The Obama presidential Center
More than a decade after Barack Obama became the first Black president of the United States, the Obama Presidential Center is set to open in Chicago. Glory to God. The Center honors Obama’s legacy, spirit, and commitment to community development; it is not simply a monument to personal achievement. President Obama’s presidency reflected some of […] The post The Obama presidential Center appeared first on African American News and Issues.
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More than a decade after Barack Obama became the first Black president of the United States, the Obama Presidential Center is set to open in Chicago. Glory to God. The Center honors Obama’s legacy, spirit, and commitment to community development; it is not simply a monument to personal achievement. President Obama’s presidency reflected some of the highest ideals of constitutional, multicultural democracy. As he noted, one measure of America’s greatness is that someone like him could become president. Yet America’s racially exclusionary history also exposes a painful truth: someone like Donald J. Trump could also be elected president, not once but twice. Shame on us. Obama’s presidency symbolized hope and change, while Trump’s presidency has come to represent confusion and division. President Trump fails to understand that America is not defined by race, but by a constitutional ideal rooted in the belief that all people are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are protected by governments that derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Someone needs to tell the Trump MAGA-Cult movement this truth and remind them that God is not mocked. Individuals reap what they sow, for “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27a). People may escape human judgment, but no one can escape the final judgment of God. Therefore, the price-tag on sin is eternal death.
A decade after leaving office, and after enduring President Trump’s repeated scorn, President Obama could rightly view the Obama Presidential Center as a testimony to God’s grace and protection. As King David declared, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side… our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:1, 8). All praise and honor belong to the King above all would-be kings, for “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; and all that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). Sadly, President Trump has not honored the privilege of leading one of the world’s greatest multicultural societies. The Obama Presidential Center stands as a symbol of “hope and change” and of visionary possibility rooted in America’s constitutional and multicultural ideals. The Iran War is one troubling example of failed leadership, especially because President Obama negotiated a strong Iran agreement without going to war. President Obama’s leadership may be remembered as one of the greatest spiritual and moral accomplishments in the history of the American presidency, a legacy recognized in part by his Nobel Peace Prize. Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, expanded access to health care and will stand as a monumental achievement. In 2008, Obama also helped guide America through a devastating economic collapse. Moreover, we should never forget the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the American Taxpayer Relief Act Of 2012. Yet, for some Americans, being born Black, Brown, or Yellow is treated as a reason to deny public respect, human dignity, and honor. Therefore, someone should remind the MAGA-GOP movement that God who “made the world and all things therein,” is “Lord of heaven and earth,” and “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:24–26). Congratulations to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and most of all, glory hallelujah to the King above all would-be kings.
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