State of the Union – Boring, but good message for us graduating folk

Here I sit a week later writing about a State of the Union speech that I can barely recall any details about. President Obama chose his words wisely, safely appealing to both Republicans and Democrats while largely avoiding clear and specific policy proposals.

I have to say, it was pretty boring.

But the young, soon-to-graduate-from-college-and-not-exactly-sure-what-he’s-going-to-do-next-yet-strangely-not-worried-at-all kid inside of me resonated with one talking point in an otherwise very long hour of watching.

“Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we’d beat them to the moon,” said President Obama, calling for job-creation throughout various fields of science. “The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.”

“This is our generation’s Sputnik moment,” he added.

Hey people who are finishing up college this year, this is our “Sputnik moment.” Let’s get excited about going into the world. We’re young. We’re smart. We’re energetic. We’re hip.

A rough job market? No worries. Let’s change it.