Barack

 On a chilly November night in 2008, a young politician took a flag-flanked podium in Chicago.

Barack Obama was surrounded by thousands of his supporters celebrating the campaign’s victory, those who helped elect him president of the United States.

“I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to,” the then president-elect said. “It belongs to you. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.”

Obama’s victory was one that many said symbolized the youthful vitality he brought to the White House.

Eighteen percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in 2008, and it was the first time the 9/11 generation actively participated in choosing the next president.

It was the first time the youth of America was able to discover its power in its own government. The promise of hope and change was sufficient for young people who had become weary of war and economic struggles.

For many, the victory symbolized a success for youthful ideals and positivity in the fight against a generation’s fears.

Late on a May night in 2011, Obama once again took to a flag-flanked podium, this time in the White House.

There were no supporters at his side, but crowds of young people were already gathering outside the gates on Pennsylvania Avenue.
 
The news had already been broken online, and the 9/11 generation had turned out to hear what the president had to say.

“Good evening,” the president said. “Tonight I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.”

Outside, the crowds chanted, cheered and waved flags late into the night, just like in Chicago almost three years earlier.

Their hero had destroyed their villain. Good had triumphed over evil, and for that, they were grateful.

— Charles Scudder

Illustration by Chris Ware | MCT Campus