Obama: America is ‘an eternally youthful and forward-looking nation’

Former President Barack Obama took part Monday (Dec. 1) in the first live program for Crystal Bridges Museum’s new “Building Bridges” conversation series, saying his belief in the American spirit is unshakable.

Moderated by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art board chair Olivia Walton at the Whole Health Institute in Bentonville, Obama shared experiences from the White House, his future presidential library, and his take on current politics. The 44th president expressed concerns about the decline of American norms and values that have guided nations in the post-World War II order.

“It is true that we are more divided and our democracy is more unstable than any other point in my lifetime,” Obama said. “But I would say the order, the systems, the institutions built after WWII … those are unstable in a way I would not have expected.”

Without naming President Donald Trump specifically, he expressed concerns about how the Justice Department and the U.S. military have been used to pursue vendettas and personal political scores.

“That would be something that I would lecture other countries not to do,” Obama said. “That’s what’s supposed to happen some other place. It’s not supposed to happen here.”

Obama defined the “American spirit” as a proliferation of “joiners and volunteers” working together to improve their daily lives, while still clinging to the ideal that each individual has the power to do whatever they want.

“It’s the notion of citizenship and all that embodies. ‘We the People’ … Nobody is worse than me, nobody is better than me,” he said.

He declared that every successive generation of Americans believes it can do better, and so far, it has.

“That’s why we’ve been an eternally youthful and forward looking nation,” Obama said.

The former president said the polarization of American politics has changed the incentive structure for those in elected office to avoid cooperation and compromise. He said electing one party over another with opposite agendas, gerrymandered congressional districts, and fewer contested general election contests has led to less problem-solving and a breakdown of thoughtful debate.

“That’s the challenge that we have. … There’s a bunch of structures that have been set up that don’t give them the incentives to work together,” he said.

Obama said living and traveling abroad had shaped his worldview of America’s potential to lead.

“For all our flaws, the idea of America was powerful,” he said. “And it’s a reason why it was a magnet for people from other parts of the world to come here. It’s OK to look at America’s flaws and be critical of it, and still love it. … That’s the exceptionalism of America.”

Obama talked about plans for his presidential library that should open next year in Chicago. The campus will encourage finding common ground, pay tribute to veterans, support artistic endeavors, and train the next generation of civic leaders.

“It’s my view that we underinvest in civic leadership and talent,” he said.

Following are other notes from the “Building Bridges” conversation.

• He is writing his second post-presidential memoir.
• The worst part of living in the White House is being trapped. A part of him misses the anonymity that came before being world-famous.
• The best part of the White House are the views from the Truman Balcony and sneaking into musician sessions at White House entertainment rehearsals.
• The world leader that surprised him in a good way: Angela Merkel of Germany because she was a scientist and was analytical in approaching problems.