Slightly cheesy? Perhaps for some. Genuine? Totally! Life-changing? For those hearing (and hugging) her, radically! World-changing? A small step, but a vital one! A genuine bit of peacemaking in action.
Michelle Obama Finds Her Role on the World Stage - TIME.
.... This was a rhetorical feint of sorts, since Michelle's whole point was
that she was meeting with important people too, a group of about 200
proud teenagers from a mind-boggling variety of backgrounds. The
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School has about 1,000 students, all of them
girls ages 11 to 17, two-thirds of whom speak English as a second
language. Fifty-five languages are spoken at the school. Ninety percent
of the students are ethnic minorities, and no single ethnic group makes
up more than 21% of the student body. As a group, they treated Obama as
if she were an American Queen, a personification of what they can only
dream of becoming in a country where no minority has risen nearly as
high as the Obamas. ...
.... as she concluded, she switched to the first-person plural, suddenly speaking for more than just herself. "We are counting on every single one of you to be the best that you can be," she told the young women, many wearing Muslim headscarves, all sitting in rapt attention. "We know you can do it. We love you."
.... as she concluded, she switched to the first-person plural, suddenly speaking for more than just herself. "We are counting on every single one of you to be the best that you can be," she told the young women, many wearing Muslim headscarves, all sitting in rapt attention. "We know you can do it. We love you."
It takes all sorts to be a peacemaker. But the heart of it is humility, vunerability, maybe you could call it a beautiful spirit. And beautiful people dressed in beautiful clothes make a way for and highlight a beautiful spirit.
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