The Obamas: Putting the "first" into the First Family

That Barack Obama won so handily came as no surprise to me (though the electoral numbers ended up even a bit bigger than the most positive polling suggested), given his message and the real wants and needs of mainstream America — not to mention the audacious atrocity that was the McCain campaign. For months, however, the actual narrative of Obama’s journey has been lost in the details (of attack ads and policy pronouncements, gotchas and gaffes, pitbulls and plumbers). It reared its head again on Tuesday as soon as the first results starting coming in, and it is this: Americans have elected a black man as president, and (in modern terms, at least) by a landslide. But a sad truth is that the epochal nature of this moment hasn’t hit everyone — in fact, I’ve talked to a number of people here in southcentral Kentucky who either don’t recognize what a moment this is or who cynically dismiss it as being of little real importance.

Interestingly, it’s a sad truth that Obama himself alluded to many times over the course of the campaign: Our politics has become so divisive that we throw out the baby with the water. A brief perusing of my Facebook “status updates” list will suffice as an example: On Election Night, a good number of my evangelical Christian friends posted updates such as “Oh crud…”, “Here come higher taxes”, “Pray for our nation”, etc. Over the course of the longest campaign in American history, Barack Obama, a liberal, Christian politician in the mold of John F. Kennedy or FDR was painted as an absolute perversion of all that is right and good; it was based on cherry-picked aspects of his minimal legislative experience, two or three associations with less-desirable people (as if each of us doesn’t have a few of these ourselves), the notion that Christianity and unfettered free-market capitalism must go hand in hand, and his more modest approach to using the world’s most potentially destructive military force overseas.

All these things and more may, in your eyes and others, make him undesirable as a leader, or certainly the lesser of two choices for commander-in-chief. This is within the bounds of both reason and human decency. But none of these things make him a “terrorist” or justify someone “kill him” or represent some sort of cosmic punishment visited upon us by God Himself. Hyperbole? No, just the sincere (if secret) thoughts of a too-large number among us. But put aside the vilest hate… What I am to point out is that otherwise good-hearted, loving people cannot see past policy differences and personal preferences to the fact that the election of Obama — whether he ends up a great leader or a merely adequate one — is much bigger than a four-year term. It is, quite truly, the beginning of a new era in American history, an era where every man, woman and child of every color (though certainly not of every religion) can see that here, all are equal (if not in equally sufficient circumstances) and all can achieve based on their intelligence, determination and passion — regardless of race.

I strongly suspect this is due to subtle racism or prejudice, often of the kind that is subconscious and would be heated denied if the label was applied. For people like me in heavily white areas, “black culture” or “the minority” is something we see on TV more than we come across it on the street. Meanwhile, the black people we really are acquainted with, we know them through work or church or school — in other words, we know them as sharing our world, and we don’t give much thought to the significantly different aspects of our lives, families, etc.

Yesterday I talked to a very fundamentalist white girl who told me that, while she didn’t vote for Obama or like many of his political views, she was really excited to watch him accept victory and usher in what I will now and forevermore call The Obama Era. Another friend relayed the story of a black man who told him that now he would not have to lie to his children — telling them that they could grow up to be anything they put their mind to — because now it is a provable truth, not a nice idea that’s yet to actually take place.

The Obama Era does not mean that race relations are “fixed” or that the socioeconomic struggles that show themselves so strongly among different ethnic groups are now gone. In fact, as the first black president, Obama will be under an enormous sort of reverse pressure, at least in his first term, to “stay away from race” and focus on “everyday Joes” — i.e. white, working-class people. This is good political advice, but it’s a shame that our politics demands it. For if Obama was to make addressing our nation’s color-line disparities in education and income and housing and drug abuse his main priority, he’d be easily put away in the next election cycle — if not ignored altogether during his first by a majority white, majority wealthy legislative branch.

Still, it is a huge moment in American history — and one with which Obama himself proved amazingly self-aware. His victory speech, while not dwelling in the civil rights movement, paid sufficient tribute to it and expressed a profoundly non-cynical view of the progress we’ve made and the progress we’ve yet to make. One of the chief criticisms of Obama initially (pre-Ayers, pre-Wright, pre-”celebrity) went like this: “He’s not proud of his country? What about America does he think needs to be changed? What would he fix? America’s the greatest place on earth, but he doesn’t think so!” The truth, however, is more nuanced, too nuanced to bog down a political campaign traveling the road of soundbites and cable news. What struck me most about Obama’s speech — almost brought tears to my eyes, in all honesty — was his tale of the 106-year-old black woman who had literally watched history unfold before her eyes. The description of her life was a stirring thing in and of itself, though in and of itself it ultimately meant very little. But what grabbed me was the image of her, 106 years old, casting her ballot for a black man as president — and Obama’s subsequent question: If his daughter lives a century, what history would have unfolded before her eyes?

There is change to be made, even if we don’t know what it is and can’t imagine how our nation could be made better. There is a reason to hold onto hope in America — hope on top of happiness and appreciation, not in place of them — and there is work to be done. All were created equal, our Fathers told us, and a great many of us believe it. After creation, however, is where the winnowing is done — and too many of us, through no fault of our own, ever make it back. A President Obama, no matter how good a leader he turns out to be, can do little of himself to change that. But the simple fact that he was elected may do a great deal more than anyone ever dreamed.

I’ve just hauled my first load of slaves. Made $171,000 on the deal. Seriously, this is a darkly comic yet sobering look at part of our nation’s history. Click the pic to play for yourself.

• A good number of black people are upset over the selection of a Chinese sculptor to fashion a monument to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. As if Chinese-Americans don’t benefit from the civil rights movement.

• A sizable contingent in my own town of Bowling Green think it’s unfair to non-smokers that any business should be allowed to decide for itself whether or not to ban smoking. My libertarian sensibilities are glad that the majority of city commissioners aren’t buying it.

• Examples abound of non-Christians upset over any display of Christianity in the public realm, even if it’s not condoned or endorsed by the state. It’s unfair for a religious person, apparently, to talk about his articles of faith—even though faith by definition is something unprovable and based on opinion.

In my own workplace, similar situations are prevalent right now. First off, we have a now-demoted news editor and now-demoted sports editor. Both were told for years to shape up and made little if any attempt to do so. And both are upset over their loss of position and salary—not, it must be noted, over their loss of responsibilities. Secondly, I’ve sensed growing disdain from a fellow colleague or two over the hours I’ve been working lately. Justin’s not at his desk on Tuesday afternoons! Even though there’s nothing for him to do? Scandalous! The nerve!

And that’s where my own notion of “fairness” differs… namely, I rarely know anyone’s situations at all as closely as I know my own. If those colleague thought for a second, “Well, Justin in fact works 10-hour days two days a week,” and “Well, Justin in fact does the majority of supplemental work,” and “Well, Justin also runs a business,” they might (I emphasize that word) see that they actually have a much better deal than I. Flip the coin and you get the same result: I see all kinds of things, at work and elsewhere, that initially inflame my senses. “Why’s that guy got all this free time, and all this money? Why don’t I have it?” But sooner or later, it dawns on me that I have no idea what that guy’s going through, what he went through, what he will go through… and maybe, just maybe, I’m a lot better off.

That’s an article of faith, I guess. But it’s one I try to hold on to—my life is going great, despite the many difficulties. Because I’m sure it could be worse, and I don’t deserve most of what I have, and I don’t need half of what I want.

Sports and elections should be fair… and “life’s not fair” sounds nice, but it’s built on a flawed premise. Life can’t be judged that way… it’s not a game, and it’s not governed by rules that we made up and can hold others to. No… life is a mystery, or a drama, or a journey. But it’s not fair because it can’t be, wasn’t meant to be, and wouldn’t be much fun if it was.

• A good number of black people are upset over the selection of a Chinese sculptor to fashion a monument to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. As if Chinese-Americans don’t benefit from the civil rights movement.

• A sizable contingent in my own town of Bowling Green think it’s unfair to non-smokers that any business should be allowed to decide for itself whether or not to ban smoking. My libertarian sensibilities are glad that the majority of city commissioners aren’t buying it.

• Examples abound of non-Christians upset over any display of Christianity in the public realm, even if it’s not condoned or endorsed by the state. It’s unfair for a religious person, apparently, to talk about his articles of faith—even though faith by definition is something unprovable and based on opinion.

In my own workplace, similar situations are prevalent right now. First off, we have a now-demoted news editor and now-demoted sports editor. Both were told for years to shape up and made little if any attempt to do so. And both are upset over their loss of position and salary—not, it must be noted, over their loss of responsibilities. Secondly, I’ve sensed growing disdain from a fellow colleague or two over the hours I’ve been working lately. Justin’s not at his desk on Tuesday afternoons! Even though there’s nothing for him to do? Scandalous! The nerve!

And that’s where my own notion of “fairness” differs… namely, I rarely know anyone’s situations at all as closely as I know my own. If those colleague thought for a second, “Well, Justin in fact works 10-hour days two days a week,” and “Well, Justin in fact does the majority of supplemental work,” and “Well, Justin also runs a business,” they might (I emphasize that word) see that they actually have a much better deal than I. Flip the coin and you get the same result: I see all kinds of things, at work and elsewhere, that initially inflame my senses. “Why’s that guy got all this free time, and all this money? Why don’t I have it?” But sooner or later, it dawns on me that I have no idea what that guy’s going through, what he went through, what he will go through… and maybe, just maybe, I’m a lot better off.

That’s an article of faith, I guess. But it’s one I try to hold on to—my life is going great, despite the many difficulties. Because I’m sure it could be worse, and I don’t deserve most of what I have, and I don’t need half of what I want.

Sports and elections should be fair… and “life’s not fair” sounds nice, but it’s built on a flawed premise. Life can’t be judged that way… it’s not a game, and it’s not governed by rules that we made up and can hold others to. No… life is a mystery, or a drama, or a journey. But it’s not fair because it can’t be, wasn’t meant to be, and wouldn’t be much fun if it was.

And it’s hard for me to know what to say next. A white male blogging on race and culture… well, needless to say trouble lurks ’round every corner. But I saw something today* that woke me up… or, rather, shook my sensibilities in such a way that I couldn’t help blogging about it; in fact, it’s been stuck in my mind for hours now, and it’s probably not going anywhere.

When I was about 14, I went to youth camp—it was here, oddly enough, that I first heard “Gangsta Rap,” specifically Dr. Dre’s classic “The Chronic.” A huge marijuana leaf graced the cover, and the thematic material included gang violence, lurid misogyny and gutter sexuality, and illegal drug use. Some 10-15 years later, much of popular rap music is still dealing with the same subject manner, often in a glorifyingly carefree way. Some argue that it’s “reality;” others (to borrow a term from a different genre) “noise pollution.” Meanwhile, Bill Cosby grabs headlines for speeches encouraging “the black community” to stop glorifying violence, drug use and misogyny… urging parents to act like parents, urging children to pursue their educations and to stay away from drug culture.

Complicating the situation, for me anyway, is the fact that plenty of mature, professional black people enjoy gangsta rap—not to mention all the white male teens and twentysomethings who revel in it. Some of my black coworkers listen to it, yet they’d never see themselves as “hoes” or argue that life on the street is fun and edifying. They’re awesome people, and if I—or anyone, for that matter—ever said or implied that they matched the gangsta rap stereotype, I’d be cursed/slapped/fired/ostracized, and for good reason.

Yet the stereotype pervades, in large part because of rap music. Black Entertainment Television**—pretty much the only nationwide cable network devoted to black culture—plays this kind of garbage at all hours of the day: half-naked women, gawking and flailing in pornographic bliss, set to the beat of an 808 and to the words of some man talking about his conquests and his rims and his crimes and his sex appeal. It’s sad, and it’s infuriating, and yet the black community—no, wait, America—keeps buying it.

And that’s where the parody comes in. A rapper/poet named Bomani Armah put together a rap video that takes deadly aim at the pervasiveness of misogynistic, violent, ignorant rap music and at the masses that let themselves listen to it day in and day out. It’s totally offensive—in fact, just watching it makes a white guy feel a little guilty, as if he’s eavesdropping on a conversation he wasn’t invited into—yet it’s somehow amazing, and it’s got the power to start a major discussion on race, class, ethics and socioeconomics.

Anyway, I think I’ve said all I can say. Below is the video, which is animated. But first, a few disclaimers. I urge you, SERIOUSLY, to consider these things before you push play.

1. If profanity is a stumbling block for you, don’t watch it. There’s a LOT of profanity. Nothing sexual or gross about the language, but it’s filled with cursing. And while I’m not in the habit of broadcasting such stuff, I think it’s worth it for those of you who share my fascination with such parody/commentary.***
2. If you haven’t seen a rap video in the past few years, you won’t understand the visual component. There’s lots of booty shaking and bling-blingin’, a bit of raunchy sexuality, and the images move a warp speed. Be prepared.
3. If you haven’t heard a rap song in the past few years, this one will seem really repetitive… you may think, “Who is this guy? Why can’t he write more than ten words per verse?” Yet this is exactly what passes for music these days… There are plenty of good rappers out there, don’t get me wrong. But most of the crap they play on radio and TV sounds exactly like this.
4. I don’t necessarily agree with all parts of the message.
5. I don’t necessarily disagree with all parts of the message.
6. In a purely spiritual sense, there’s nothing particularly edifying. However, there’s a lot to think about: For the target audience (black youth, mainly, and other rap listeners), a message that’s rarely been offered in such a radical medium; and for others (like me), an opportunity for reflection on subconscious prejudices, assumptions, and direct/indirect advancement of stereotypes.

Okay. So you got this far: Here it is. (If you’re disappointed… well, sorry.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN2VqFPNS8w]

*Thanks to Adam for pointing me to this.

**Black Entertainment Television has, in fact, aired this video on a number of occasions.

***Does the music sound familiar? It’s possible you know it as what it originally was, which is a classical piece (the composer’s name escapes me). But the actual arrangement that’s been sampled and looped is the theme to “Judge Judy,” a show which at once glorifies and exploits minorities, immigrants and the American lower class in general. Which, in my opinion, makes the video all the better.