[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4484-4485]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING ROHIT RAINA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 2015

  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the 
brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my 
Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening 
to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. 
They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger 
constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of 
being an active participant in the political process. Many of the 
students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am 
pleased to share them with my House colleagues.
  Rohit Raina attends Dawson High School in Pearland, Texas. The essay 
topic is: select an important event that has occurred in the past 15 
years and explain how that event has changed our country.


                          A New Nation Is Born

       The time had come, Election Day in 2008. Republicans and 
     Democrats were standing in anxious positions, waiting to see 
     who would emerge victorious; Barack Obama, or John McCain. 
     The Democrats were obviously rooting for Barack Obama, 
     whereas the Republicans were cheering on for John McCain. 
     However, only one could stand victorious. After a long 
     collection of votes, the new president was declared; Barack 
     Hussein Obama, the first African American President of the 
     United States of America.
       November 4, 2008 will be a day to remember in our American 
     history. That day was when all tides had turned, and a 
     movement was born. Barack Obama, a three time senate member 
     for Illinois, became the first African American man to ever 
     become president in the history of the United States of 
     America. The turnout of this election was a complete change 
     in the perspective of the American people; where people were 
     used to ``White supremacy'' and social inequality. After the 
     election, peoples' mindsets changed about socialism and the 
     attitude toward racism in the workplace. I had read a book by 
     Joseph E. Stiglitz, The Price of Inequality, which this book 
     references how after Obama was elected, the whole nation 
     changed. In the workplace, people were more respectful to the 
     African American race, there wasn't as much racial 
     discrimination as there previously was. In the book I had 
     read, office employers would be somewhat racist; to a point 
     where a Caucasian man with a critical record had a higher 
     chance of getting a job they tried out for than an African 
     American man without a criminal record. Socially, people were 
     more understanding of the African American race, because they 
     now knew

[[Page 4485]]

     with Obama as president, the African American people were 
     seen to have potential and were not judged any longer.
       Barack Obama has honestly been one of our greatest 
     presidents in the American nation.
       Understandably, presidents such as FDR and Lincoln fought 
     through tough times, but Obama was not any less of those two 
     great men. By signing the economic stimulus and fighting 
     through an economic recession, Barack Obama has led the Land 
     of the Free out of grave trouble and into the path of 
     success. President Obama had led us out of two wars in the 
     Middle East, lowered gas prices, and helped the American 
     nation by producing an amazing healthcare system called 
     ObamaCare. By his second term, he had created a better 
     nation, besides the 18 trillion dollar deficit the United 
     States is currently under. With better gun control (because 
     of the Sandy Hook shooting), the assassination of the Taliban 
     terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden, and the search for better 
     relations with Cuba, Obama has clearly led this nation to the 
     path of power.
       Barack Obama's election and reelection was one of the most 
     effective changing thing in American history. For the past 15 
     years, America was getting better and thriving, but with 
     Barack Obama, our nation has reemerged as a much more 
     powerful superpower. Who knows where we will be in 5 more 
     years, but with Barack Obama's leadership and his effect on 
     the future presidency line, we will be in great shape.

                          ____________________