Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama kick off the construction of the Obama Presidential Centre in Chicago on Tuesday. They called the event ‘broke ground on the Obama Presidential Centre’. According to Obama and his wife Michelle this is the beginning one of the final steps in the long delayed project.
President Obama said his Presidential Centre is not going to be your typical museum however is going to promote and champion democratic ideas.
“What we’ve seen is that in the breach, a culture of cynicism and mistrust can grow. We start seeing more division and increasingly bitter conflict. A politics that feeds anger and resentment towards those who aren’t like us and starts turning away from democratic principles in favour of tribalism,” he said.
“But the good news is we can reverse these trends. I don’t believe it’s inevitable that we succumb to paralysis or mutual hatred or abandon democracy in favour of systems that reserve power and privilege for the few as has been true throughout our history. I believe we have it in us to re-imagine our institutions. To make them responsive to today’s challenges and rebuild our societies in a way that give more and more people a better life,” Obama added.
The former first lady said, “No matter what I’ve accomplished or who I’ve met or where I’ve gone, one of my greatest honours is being a proud Chicagoan. A daughter of the South Side. I still lead with that descriptor. I wear it boldly and proudly like a crown”.
MORE PICTURES:
Leave a Reply