On January 10, Barack Obama delivered a farewell speech - the traditional treatment, during which the outgoing US President is summing up his stay in office and proclaims a last farewell with American citizens. Obama's speech lasted more than 50 minutes; he hadn't enumerated his achievements but spoke a lot about the threats to be faced by the country in the coming years.
Fewer numbers - more prospects
Numbers linked with the economic growth during Obama's presidential term were not mentioned in his speech. Avoiding statistics and specifics, he emphasised the global and inner achievements of the country.
"If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history…if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, and take out the mastermind of 9/11…if I had told you that we would win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens – you might have said our sights were set a little too high"- Obama said.
When Obama was sworn in January 2009, the US unemployment rate was the highest since 1983 - 9.9%, but at the end of his tenure, the percentage was 4.7%.
Total 15.8 million jobs have been offered since the beginning of 2010. The US economy had recovered from the economic crisis and strengthened their social positions.
“But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. You answered people’s hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.”
Threats to democracy and the United States
Most of his speech, Obama devoted to social issues, which, in his opinion, America must solve next and listed the threats to prosperity and democracy of the United States.
According to the president, these five threats: economic inequality, racial tension and polarisation of society, external threats and obsolescence of democratic institutions. In the speech itself, Obama asked Americans to be active and conscious citizens - and not only at election time.
"If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try to talk with one in real life.
If something needs fixing, lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. Show up. Dive in. Persevere. Sometimes you’ll win. Sometimes you’ll lose."
Obama spoke about the protection of cultural values of the American society and the world in general, appealing to the ideas of the United States and ‘founding fathers', drawing attention to a number of problems with democracy in the country. The Head of State noted that the reevaluation of democracy and the neglecting of the laws leads to civil and international wars.
External threats
The main external threats Obama called terrorism and authoritarian regimes.
They "represent fear of change; the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free thought."
The threats to world order, according to Obama, are fanatics who claim to speak on behalf of Islam, and autocrats in foreign capitals, "who see free markets, open democracies, and civil society itself as a threat to their power."
Almost nothing was said about Donald Trump
Barack Obama mentioned only once the newly-elected US President - when speaking of the need to ensure peace and quiet transfer of power.
trump criticism was present in the speech clandestinely, when Obama spoke of the need to fight for equality, condemned discrimination against Muslims, talked about ways to combat global warming in the United States or the future of health care reform.
