President Barack Obama visits Raleigh, North Carolina
By: Erica McAdoo
We arrived around 8:30 a.m. and trudged to the back of a line that was already about 1000 people long. As I took my place in line and looked at the people around me, I realized that the line really seemed to represent America. There were people in suits and people in shorts; people who work for minimum wage and CEO's of large companies. One middle-aged man behind me was telling his story of how he plans to attend law school in the fall and thus embark on a life-changing second career. A lady in front of me brought her starry-eyed young daughter who repeatedly expressed her awe at the thought of momentarily seeing her president in person.
Once the doors opened at 9:30 a.m., the line began slowing moving forward. By around 10:15am, we were seated inside on the bleachers eagerly anticipating the President's arrival. I sat somewhat patiently observing and listening to the conversations of those around me. The lady behind me was a teacher. Two secret service agents were sitting directly in front of me. People of all races and ethnicities slowly filled the auditorium. Even with all of our socio-economic and racial diversities and our varying life experiences, we were all joined together in this moment by our anticipation of the entrance of our President.
Around 11:15 a.m., the secret service agents stationed throughout the room, in the balconies, and on the roof began moving about and whispering into their earpieces saying the President's plane had landed. Speculation spread though the audience with everyone "twittering", "googling", and trying to guess which route the President was likely to take, which door he would likely walk through, and what time he would begin speaking.
Shortly thereafter, the invocation was given and we all stood for the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem. About 10 minutes later, the President was introduced by a local small business owner and then President Obama bounded into the auditorium. I heard the cheer of the crowd before I caught sight of the President's face. Once I located him among all the secret service agents and cheering audience members, I found myself tearing up and overwhelmed with awe and disbelief. Not only was I seeing my president live and in person, but I was also seeing a man whose leadership, transparency, hard work, sincerity, and dedication to reform have earned my utmost respect, trust, and admiration. In my mind, America is about dreams, hard work, and diversity, and, for me, President Obama embodies all of those things.
I have always been a dreamer. As a small child, I wanted to be a ballerina, then an astronaut, then a judge, a teacher, and a pianist, among others. As an American, I was raised believing that I could be any of those things if I was willing to work hard, continue to dream, and be persistent. For me, that is the promise of America. Once Obama was elected as President of the United States of America, my belief in that promise was strengthened, solidified, and grounded in a reality where a racially diverse man raised by a single mother from an un-privileged background could dream, believe, work hard, and be elected to the highest office in our land.
President Obama spoke directly to all of America and specifically to North Carolinians during his speech and the ensuing question and answer session. The first question of the afternoon came from a lady whose husband is a family physician. Another man outlined his brother's current troubles with Medicaid. During the brief moment in time when each of these North Carolinians held the microphone in their hand, they conveyed more than just a simple question to our President - they vulnerably laid out, for everyone watching, a piece of their lives tied up in the current healthcare system and frought with worries, fears, and concerns. The current healthcare program does not adequately address their problems. Under the current program, people with pre-existing conditions can be denied coverage or dropped from their plans. People who do not have health insurance have only expensive, privately run policies to choose from. Obama's government-funded plan will provide competition for the current plans. It will not replace the current plans but will simply force the insurance companies to compete for your business against the government-funded plan by offering rates and coverage options that are more affordable and higher quality.
As the question and answer session continued, Obama listened to one North Carolinian after another directly lay out their healthcare and financial concerns. He responded to each of their questions directly, with sincerity, and with empathy. His dedication to healthcare reform is being driven by his awareness of the injustice of the current system and his sincere concern for the lives and wellbeing of Americans and of North Carolinians. Today, at Broughton High School in Raleigh, NC, President Obama was listening to us: listening to our stories and our fears and proposing real solutions to real problems.
As an employee of a local North Carolina-based law firm, HensonFuerst, I can easily see how President Obama's reform propositions are desperately needed and directly relevant to our clients. We have clients who have been injured in accidents which are not their fault and, instead of being able to focus solely on their recovery, they are worrying about their Medicaid, their insurance coverage, and their rapidly increasing premiums. Now is the time for the currently unregulated, uncontested insurance companies to receive some accountability from a government-funded plan and a President who is genuinely listening to the needs of the American people and working tirelessly to provide coverage to 46 million uninsured Americans and better, more consistent, higher quality coverage to those who already have insurance.
During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to listen to Americans, to establish a transparent government, and to reform healthcare. As he said in his speech today, he is keeping those promises. President Obama spoke in detail, with genuine empathy, and with transparency and candidness about the plans, statistics, and financial realities of his proposed healthcare reforms. I believe in the president and in his vision and passion for America and will always carry this day with me as a source of inspiration. I believe in change; I believe in hope; I believe in truth - and so does my president.
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