“In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education,” Obama said.
Currently, most of that world-class education he talked about is paid for by financial aid, which itself is more loans than anything else. The interest on student loans goes directly to line the pockets of the banks. But Obama has a better idea.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act is a law that was passed in 1965 that needs to be renewed by Congress. When a bill is renewed, Congress has the authority to add or remove things as it sees fit. On this, Obama is asserting his massive influence as president and strongly urging big changes.
“Let’s take that (interest) money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell grants,” Obama said. “And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years – and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service. Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.”
Public support of American’s education is only one issue of many that Obama covered in the State of the Union. He spoke of a government spending freeze that begins next year. He encouraged members of Congress to disclose earmarks online and he alluded to his stance on prosecuting those of the previous Bush administration. He said he is allocating the largest increase in investments for veterans in decades, talked about the wars we fight in Iraq and Afghanistan and even went so far as to promise a repeal within 12 months of the “don’t ask, don’t tell law” for the U.S. Military.
The president of the United States of America, the “person in charge,” the “head honcho,” the CEO and Commander-in-Chief – when he officially tells the American public what is going on and what he intends to do about it, we should at least deign to listen to him. I mean, we elected him. Now we grow apathetic?
In his words, “We have come through a difficult decade. But a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don’t quit. I don’t quit.”
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