Norma LaVonne Smith is the editor of Hope, Change, and Obama: Notes on an Historic Election, a collection of essays written by the generation mostly responsible for the election of President Obama, high school and college aged students. (Full disclosure: an essay I authored is included). Smith, Director of Human Resources and Organizational Development for a community college in Texas is also the founder NLS Publishing. The website for NLS Publishing states that the inspiration for the book, and for the three $1,000 scholarships awarded to the best contributors, was an attempt to “capture some of the enthusiasm” surrounding the 2008 Election.
Progress to me means to develop, or to improve oneself or one’s situation, she writes I think we as a nation progress 10 steps forward by electing Barack Obama as President of the United States.
Connelly: Why did you choose President Obama as the subject for this collection of essays?
Smith: found the excitement surrounding the election fascinating and wanted to capture some of that excitement. Since the young voters were a big key to Obama’s win, I decided to hold an essay contest to better understand what was on the minds of the younger voters.
Connelly:What is the common thread linking these essays? Is there a theme, idea, or image which pulls them all together, or is each author’s entry completely unique?
Smith: Each essay in the book is unique, but the common thread is that the younger generation is more open and accepting and ready to see change in this country.
Connelly: Which of the perspectives presented is your personal favorite? These are students writing about a man who seems to have captured the imagination of a generation, but which essay best paints a picture of that generation, in your opinion?
Smith: I absolutely love all of the perspectives presented in the book. No one essay paints the best picture. It is the collection of essays that makes this book so inspiring.
Connelly: Which young writer did you personally identify with the most? Was there an essay which made you think while reading it “wow, that was me at 18?”
Smith: Actually, there were no essays that really told my story. But many people that have read the book have told me that they felt that one or the stories in the book could have been their story.
Connelly: If you were to attempt a follow up to this project, what would your subject matter be?
Smith: If I attempted to follow up this project, I would probably ask the same questions after Barack Obama left office.
Connelly: Reading through some of these essays, I think of an old warning: the world is a cruel place for true believers. Do you think the optimism exhibited in many of these essays (including my own) is warranted now? What are those optimistic (some may say naïve) young writers to do now that the man most of them admire is in office?
Smith: I think the optimism exhibited during the election was just what this country needed. And as Barack Obama said, we need to be the change we want to see. Therefore, we need to continue to make to help bring about the changes that we feel this country needs.
Connelly: Obama has been called the greatest political communicator of our time. Certainly, he is a powerful public speaker, however, many Americans of all political stripes are concerned that he is not following through on his eloquent words. Do you think this is a fair critique?
: I don’t think it is fair to make any judgments at this point. Obama inherited a mess when he took office, a mess we did not get into in 7 or 8 months. I don’t think we will be able to make any fair assessments until well after he is out of office.
Connelly: A society’s understanding of its past is linked to its understanding of itself. One historian pointed out that each generation rediscovers Abraham Lincoln, and remolds him in their own image. How do you suppose future generations will regard President Obama and the generation that put him in power?
: I think the election of Obama is a pivotal point in our history. If nothing else, Obama inspired our country. I think this generation will be commended for taking our country to the next level.
Connelly: “Hope” and “change” were both certainly buzzwords during this past election cycle. Why do you think President Obama inspired such hope in so many people? What changes exactly should we as a country be hoping for?
: President Obama inspired so much hope because he identified so well with the common citizen. He is real and down-to-earth. His story is a lot of our stories.
Nice interveiw. You asked some good questions here and I'm glad you got to ask Smith's opinion on whether or not Obama was following through on his promises. That's a question worth asking of any president, but it's an especially hot topic with Pres. Obama. Some feel he's not moving fast enough. Smith gives a great answer though, something that reflects my own opinion, that we can't make a judgement yet. It's really not been that long if you think about it, and problems can't be solved in a mere couple of months or so.