Hard Work

President Obama’s inaugural speech reminded me that challenges are nothing new for the people of this country. It reminded me America has seen times much more dismal than the situation we face today and that in every instance the people of this country have worked hard to make things better for the next generation.

Obama referred to those generations that came before us and said: “Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.”

To me Obama was saying the solution to today’s problems is the same as it was for those Americans who came before us. It’s hard work. Obama said: “Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.”

Elizabeth Alexander’s inauguration poem suggests this American tradition of hard work is still alive and it’s all around us. The poem begins “Each day we go about our business,” and goes on to paint a picture of the hustle and bustle of our busy lives. The poem touches on some of the work the people in those hustling crowds are heading off to do with lines such as, “Someone is stitching up a hem.”

The poem touches on the things that have brought us to where we are today. Those “who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce,” and suggests we pick up where those before us left off with lines such as “a teacher says ‘take out your pencils, begin.’”

Hopefully this speech and this poem have inspired those who heard them to realize this is not the first and it will not be the last time America must struggle. Hopefully these words have helped people believe that America can work through tough times, learn from our mistakes, and offer a better life for those who will continue this struggle after we are gone.