Dear Mr. President,
Millions of students were beaming as they watched you pledge to protect the highest law of the land last week. I joyfully counted myself among them. For all of us, your words comprised something more than a promise -- they constituted a success.
This election was certainly far from decorous, but your campaign inspired many of us to become politically literate. Facebook, Twitter and blogs were rife with discourse and debate between individuals whom I once thought were apathetic. The hallways of my school were inundated with conversation and posters all expressing the very stuff of our political process.
For many of my friends, your re-election meant hope. Whether the issue was health care, immigration, or college tuition, your ardor during your first term and your promises for this term were comforting. Just when many of us thought that the seemingly perennial intransigence that pervades our politics bested even the best, you repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," pushed health care reform through Congress and signed a necessary stimulus to galvanize our sluggish economy.
To myriad youth, your administration is synonymous with employment. To others, "Obama" means a new found health at school or home -- heartened by new initiatives concerning anti-bullying laws or located closer to new community health centers.
For me, your presidency conjures up energy. Having had the opportunity to work in Washington, D.C. for political causes, I experienced this zeal firsthand. The increasing responsiveness of the White House has encouraged many of my peers to become more pragmatic in their own pursuits -- something to which you alluded last Monday in your inaugural address.
However, there is still work to be done.
As many citizens of the Middle East continue to re-define their established paradigm and incorporate liberalism into their societies, the United States must decide upon its role abroad. Challenged in this region by violence and ideological battles, you certainly have a daunting and seminal task ahead of you.
Even domestically, we continue to address new dimensions of equality. Our digital role will prove just as important as any other presence we maintain. Your administration's policies will serve as the precedent that succeeding presidents will consult when considering their own.
But most importantly, your conduct with a polarized Congress will be studied for years to come. I hope that you will strive to draw on your background as a grassroots organizer and continue to govern by consensus rather than whim. Many pundits seem to express a desire to see a more peremptory President Obama, but I truly believe that your perpetual gauging of the political climate and American people has served us well.
We saw your inauguration as a success because you embody the image to which we aspire. Just as we are faced by incredible odds, so too are you. Your victory is a promise to all of us who continue to face adversity.
For educating us, fighting for us, planning for us, and most importantly, for inspiring us, I thank you. In fact, we all thank you.
A Proud Young American,
Noah Fitzgerel