Last night in Washington

Making a difference - giving back - being productive in society.  It is hard to imagine a President of the United States not fitting that bill.  EVERY President makes a difference, although to different degrees.  Some leave wonderful lasting legacies.  I really think that President Barack Obama will be one of them.

 

Last night in Washington the President gave his annual State of the Union Address.  He said a number of things that really grabbed my attention.  As someone who believe in equal rights for EVERYONE and who is embarrassed that the Equal Rights Amendment never passed, I was very please when the President spoke of equality for women.

 

"Today, women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment. A woman deserves equal pay for equal work. She deserves to have a baby without sacrificing her job. A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running into hardship — and you know what, a father does, too."

 

I really liked when he promised to be more "presidential" too saying "...America does not stand still — and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I'm going to do."  It was certainly encouraging to hear Mr Obama say "Let’s see if we can make this a year of action."

 

The President is always our best cheerleader, and when he said  "After five years of grit and determined effort, the US is better positioned for the 21st century that any nation on earth," I wanted to stand and applaud too.

 

Oh and no more wars!  Let's be this great nation without fighting.  On that, the President said "America must move off a permanent war footing..."

 

President Obama gave a very encouraging speech last night, but there is only one problem.  We all need to be willing to work together.  Nothing gets accomplished when we work against each other.  We can always hope that last night in Washington was the start of something great!