THE NATION is certainly enamored with our new president.
Over a million spectators converged on the nation’s capital to witness President Barack Obama’s inauguration, not to mention the 29.2 percent of the nation’s televisions, according to Nielsen television ratings, that were tuned to the ceremony on Jan. 20.
And people are still watching and talking about the first ever black First Family as they get settled — with a 69 percent approval rating — into their new life at the White House.
From copy-cat fashion to tourism packages that trace the roots of President Obama, everyone, it seems, is scrambling to find a personal connection to our nation’s newest “It” family.
Could this really signify a shift in our nation’s racial consciousness, or is it just an obsession with the change he promises?
It may be too soon to tell.
Unfortunately, though, unlike the Consumer Confidence Index, the unemployment rate and foreclosure reports, civil rights and racial consciousness isn’t as easy to assign a numeric value or trace on a flow chart.
Perhaps my girls’ perspective on our new president is something to consider: When I asked Grace, 7, and Hattie, 5, what they thought of President Obama, explaining to them that this is the first time in our nation’s history that an African-American was elected to the highest office in the country, they had a simple response.
“Oh.” Grace said. “And what’s for dinner?”
“I hope it’s chicken-on-the-bone,” Hattie added, clearly more concerned about the state of her stomach than the state of her country.
At first I was frustrated at their lack of enthusiasm and their “who cares” attitude. I pressed them for more of a reaction, giving them an abridged history of the civil rights movement in our country, even throwing in the fact that we’ve never even elected a girl to the office, hoping that might spark their curiosity.
It didn’t seem to matter much. They were still unimpressed.
What difference does President Obama make to two little white girls anyway? Right now, maybe not much. A lot like what this year’s presidential election has promised for America, a shift has taken place in Grace and Hattie’s lives, even if they don’t recognize its effects quite yet.
But what they will grow up knowing is that President Barack Obama is their president. And in many ways, especially if he’s elected for a second term, he will become a standard for them of what being an American looks like — on the playground, in the classroom, in their neighborhood and in the Oval Office.
And when it finally comes their turn to cast their votes a decade or so from now, I hope that considering another First Family who doesn’t look like their own won’t matter much to them then either.
If that happens, a new era truly will have come to the United States.
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
Well written, but I am still frustrated that President Obama is referred to as black. Does his white half not count? What's next? We'll make history by voting in somebody who weighs at least 400 pounds? I am being to feel like this wasn't a presidental issue. It was a black issue.
February 2, 2009 at 9:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
crackinsack: Thank you for your response. I now do see things in a different light.
February 4, 2009 at 4:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )