--- title: Barack Obama on Veteran's Day: Look to Veterans for Hope description: President Barack Obama delivered his final Veteran's Day address, saying: "Whenever the world makes you cynical...look to a veteran." canonical: https://time.com/4568093/president-obama-veterans-hope/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-11T17:25:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:47:12.130Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama: Look to Veterans for Hope 'Whenever the World Makes You Cynical' og:description: President Barack Obama delivered his final Veteran's Day address, saying: "Whenever the world makes you cynical...look to a veteran." og:url: https://time.com/4568093/president-obama-veterans-hope/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5df09e532ef9ebec/6988ae3097cdffc2196ae901/gettyimages-622399622.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Obama Lays Wreath At Tomb Of Unknown Soldier On Veterans Day og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama: Look to Veterans for Hope 'Whenever the World Makes You Cynical' twitter:description: President Barack Obama delivered his final Veteran's Day address, saying: "Whenever the world makes you cynical...look to a veteran." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5df09e532ef9ebec/6988ae3097cdffc2196ae901/gettyimages-622399622.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama: Look to Veterans for Hope 'Whenever the World Makes You Cynical' by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 11, 2016 5:25 PM UTC  U.S. President Barack Obama participates in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day November 11, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia. Alex Wong—Getty Images U.S. President Barack Obama participates in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day November 11, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia. Alex Wong—Getty ImagesAlex Wong—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 11, 2016 5:25 PM UTC President Barack Obama delivered his final Veterans Day address while in office on Friday, thanking all [18.8 million veterans in the U.S.](http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff21.html) for their service. His remarks were short and direct, lasting no more than 15 minutes, but his message was meant to reach far beyond the ears of those who served. In the wake of the [remarkable 2016 presidential election](http://time.com/4564440/donald-trump-wins-2/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-magmod), in which businessman Donald Trump emerged as the nation’s future commander-in-chief—a man who [insulted a Gold Star family](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/us/politics/donald-trump-khizr-khan-wife-ghazala.html) along with [veteran and former prisoner of war Sen. John McCain](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/trump-attacks-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured-120317)—President Obama called for unity and understanding in his Friday morning address. “As we search for ways to come together…some of our best examples are the men and women we salute on Veterans Day,” he said. “Whenever the world makes you cynical; whenever you seek true humility, and true selflessness—look to a veteran.” Our nation’s veterans, he said, are the embodiment of courage and selflessness and are deserving of not only our thanks but our support. The president remarked on the efforts his administration undertook to cut veteran homelessness, increase jobs for vets, and improve veteran health care despite the intense backlogs at Veteran’s hospitals that roiled the administration. The president praised the U.S. military as the “single most diverse institution in our country” and urged Americans to tap into the spirit of commonality that defines the armed forces as the country moves forward. “We can show how much we love our country by loving our neighbors as ourselves,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4568093/president-obama-veterans-hope/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4568093/president-obama-veterans-hope/"},"headline":"President Obama: Look to Veterans for Hope 'Whenever the World Makes You Cynical'","datePublished":"2016-11-11T17:25:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:47:12.130Z","description":"\"Whenever the world makes you cynical,\" he said, \"look to a veteran\"","url":"https://time.com/4568093/president-obama-veterans-hope/","keywords":["White House","Veterans","Barack Obama","Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5df09e532ef9ebec/6988ae3097cdffc2196ae901/gettyimages-622399622.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5df09e532ef9ebec/6988ae3097cdffc2196ae901/gettyimages-622399622.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Obama Lays Wreath At Tomb Of Unknown Soldier On Veterans Day","caption":"President Obama Lays Wreath At Tomb Of Unknown Soldier On Veterans Day","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4568093/president-obama-veterans-hope/","name":"President Obama: Look to Veterans for Hope 'Whenever the World Makes You Cynical'"}}]}] ```