America’s First Family: The New Camelot
“I am the son of a Black man from Kenya and a White woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a White grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a White grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a Black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners—an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.”—Barack Obama, A More Perfect Union, March 18, 2008
People all over the world are fascinated with America’s newest first family. The Obamas have become a symbol of the vast possibilities of life. Before, America’s first families represented, among other things, a confirmation of the status quo, an assurance of a familiar continuity. But on January 20, 2009, a new family emerged, permanently changing the course of history.
The Obamas have drawn comparisons to another former first family, the Kennedys. People see in President Obama the charisma and youthfulness of John F. Kennedy. They see in Michelle the competence and beauty of Jacqueline Kennedy. The two Obama daughters, Malia and Sasha, are the nation’s beloved children, possessing the adorableness and charm of Caroline and John, Jr. Similar to the Camelot days of the Kennedy administration that included nuclear threats and racial disturbances, American people today are grappling with economic recession and terrorism. Energy, idealism and hope seem to be invariable constants of both Camelot families.
The Obamas, however, mean a good deal more to people that historically have been oppressed. In particular, African-Americans gain untold inspiration from the new Camelot. In America, Black families have endured every imaginable assault. Individuals were stripped from the African continent, subjected to a horrific passage to America, and once here, were dehumanized by slavery. Captivity destroyed personality and often separated the family unit. Black families were forced to cope with a foreign culture while kept illiterate. Millions of hours of labor went unpaid. After emancipation, Black families endured systematized racism, job manipulation, terrorism, withholding of citizenship rights, and a myriad of conspiracies aimed to keep them subjected to a system of oppression.
There is no doubt that the enemy of God’s people has specifically targeted African-American families for the length of this nation’s existence. Satan wishes nothing more for the Black race than complete decimation, or, as a second-best option, total ruin. But God has been with African-Americans. Within America today multitudes of Black families of great distinction can be found in every major city. Like great African-Americans of old, Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, men who rose up from slavery to become legendary, other Blacks against similar odds have attained high levels of success. Remarkably, African-Americans can now point to the most visible family in the nation, in the highest office in the nation, and in the most powerful nation on the planet as an example of not only an achievement of excellence but of divine intervention: “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:6, 7). This is what the new Camelot is to African-Americans.
Every family should seek to know and realize God’s optimal plan for contributing to the betterment of society and ultimately His kingdom. Every family has a divine duty to show the world what a godly family can achieve and become. Oftentimes, Christian families can become so engrossed in reaching a pinnacle of success that the higher aim of displaying God’s love and character to a confused and lost world is lost sight of. The Christian sees more at play in the world than recessions and terrorism. In the hurricanes and the floods, in the wars and diseases, Christians glimpse the closing of this earth’s history and the glorious return of Jesus Christ—the only way out. May God bless America’s first family, and all who represent the heavenly family.
The inspirational words of Pastor Rick Warren’s inaugural invocation seem a most fitting replication for today: “Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all. May all people of goodwill today join together to work for a more just, healthier, and prosperous nation, and peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before You. We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, into Your loving care.”
BENJAMIN J. BAKER writes from Washington, D.C.
|
