Obama Out

As Salvation Army officers, Larry and I have been on the receiving end of “farewell orders,” the term used to tell us, “it’s time to go.” Once those orders were communicated, we shifted into farewell mode, packing our belongings, cleaning the parsonage, clearing out our e-mail in-boxes, and preparing our farewell sermons. What could we possibly say in our last words to a people we’d come to love?

In one of those farewell messages, I turned to a poignant line from “The Help” for my introduction. As the family’s maid, Aibileen Clark would put the young Mae Mobley to bed with these words: “You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” When Aibileen was fired, those were her parting words to the little girl, reminding her one last time: “This is who you are.”  

I was given Aibileen’s words as a Christmas gift, and as I look at them above my desk, I’m reminded of those days of farewell and my desire to share parting words of encouragement with my congregation. As another family faces their own “farewell orders,” I’ve been wondering what words President and Mrs. Obama would speak to the American people as they prepare to leave the White House.

Barack and Michelle Obama have chosen to speak their farewell through a number of forums. Michelle told those attending a White House awards ceremony last week of her hope for the youth of our country. “I want our young people to know that they matter, that they belong. So don’t be afraid. You hear me, young people? Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. Empower yourself with a good education. Then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of your boundless promise. Lead by example with hope, never fear.”

She also talked with Oprah about her hopes and dreams for the future. I’d seen the funny yet agonizing video of Michelle’s CVS trip with Ellen DeGeneres, so I wasn’t surprised that the ability to be anonymous was a painful sacrifice she had to make as First Lady. “There’s nowhere I can go in the world and just sit at a table and have a cup of coffee and watch the world,” Michelle noted. I’m going to remember her words when I’m tempted with the desire to be a world-famous author!

I especially appreciated the image she painted for Oprah and for us. “My desire for this country is that we remain hopeful and that we find a place in our hearts to love each other. It’s really simple, you know? Just opening up our hearts to others. Making room.”

I expected to hear similar themes when I tuned into President Obama’s farewell speech. After all, Barack Obama is the author of the book, “The Audacity of Hope,” and despite all that he has seen, heard, and experienced, hope continues to be his mantra for the future of our country and its people.

While he didn’t quote Aibileen, the message rang throughout his last words: “This is who you are, Americans,” or perhaps better stated, “This is who we can be.” His final plea was impassioned: “I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes we can.” We can pursue “our individual dreams through our sweat and toil and imagination,” and hold firm to the imperative “to strive together, as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.”

Some may hear only more political rhetoric, but I heard the man, the woman. As writer Diana Bass notes, “President Obama’s entire speech was clothed in gratitude – for all that is good, for the gifts we’ve all been given, for the courage to embrace and protect those gifts.” Thank you, Mr. President, for the audacity of hope. Thank you, Mrs. Obama, for making room. Might you and your family “fare well.”