Here is
the text of the farewell address President Obama delivered Tuesday in Chicago
"It’s good to be
home. My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the
well-wishes we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my
turn to say thanks. Whether we’ve seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at
all, my conversations with you, the American people – in living rooms and
schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant outposts –
are what have kept me honest, kept me inspired, and kept me going. Every
day, I learned from you. You made me a better president, and you made me
a better man.
I first came to Chicago when I was in my early
20s, still trying to figure out who I was; still searching for a purpose to my
life. It was in neighborhoods not far from here where I began working
with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these
streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working
people in the face of struggle and loss. This is where I learned that
change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come
together to demand it.
After eight years as your president, I still
believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart
of our American idea – our bold experiment in self-government.
It’s the conviction that we are all created
equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It’s the insistence that these rights, while
self-evident, have never been self-executing; that we, the people, through the
instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.
This is the great gift our Founders gave
us. The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, toil,
and imagination – and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a
greater good.
For 240 years, our nation’s call to
citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It’s what
led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to
brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It’s what pulled immigrants and
refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande, pushed women to reach for the
ballot, powered workers to organize. It’s why GIs gave their lives at
Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan – and why men and women from
Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well.
So that’s what we mean when we say America is
exceptional. Not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but
that we have shown the capacity to change, and make life better for those who
follow.
Yes, our progress has been uneven. The
work of democracy has always been hard, contentious and sometimes bloody.
For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But
the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening
of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.
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.
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.
In 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark
of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected
president to the next. I committed to President-elect Trump that my
administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as
President Bush did for me. Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our
government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.
We have what we need to do so. After
all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on
Earth. Our youth and drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless
capacity for risk and reinvention mean that the future should be ours.
But that potential will be realized only if
our democracy works. Only if our politics reflects the decency of the our
people. Only if all of us, regardless of our party affiliation or
particular interest, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly
need right now.
·
That’s what I want to
focus on tonight – the state of our democracy.
Understand, democracy does not require
uniformity. Our founders quarreled and compromised, and expected us to do
the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity
– the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together;
that we rise or fall as one.
There have been moments throughout our history
that threatened to rupture that solidarity. The beginning of this century
has been one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic
change and the specter of terrorism – these forces haven’t just tested our
security and prosperity, but our democracy as well. And how we meet these
challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids, and
create good jobs, and protect our homeland.
In other words, it will determine our future.
Our democracy won’t work without a sense that
everyone has economic opportunity. Today, the economy is growing again;
wages, incomes, home values, and retirement accounts are rising again; poverty
is falling again. The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as
the stock market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a
ten-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. Health
care costs are rising at the slowest rate in fifty years. And if anyone
can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we’ve
made to our health care system – that covers as many people at less cost – I
will publicly support it.
That, after all, is why we serve – to make
people’s lives better, not worse.
But for all the real progress we’ve made, we
know it’s not enough. Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast
when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class. But stark
inequality is also corrosive to our democratic principles. While the top
one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families,
in inner cities and rural counties, have been left behind – the laid-off
factory worker; the waitress and health care worker who struggle to pay the
bills – convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government
only serves the interests of the powerful – a recipe for more cynicism and
polarization in our politics.
There are no quick fixes to this long-term
trend. I agree that our trade should be fair and not just free. But
the next wave of economic dislocation won’t come from overseas. It will
come from the relentless pace of automation that makes many good, middle-class
jobs obsolete.
And so we must forge a new social compact – to
guarantee all our kids the education they need; to give workers the power to
unionize for better wages; to update the social safety net to reflect the way
we live now and make more reforms to the tax code so corporations and
individuals who reap the most from the new economy don’t avoid their
obligations to the country that’s made their success possible. We can
argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can’t be complacent
about the goals themselves. For if we don’t create opportunity for all
people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only
sharpen in years to come.
There’s a second threat to our democracy – one
as old as our nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a
post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never
realistic. For race remains a potent and often divisive force in our
society. I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better
than they were ten, or twenty, or thirty years ago – you can see it not just in
statistics, but in the attitudes of young Americans across the political
spectrum.
But we’re not where we need to be. All
of us have more work to do. After all, if every economic issue is framed
as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and undeserving
minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while
the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. If we decline
to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us,
we diminish the prospects of our own children – because those brown kids will
represent a larger share of America’s workforce. And our economy doesn’t
have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all
age groups, for men and for women.
Going forward, we must uphold laws against
discrimination – in hiring, in housing, in education and the criminal justice
system. That’s what our Constitution and highest ideals require.
But laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change. If our
democracy is to work in this increasingly diverse nation, each one of us must
try to heed the advice of one of the great characters in American fiction,
Atticus Finch, who said “You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk
around in it.”
For blacks and other minorities, it means
tying our own struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in
this country face – the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender
American, and also the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like
he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by economic,
cultural, and technological change.
For white Americans, it means acknowledging that
the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ‘60s; that
when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse
racism or practicing political correctness; that when they wage peaceful
protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our
Founders promised.
For native-born Americans, it means reminding
ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word
for word, about the Irish, Italians, and Poles. America wasn’t weakened
by the presence of these newcomers; they embraced this nation’s creed, and it
was strengthened.
So regardless of the station we occupy; we
have to try harder; to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens
loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family
like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of
love as our own.
None of this is easy. For too many of
us, it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our
neighborhoods or college campuses or places of worship or our social media
feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political
outlook and never challenge our assumptions. The rise of naked
partisanship, increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering
of our media into a channel for every taste – all this makes this great sorting
seem natural, even inevitable. And increasingly, we become so secure in
our bubbles that we accept only information, whether true or not, that fits our
opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that’s out there.
This trend represents a third threat to our
democracy. Politics is a battle of ideas; in the course of a healthy
debate, we’ll prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching
them. But without some common baseline of facts; without a willingness to
admit new information, and concede that your opponent is making a fair point,
and that science and reason matter, we’ll keep talking past each other, making
common ground and compromise impossible.
Isn’t that part of what makes politics so
dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we
propose to spend money on preschool for kids, but not when we’re cutting taxes
for corporations? How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but
pounce when the other party does the same thing? It’s not just dishonest,
this selective sorting of the facts; it’s self-defeating. Because as my
mother used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you.
Take the challenge of climate change. In
just eight years, we’ve halved our dependence on foreign oil, doubled our
renewable energy, and led the world to an agreement that has the promise to
save this planet. But without bolder action, our children won’t have time
to debate the existence of climate change; they’ll be busy dealing with its
effects: environmental disasters, economic disruptions, and waves of climate
refugees seeking sanctuary.
Now, we can and should argue about the best
approach to the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays
future generations; it betrays the essential spirit of innovation and practical
problem-solving that guided our Founders.
It’s that spirit, born of the Enlightenment,
that made us an economic powerhouse – the spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk
and Cape Canaveral; the spirit that that cures disease and put a computer in
every pocket.
It’s that spirit – a faith in reason, and
enterprise, and the primacy of right over might, that allowed us to resist the
lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression, and build a post-World
War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power
or national affiliations but on principles – the rule of law, human rights,
freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, and an independent press.
That order is now being challenged – first by
violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in
foreign capitals who see free markets, open democracies, and civil society
itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy
is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. It represents the 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; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or propaganda
machine is the ultimate arbiter of what’s true and what’s right.
Because of the extraordinary courage of our
men and women in uniform, and the intelligence officers, law enforcement, and
diplomats who support them, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully
planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years; and
although Boston and Orlando remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be,
our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever.
We’ve taken out tens of thousands of terrorists – including Osama bin
Laden. The global coalition we’re leading against ISIL has taken out
their leaders, and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be
destroyed, and no one who threatens America will ever be safe. To all who
serve, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your Commander-in-Chief.
But protecting our way of life requires more
than our military. Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear. So
just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we
must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are.
That’s why, for the past eight years, I’ve worked to put the fight against
terrorism on a firm legal footing. That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked
to close Gitmo, and reform our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy
and civil liberties. That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim
Americans. That’s why we cannot withdraw from global fights – to expand
democracy, and human rights, women’s rights, and LGBT rights – no matter how
imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may
seem. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism
are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist
aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law
shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations
increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened.
So let’s be vigilant, but not afraid.
ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America
unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight. Rivals
like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world – unless we
give up what we stand for, and turn ourselves into just another big country
that bullies smaller neighbors.
Which brings me to my final point – our
democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted. All of us,
regardless of party, should throw ourselves into the task of rebuilding our
democratic institutions. When voting rates are some of the lowest among
advanced democracies, we should make it easier, not harder, to vote. When
trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of
money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics
in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our
districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid
extremes.
And all of this depends on our participation;
on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which
way the pendulum of power swings.
Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful
gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on
its own. We, the people, give it power – with our participation, and the
choices we make. Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms.
Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. America is no
fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not
assured.
In his own farewell address, George Washington
wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and
liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will
be taken…to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth;” that we should
preserve it with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of
every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to
enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one.
We weaken those ties when we allow our
political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character are
turned off from public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom
we disagree are not just misguided, but somehow malevolent. We weaken
those ties when we define some of us as more American than others; when we
write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt, and blame the leaders we
elect without examining our own role in electing them.
It falls to each of us to be those anxious,
jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we’ve been given
to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all
our outward differences, we all share the same proud title: Citizen.
Ultimately, that’s what our democracy
demands. It needs you. Not just when there’s an election, not just
when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a
lifetime. 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. Presuming a reservoir of goodness in
others can be a risk, and there will be times when the process disappoints
you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of this
work, to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire.
And more often than not, your faith in America – and in Americans – will be
confirmed.
Mine sure has been. Over the course of
these eight years, I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our
newest military officers. I’ve mourned with grieving families searching
for answers, and found grace in Charleston church. I’ve seen our
scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch, and our wounded
warriors walk again. I’ve seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after
earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I’ve seen the youngest of
children remind us of our obligations to care for refugees, to work in peace,
and above all to look out for each other.
That faith I placed all those years ago, not
far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change – that
faith has been rewarded in ways I couldn’t possibly have imagined. I hope
yours has, too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home were there
with us in 2004, in 2008, in 2012 – and maybe you still can’t believe we pulled
this whole thing off.
You’re not the only ones. Michelle – for
the past twenty-five years, you’ve been not only my wife and mother of my
children, but my best friend. You took on a role you didn’t ask for and
made it your own with grace and grit and style and good humor. You made
the White House a place that belongs to everybody. And a new generation
sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. You’ve made me
proud. You’ve made the country proud.
Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of
circumstances, you have become two amazing young women, smart and beautiful,
but more importantly, kind and thoughtful and full of passion. You wore
the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I’ve done in my
life, I’m most proud to be your dad.
To Joe Biden, the scrappy kid from
Scranton who became Delaware’s favorite son: you were the first choice I
made as a nominee, and the best. Not just because you have been a great
Vice President, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother. We love
you and Jill like family, and your friendship has been one of the great joys of
our life.
To my remarkable staff: For eight years
– and for some of you, a whole lot more – I’ve drawn from your energy, and
tried to reflect back what you displayed every day: heart, and character, and
idealism. I’ve watched you grow up, get married, have kids, and start
incredible new journeys of your own. Even when times got tough and
frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. The only
thing that makes me prouder than all the good we’ve done is the thought of all
the remarkable things you’ll achieve from here.
And to all of you out there – every organizer
who moved to an unfamiliar town and kind family who welcomed them in, every
volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the
first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change – you
are the best supporters and organizers anyone could hope for, and I will
forever be grateful. Because yes, you changed the world.
That’s why I leave this stage tonight even
more optimistic about this country than I was when we started. Because I
know our work has not only helped so many Americans; it has inspired so many
Americans – especially so many young people out there – to believe you can make
a difference; to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves.
This generation coming up – unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic – I’ve
seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, just,
inclusive America; you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark,
something not to fear but to embrace, and you are willing to carry this hard
work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe
as a result that the future is in good hands.
My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of
my life to serve you. I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with
you, as a citizen, for all my days that remain. For now, whether you’re
young or young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President – the
same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago.
I am asking you to believe. Not in my
ability to bring about change – but in yours.
I am asking you to hold fast to that faith
written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and
abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who
marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from
foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every
American whose story is not yet written:
Yes We Can.
Yes We Did.
Yes We Can.
Thank you. God bless you. And may
God continue to bless the United States of America.”
