Revisting Osawatomie History
By Jeff Gulley
It’s too early to tell whether the speech Tuesday by President Barak Obama in Osawatomie will stand the test of time like that of Theodore Roosevelt more than 100 years ago, but for one day, the town was the center of the political stage.
The President spoke to nearly 1,000 people at Osawatomie High School Tuesday afternoon, an event eagerly anticipated by Osawatomie residents.
It’s the biggest event in the town’s history by far,” former Osawatomie Graphic publisher Web Hawkins said. “And a crowd of 30,000 or 40,000 saw Roosevelt but millions of people saw this. Roosevelt’s speech was a great day and the fact that the speech is recognized as one of the best in American history illustrates the point but this is bigger than that.”
Obama drew parallels to Roosevelt’s New Nationalism speech in 1910 stating that America needs to return to those values.
“Teddy Roosevelt came here, to Osawatomie, and laid out his vision for what he called a New Nationalism,” he said. “Our country,” he said, “…means nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy…of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him.”
“For this, Roosevelt was called a radical, a socialist, even a communist. But today, we are a richer nation and a stronger democracy because of what he fought for in his last campaign: an eight-hour work day and a minimum wage for women; insurance for the unemployed, the elderly and those with disabilities; political reform; and a progressive income tax.”
The President spoke for nearly an hour about the struggling middle class and the need to reclaim the American dream for those families.
“It’s heartbreaking enough that there are millions of working families in this country who are now forced to take their children to food banks for a decent meal,” he said. “But the idea that those children might not have a chance to climb out of that situation and back into the middle class, no matter how hard they work? That’s inexcusable. It’s wrong. It flies in the face of everything we stand for.”
The President spoke about the need to reinvest in education and engage the help of parents in the process. He went on to talk about the need for more research and scientific breakthroughs and on the ability for America to reinvent industry in a changing climate.
“The world is shifting to an innovation economy. And no one does innovation better than America. No one has better colleges and universities. No one has a greater diversity of talent and ingenuity. No one’s workers or entrepreneurs are more driven or daring. The things that have always been our strengths match up perfectly with the demands of this moment. But we need to meet the moment. We need to up our game. And we need to remember that we can only do that together.”
The speech caused the audience to rise to its feet on many occasions and shouts of support for the President could be heard throughout the hour.
But politics aside, Tuesday was a day for Osawatomie residents to bask in the national political glow.
Osawatomie High School students Trisha Hadsall and Drew Needham opened the ceremony. Hadsall led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance while Needham sang the National Anthem.
“I found out I was going to sing the National Anthem on Friday after the basketball game,” he said. “I was pretty nervous.”
Needham and many others in attendance were able to meet the President and shake his hand.
Former superintendent Ernest L. Swenson was also in attendance.
“It’s great for Osawatomie and for the school,” he said. “It’s a great school and a great community. A lot of good things have happened here.”
The President ended his speech by calling for a return to the personal and business values that Roosevelt held to 101 years ago.
“And it is that belief that rallied thousands of Americans to Osawatomie – maybe even some of your ancestors – on a rain-soaked day more than a century ago. By train, by wagon, on buggy, bicycle, and foot, they came to hear the vision of a man who loved this country, and was determined to perfect it.
“We are all Americans,” Teddy Roosevelt told them that day. “Our common interests are as broad as the continent.” In the final years of his life, Roosevelt took that same message all across this country, from tiny Osawatomie to the heart of New York City, believing that no matter where he went, or who he was talking to, all would benefit from a country in which everyone gets a fair chance.
Well into our third century as a nation, we have grown and changed in many ways since Roosevelt’s time. The world is faster. The playing field is larger. The challenges are more complex.
But what hasn’t changed – what can never change – are the values that got us this far. We still have a stake in each other’s success. We still believe that this should be a place where you can make it if you try. And we still believe, in the words of the man who called for a New Nationalism all those years ago, “The fundamental rule in our national life – the rule which underlies all others – is that, on the whole, and in the long run, we shall go up or down together.”
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Posted by admin
on Dec 7 2011. Filed under News and Updates.
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