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What is a legacy?



This post is not about gardening, I needed a space to work through my feelings towards the end of a political era.  An era that has helped shape me, and our country, in many ways.  Yet, the garden is a useful metaphor here.
In the musical Hamilton, as Alexander Hamilton is about to be shot by Aaron Burr in a duel he is frantically reflecting on his life.  He states: "Legacy.  What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see."
I've been thinking a lot about this line this week after watching President Obama's farewell speech.  What will President Obama's legacy become?  And, maybe equally important, what will my legacy become?  What seeds do we plant that we will never see grow?  It is even worth the struggle and pain to plant those seeds knowing that we won't see them grow to bear fruit?

whitehouse.gov

It is no secret that this has been a rough election cycle and outcome for many people.  While I know that I will be insulated from many of the effects of a Trump presidency (by shear random luck of my position of privilege due to ethnicity and class) many people are anxiously living in limbo - terrified of an uncertain future.  Still, I was hit hard by post-election grief.  A surprising grief and sense of panic that has reemerged at the most unexpected times.  Tears when I look at my girls and realize what we've lost.  Waking up at 2 am, night after night, perseverating over all the implications that we face.  


But, this post is not about Trump or specific policy positions.  It is about President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama and their legacy. 



thisinsider.com

 I was 21 years old and an undergrad at Indiana University, gearing up for my senior year, when I first heard Barack Obama speak at the 2004 DNC convention.  I looked at my (future) husband and said, "he is going to be the President some day."  In that moment I could see a better America.  An America that I could, and would, become an active citizen in.  2008 came and it was amazing.  I was caught up in the message of change and hope.  I volunteered for the Obama campaign to register voters on the near east-side of Indianapolis.  Michelle made a campaign stop at the school where I was teaching, and watching her speak I was struck by her strength, intellect, and passion.  I attended the Obama rally in Indianapolis- and you could feel love and hope.  It was written on every face.  

My husband and I voted early, on a Saturday, downtown.  The atmosphere was euphoric.  There were the millennials, like us, eager to participate in the democratic process (many for the first time), but along side of us in line were so many older, wiser, more solemn African American men and women.  While I was swept up in the promise of a new America for my generation, I realized that their life experiences in this country were so completely different than mine.  What an emotional and symbolic election 2008 had become.

The Obamas have taught me so much about patriotism, community, coalition-building and most importantly - decency.   They inspired in me a sense of activism and an obligation to my neighbors.  That inspiration led to a deeper interest in policy-making, ideas of power, and overall engagement in civic life.  While I do not have a career in politics, I still come to work with the same passion for change and disdain for cynicism that I imagine have led the Obamas through their careers thus far.  Furthermore, the way they have (at least publicly) treated one another and raised their daughters has been a wonderful model of marriage and family.  

I now realize how lucky I have been to experience young adulthood under the Obama administration.  And, how lucky my girls are to have all been born during the Obama years.  We talk about that a lot - how he was their first President.

Next, we will watch as the Republican-led Congress begins to undo some of the policies that President Obama put into place.  But, the seeds he planted have already taken root in so many places.  The garden may change, but it can't be completely torn up and replanted.  The legacy is already alive in people like me.  
White House Kitchen Garden whitehouse.gov



Comments

  1. Larry ConradJanuary 14, 2017 at 7:42 AM

    I remember well when my daughter " Nicole Conrad Nelson " informed me about a young man from Chicago,I also was impressed by thus young man. It has been my pleasure also to see President Obama and his family show nothing but class over the last eight years! Now we all wait to see how much damage the new administration can do to what President Obama has done in his eight years.

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