We have finally arrived.
Heathcliff and Clair Huxtable have changed their address to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Virtually. A generation of American youth, either in the first-runs or in re-runs, have become familiar and comfortable with The Huxtables. Americans grew to accept and appreciate the young, educated, professional, sharp, witty, smart, sassy, eloquent, thoughtful and persistently classy black couple who owned a home in Brooklyn filled with black children who were on their way to being much like their parents in class and character.
While there were many factors leading to the day that Barack and Michelle Obama entered the White House, Cliff and Clair certainly paved the way for mainstream America (white folk) to accept and appreciate a young, educated, professional, sharp, witty, smart, sassy, eloquent, thoughtful and persistently classy black couple to run main street for at least 4 years. The only real difference is that instead of a physician and a lawyer, they are both lawyers. Well, Barack and Michelle are also not virtual — they are real.
It is at this time, in particular, that I reflect on the days following September 11, 2001. For the terrorist attacks that were horrific and unthinkable to America on September 10, became a shared reality for the rest of the world soon afterward. The landscape had literally and figuratively changed. Something astonishing for me was to see that other nations that had no particular reason to share in our grief, did so openly. It was deeply moving to see other nations fly the American flag over their proud capitols and to blast our national anthem over the crowds on their streets and public squares. The citizens of many nations sang a song with words that they couldn’t understand. Whatever animosity, jealousy or disdain may have existed for America on September 10, all was forgiven and nearly erased on September 12. I often thought, would America fly the flag of another nation or blast another nation’s national anthem to show empathy and brotherhood with our fellow mankind? While we could (and have) shown all manner of support to another nation in distress, certain actions are off limits. They are unthinkable. We are the parent nation of the world, or at least we think we are. Parents command respect, but do they always deserve it?
Unfortunately, instead of capitalizing on the goodwill of the world and expanding it, the President of the day engaged in a series of hideous mistakes that not only erased all the goodwill that had been given in just one day, but spent, in advance, much of the goodwill that could be earned for many years to come. Some disjointed version of The Bunkers had taken up residence in the white-washed building across from Lafayette Square. The worst of the neo-cons were in parentage of the world. Respect was replaced with disdain, hate and fear.
So, here we are today replacing The Bunkers with The Huxtables. One virtual family that served as a lightning rod of American culture and counter-culture superseded by another family that has among the best of qualities deemed appropriate and appreciable by any respectable family in America. The virtual black family that once lived next to Archie has moved on up farther than the East Side — a real black family is moving into a house that once was operated by slaves.
On that late Tuesday evening in November, many nations around the world passed a collective sigh of relief that another newly minted neo-con lost to Cliff Huxtable. More importantly, some measure of respect and admiration was restored to America, if not for choosing a different political path but for also choosing a different social path. By some measure, the outpouring of grief and empathy of seven years ago was renewed and morphed into amazement and joy that a black man could be running the most important office in the world. Citizens of other nations, who would otherwise care not one wit about who is President, cheered in the final verdict given to their eager anticipation. In one sense, America redeemed itself.
John Blake on CNN.com state, this changes everything. But, does it really change everything? Will The Obamas live life much as any other First Family would? Inspriring oratory, glitzy gowns, vague promises … we’ve seen and heard it before. Is it really different this time? Perhaps for one segment of society it is. We are entering a period of nostalgia when Heathcliff and Clair will appear on our televisions every evening, though less likely to make us laugh and more likely to make us admire them. Of all the talk of reparation for blacks following slavery, I think we have made a rather large down payment on the future of Black America, or Hispanic America, or Asia America or even Arab America.
Today is not a day of protest. Today is a day for careful consideration that a man was not measured by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. As the black messiah, Barack Obama has some big shoes to fill and carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. While Michelle can be elegant and demure like Jackie Kennedy (as demure as it gets for a black woman in this age), can Barack can be smart and stately like President Kennedy? Will he expand upon the goodwill afforded America by other nations? Can he rise above the political din to achieve what is rational and reasonable for Americans? Time will tell, but I think he can.
Today is a new day.
