Lessons on youth from Barack Obama’s memoir

From the outset of his first volume of presidential memoir, A Promised Land, Barack Obama singles out youth as his main target audience.

He solemnly states that one of the main reasons for documenting his journey from his earliest political aspirations to the time he became 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the highest office, is to tell a personal story that might inspire young people considering a life of public service.   

As you read the book, it is not hard to tell that Obama is profusely concerned about the future; he places his faith in the next generation, whose conviction, as he says, in the equal world seems to come as a second nature. 

He offers enriching lessons and insights to young people, to start small, work hard, learn and grow – the principle of process.   

When he graduated in 1983, he had big ideas and nowhere to go. After bouncing around a couple of ill-fitting jobs in New York, he heard about a position in Chicago, working with a group of churches that were trying to stabilise communities racked by steel plant closures.

Nothing grand, but a place to start. Community organisation– grassroots work that brought ordinary people together around issues of local concern – as he describes is what changed  his life’s arc.

He experienced failure and learned to buck up, suffered rejections and insults often enough to stop fearing them.   

When he first ran for a national office in 2000 primary, he lost, but took the failure as a political boot camp. It gave him a clear blue print and drive for upping his game.

Similarly, when he lost New Hampshire Democratic Party’s presidential primary election to Hillary Clinton, he did not give up, instead, he got more fired up. It made him more confident that he would be up to the job.   

Obama understands well, how young people are easily upset and discouraged especially when they fail, and he advises young people not to be deterred because of setbacks. 

He also shares on the important need to tap and harness the power of young people.

In his campaigns for Senate and Presidency, Obama hired young organisers and volunteers, who, he said, had fresh ideas, helped his campaign to embrace technology that contributed to his victory.  

As someone always dismissed as inexperienced because of his age, he encourages young people not to feel inadequate or allow themselves to be defined and discriminated because of their age.   

In a contest against John McCain, he wondered if majority of voters could get comfortable with the idea of a young, inexperienced African American Senator.

But Americans gave him a chance, and on that he says, he had to prove his worth- he promised himself not to let them down.

Exactly what young people must do whenever they get a chance: Occupy their place and give their all.  

He did not just stop there, he went out of his way to value and give young people chances.

He tapped into their energy, creativity and wisdom throughout his presidency.

For example, he hired many young people to join his administration including Jon Favreau who was only 23 to be his speechwriter. 

They helped him challenge the assumptions of what was referred to as “the Washington Play Book.”

Although none of these young staffers were firebrands, and they respected the institutional knowledge of those with deep foreign policy experience, they made no apologies for wanting to break from some of the constraints of the past in pursuit of something better.   

In his deep faith in young people, and belief that change would come through them, he made it an integral part of his programme abroad to host town hall meetings with young people- something he refers to as a source of inspiration.   

Indeed, as Obama has emphasised in his extraordinary book, the future belongs to young people with imagination to create – the real source of power. 

Reading the book gives a good reason to trust the youth, invest in young people and champion youth causes. This could transform the way societies and the world looks at young people. — The writer is a Public Policy Analyst  — raphojuma@hotmail.com