Sunday, May 7, 2017

#31 - Profile in Courage

I watched the ceremony at the JFK Library in Boston tonight, awarding the Profile in Courage Award to President Barack Obama.   In his acceptance speech, there was no mention of President Donald J. Trump, but in enumerating qualities and courage required to serve, the differences were apparent.

He touched on the Kennedy family history of service which began with John and Bobby and Ted and continues today, and he reminded all in the audience that "we need courage to listen to each other" and that "each one of us can make a difference and all of us ought to try"

Not only was our former president articulate and eloquent in all of his commentary, but he took the opportunity to remind us of the importance of looking back at our history to see how far we had come, so we could better see where we must go.

When he spoke of courage, he spoke of examples of other individuals who had exemplified courage in his life time.   There was no focus on him, no replay of his accomplishments, no reflection on his ...greatness.  It was a breath of fresh air.

He remains today, one of the few adults in the room. 

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