‘That’s What It Means to Lead With Hope and Not Fear’
Michelle Obama made a rare post-White House appearance Thursday to celebrate Ellen DeGeneres‘ birthday. Continuing to be a source of inspiration, the former First Lady delivered a wonderfully optimistic message.
“All we have is hope,” she told Ellen, who turned 60 last week. DeGeneres told Obama she “personally” feels “frightened,” and that “the world is a very scary place right now.” She asked Obama for her take.Â
“People are afraid,” Obama told DeGeneres in the video above, “but then there are people who feel good about the direction of the country, so I mean, that’s what makes this country complicated, because it’s made up of so many different people from different backgrounds. I mean, we are this mosh pit of society and sometimes there’s a rub,” she said.
“The thing I learned in the eight years that I was in the White House is that what we do every day in our lives, the good things that we do every day — and we know we do it: we show empathy, we care for each other, you know, we do have a lot in common,” she said.
“That’s what it means to lead with hope and not fear.”
“I would just encourage your viewers, the country, to do the things we do every day. To love each other, to take care of each other, to show empathy — and you can’t do that only when people make you feel good or safe. We’ve got to do it all across the board.”
“We have to be an open-hearted nation and that’s who we are,” she added. “And that’s the truth of who we are.”
“So, let’s just keep living our lives like that every single day and forget what they’re saying in Washington. That’s not necessarily who we are. We know who we are, and I know who this country is.”
Before talking about the how to handle the current political climate, Obama and DeGeneres caught up and talked about life after the White House (video below.)
Hat tip: The Hill
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