During a time when many young Americans are disappointed with American politics and the current presidential administration, President Barack Obama told a Hamilton College audience “do not get discouraged.”
Obama visited Hamilton College on Thursday, April 3 as part of the Sacerdote Great Names Series. Hamilton College President Steven J. Tepper moderated the discussion which had more than 5,000 people in attendance, most of which were students and staff. However, a diverse mix of people tuned in.
The former president addressed a variety of topics, including the importance of a free press and academic freedom at colleges and universities. He also stressed the need to uphold American values, which he said have broken down because citizens have gotten complacent.
“It’s up to us to fix this,” Obama said. “It’s not going to be because somebody comes and saves you. The most important office in this democracy is the citizen. The ordinary person who says that is not right.”
Though he never mentioned President Donald Trump by name during the talk, he referenced actions the current president has made since taking office, asking the audience to “imagine if I had done any of this” in reference to actions such as blocking Fox News from White House press conferences and briefings.
“It’s unimaginable that the silent parties now would have tolerated behavior like this from me,” Obama said.
Colleges, law firms and citizens should fight back when their free speech is threatened, he urged.
“If you’re a law firm being threatened, you might have to say, ‘We might lose some business because we stand for a principle,’ Obama said. “If you are a university you might have to say, ‘We stand up for what we believe in and we’ll pay our researchers for a while from our endowment.’ Obama, calling himself the first “digital president” because the smartphone craze began in 2009 during his first term, said he has watched young people change the world with technology and innovation. He explained that the more “I believe” is encouraged, “new things get normalized into the world as part of a daily routine.”
While it became trendy for people to say they are open-minded and for companies to embrace diversity, “they are mute right now” and many Americans are witnessing behavior they hadn’t seen before in their lifetimes, he claimed.
“If you are of a race or wealth status where you aren’t affected, you can’t say you did if you don’t do anything to help people who are as fortunate,” Obama said. “When you are in turmoil you may have to lose things to make things right.”
He ended the talk on an uplifting note by telling the audience that resilience is needed moving forward and change is hard and moves slow.
“Understand if you work hard, you’re still going to fail sometimes,” he said. “If you do the right thing, it’s not always going to be rewarded. You’re going to be disappointed. People aren’t perfect, but it’s worth trying. If you try, not only do you usually end up getting better outcomes, but you’re going to live a better life.”
He added: “Do not get discouraged. I know it’s crazy right now, but you’re going to be OK.”
