Ty’Sheoma Bethea-We Are Not Quitters

During the State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama mentioned the name of 14 year old Ty'Sheoma Bethea from South Carolina. This was the young lady who was tired of the conditions of her school. She thought that the powerful people in Congress could do something about it.

She wanted to her help her school with the issue of the stained rugs which covered the holes in the floor. She wrote about the rain that pours from the ceiling, the classroom temperatures that are like freezing in the winter time. She went on to tell about the freight trains passing along nearby tracks that shake the buildings so violently that the lights go out several times a day."People are starting to see my school as an hopeless, uneducated school which we are not," Bethea wrote, "We finally want to prove to the world that we have an chance in life just like other schools and we can feel good about what we are doing because of the conditions we are in now we can not succeed in anything."

I just finished watching the Presidents First Address to the Nation (since his innauguration) and there in the crown listening was Ty'Sheoma and her mom. I am sure Ty'Sheoma does not know what a "Stimulus Package" is what the term "bail out' means. Ty'Sheoma does know that her letter might be an opportunity for "hope" for the conditions in her school.

President Obama not only had the information from the letter forwarded to him- he repeated it in his address.

He was quoted as saying, " We are not quitters."

"These words and these stories tell us something about the spirit of the people who sent us here. They tell us that even in the most trying times, amid the most difficult circumstances, there is a generosity, a resilience, a decency, and a determination that perseveres; a willingness to take responsibility for our future and for posterity.
Their resolve must be our inspiration. Their concern."

I was almost in tears when I heard these words. The American people NEED to hear these words. We have been battered and bruised with this recession. Many of us are in a state of hopelessness. If not for the grace of God we would not make it through.

The final words Obama stated are in fact what Americans need to do= COME TOGETHER.

This is not the time for dissension and separation but for unity. Only time will tell to see if his words were truly heard.