Yeshiva Boy: Dear Mr. President

Note to readers: The following is a piece I wrote immediately after hearing President Obama's inaugural speech just a week ago.  It is a purely emotional response to his being elected President of the United States of America, and attempts to capture how I felt after seeing history in the making.

Dear President Obama,

I would like to congratulate you on your truly remarkable accomplishments. I search the depths of my vocabulary for words that do justice in describing that which you have accomplished, and I come up empty handed, tongue tied and frustrated. The closest I've managed are the words 'awesome' and 'inspiring'. I am awed and inspired by the opportunities our great country allows for each and every individual, awed and inspired by what can be accomplished with much hard work and a little bit of luck, awed and inspired by the institution of our government-- how, despite the ravenous critics and unrelenting attacks on the past administration, one moment can instantaneously unite millions of people. In short, Mr. President, I am awed and inspired by you.

Mr. President, you ran for the hallowed office on a platform of change, of hope, of what I would call the American spirit. You told us that impossible is just a word in the dictionary, bereft of any real meaning. All obstacles are challenges to be overcome, all setbacks temporary. You told us that with hard work, responsibility and care for our fellow, we could surface from the dark abyss in which we find ourselves and rise into a landscape shining with unfettered light. You told us you could be elected President of the United States of America. And while you shouted "Yes we can", we came to realize "Yes you did". 

People say the youth are naïve. They say we are starry-eyed, unrealistic and inexperienced. They--the silent critics whose voice rings as deafening as ever-- say we are unacquainted with the ways of the world, virgins with regard to the big challenge called life. You don't just say otherwise--you are our otherwise, our counterpoint, our rebuttal and our challenge all wrapped up in one. You, Mr. President, with your youthful swagger and surreal aura, are a living testament that it's okay to be young, idealistic and full of hope. It's okay to be optimistic, you tell us, because pessimism is old, outdated and unconstructive. Through this you have captured my generation, by appealing to us at our youthful cores. You have lit a fire in us; the challenge is keeping its embers from slowly sizzling out. 

And so, Mr. President, I think about the future, because that is, after all, what we youth do. When we are children we yearn for adolescence, and when we become adolescents we yearn for adulthood. It is at our very core to look forward. Unlike adults who often times reminisce about better times, we dream of those times ahead, fantasize about our greatest conquests that are yet to come. Whereas the old know of the challenges and hardships that surely accompany these dreams, we seek them anyway, regardless of the travail because we are the untouchables. We shirk off hardship, the impossible, and quite often, we shirk off responsibility as well.

Last night, Mr. President, you told us that what we need is a Youth Revolution. You didn't put it in those words, but you might as well have. You said that "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America". You said cynicism is out and imagination is in. You said we need to be creative and unafraid to try big and bold endeavors. You told us to embrace the youthfulness in each and every one of us, and then you added one caveat: "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world." You told us that being youthful is great, but being a child is not. 

Mr. President, I must confess. I was not your biggest supporter during the elections, but in the spirit of the country, the presidency and your own message of unity, I stand behind you on this day. I hope you work tirelessly on the country's behalf, because our problems are too great to do otherwise. You have inspired a generation to grow from children to responsible youth, and I believe your task is turning the child that is our country into a responsible youth, still idealistic, ambitious and courageous, but also tempered, seasoned and responsible.

I am sure we will disagree on many policy issues in the coming days, if not hours. At this moment, I am overwhelmed by your soaring rhetoric, but when the dust settles and work begins, your task will be to deliver the results which you promised. I fear that will be much harder than writing an uplifting speech.  History will ultimately be written on account of your last day in office, not your first.

Awed and Inspired,

Nathaniel Rosen