Obama’s Presidential Medals of Freedom: Diverse Game-Changers UPDATED

Joseph Medicine Crow

President Obama has just send a tellingly symbolic message about the difference in priorities [please see UPDATE, below] of his administration from those of the Bush Administration---his just-announced list of 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.

On Jan. 13, in the waning days of his administration, President Bush bestowed the medal upon three past or present heads of state: Tony Blair, Great Britain; John Howard, Australia; Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Colombia.

You have only to read Obama's roster of demographically diverse leaders from an eclectic assortment of fields to get a sense of the new President's inclusive sensibility. The honorees, who will receive their medals on Aug. 12, include one cultural leader---Joseph Medicine Crow, the 95-year-old former war chief of the Crow tribe.

According to the citation:

Joseph Medicine Crow, the last living Plains Indian war chief, is the author of seminal works in Native American history and culture....His contributions to the preservation of the culture and history of the First Americans are matched only by his importance as a role model to young Native Americans across the country.

Other medalists range from pioneering San Francisco gay rights activist Harvey Milk (posthumously honored) to Nobel Peace Prize recipient Desmond Tutu, the South African anti-apartheid activist.

Here's the common denominator, as described by the President:

These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds....They share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way. "Their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive.

Community organizers, on a grand scale.

UPDATE: In preparing this post, I looked only at President Bush's last round of medalists. Having now examined prior years, I must acknowledge that he did reach out to diverse worthies. Here's a NY Times report on Bush's 2006 honorees.