Obama’s Speech embraces age of technology

By BRENDAN HALL
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address was headlined by the integration of parties of Congress in the audience, but the focus is on what he said, not where people sat.
President Obama’s speech had three primary points: embracing the age of technology, education reform, and government reform. By far, the most important topic of the night was the emphasis on technology. President Obama exclaimed that America is lagging in the fields of math and science, and much of that is due to people’s adherence to former ways of life when thousands were employed in factories.
He called for the beginning of a new age of innovation, where America will embrace the change technology has brought on and use it to improve America. He set important goals, such as that by the year 2035, 80 percent of the energy America uses will be clean energy and that there will be 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015.
The other major topic of the night was education. President Obama emphasized the importance of supporting teachers who he said are true American heroes. He even went as far as to tell high school and college students unsure of what profession to pursue that they should become teachers.
He applauded America’s universities and brought up the point that people from oversees who come here to study should not be denied citizenship and be sent back to compete against the United States.
The final significant talking point in President Obama’s speech was the issue of government reform. He stated that even though the country and the world has shifted dynamically in the age of technology, America’s government has not been restructured since the 1920s. The president committed to refining much of the redundant commissions and complex committees. As an example, Obama described that there are two different committees which regulate salmon, one when they’re in freshwater and the other when they move to saltwater.
The president also had a few other important statements, one being that he would veto any and every bill that came to his desk with earmarks. He also emphasized that the importance of bipartisanism must stay in the forefront of both his and Congress’ minds.
Obama exclaimed that America must “win the future,” that we must win it with vigor and innovation, intelligent minds and diligent workers. Hopefully America listened, and Congress did too.