Thursday, November 06, 2008

Aftermath

The cheers are already dying down and the business of transition has begun. President-Elect Barack Obama (I love the sound of that), being his usual measured and organized self, is already well along in planning his transition team. He will be ready to be president on Day One, as Hillary Clinton liked to say. And even sooner, the way things are going.

But for now, I am not yet ready to give up the jubilation that accompanied his amazing victory and I am still thinking about what it means for us as a country.

In Gail Collins' Op-Ed piece this week in the New York Times she reflected on the euphoria that accompanied Tuesday's election results. She ended her column with the following thoughts about her (and my) generation, the Baby Boomers:

"Finally, on behalf of the baby-boom generation, I would like to hear a little round of applause before we cede the stage to the people who were too young to go to Woodstock and would appreciate not having to listen to the stories about it anymore. It looks as though we will be represented in history by only two presidents, one of whom is George W. Bush. Bummer.

The boomers didn’t win any wars and that business about being self-involved was not entirely unfounded. On the other hand, they made the nation get serious about the idea of everybody being created equal. And now American children are going to grow up unaware that there’s anything novel in an African-American president or a woman running for the White House.

We’ll settle for that."


My first thought was that actually, Obama IS a Baby Boomer. Born in 1961, he's at the tail-end of my generation, since the definition of the Boomer designation is to be born between 1946 and 1964. However, since Obama does not identify with the Baby Boomer generation, and so many members of younger generations claim him as their own, I'll let that go.

But Collins' column made me start thinking about the long road we have traveled to reach this place and time. We sometimes forget that so many things were accomplished by previous generations, and it is because of them that this country was able to put aside the past and elect Barack Obama.

Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." This applies to the progress this country has made in the last 50 years.

Just a few of our giants - there were so many more - included President Truman, who integrated the armed forces; President Eisenhower, who enforced the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling; Martin Luther King, who inspired a whole generation of young activists to march and work for racial equality; John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy who promoted civil rights; Lyndon Johnson, who followed through and passed the Civil Rights Act; Nelson Mandela and his fight against apartheid; the folk singers of the 1950's and 1960's (The Weavers; Peter, Paul and Mary; Bob Dylan; Phil Ochs - and many more) who used music to change minds; writers such as James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, John Howard Griffin, and others, who explored the experience of being black in America; and of course, movies and television programs that exposed attitudes and changed perceptions.

In the 1960s we finally had television programs with African-American actors in them in lead roles, such as "I Spy" with Bill Cosby, "Julia," with Diahann Carroll, and Star Trek, which creator Gene Roddenberry ensured would depict an idealistic future where everyone was equal. African-American actress Nichelle Nichols had a lead role as the Communications Officer on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Television continued to play a key role in changing attitudes. When "24" came on the air in November, 2001 with an African-American, Dennis Haysbert, as President David Palmer, I think a lot of people looked at his calm demeanor, his wisdom and integrity and said "I wish THAT guy was President NOW!"

The feminist movement was happening at the same time, breaking down barriers for women as well. Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and others inspired women to continue the work toward equality that had begun back in the late 1800s with the women's suffrage movement. In politics we had Bela Abzug, Shirley Chisolm, Margaret Chase Smith, Geraldine Ferraro. In television, The Mary Tyler Moore Show showcased a single, successful career woman, followed by many other role models.

In 1972, Title IX was passed, making it the law of the land that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." This changed the face of many educational institutions, especially in the area of sports participation, which helped women gain confidence and leadership abilities.

Hillary Clinton's candidacy for president took women one step closer to true equality. It also revealed that deep-seated sexism is still rampant. However, the next generation will rise above that and Hillary has broken the ice for the next woman presidential candidate - or perhaps she will still be back herself.

There has been progress in gay rights as well. The Stonewall riots really kicked off the modern movement for gay rights, in 1969. Since then, there have been many steps forward for gay rights, and there has been more openness about sexual orientation both in the community and in the media. The culture is finally changing, and many states have domestic partnerships, civil unions, and finally, marriage.

But there seems to be a tendency for there to be a step back taken for every step forward.

When he was campaigning for President in 1992, Bill Clinton promised to allow anyone, no matter their sexual orientation, to serve openly in the military - and then after he was elected he compromised with the infamous "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

And when the California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage earlier this year and affirmed a right to marry for same-sex couples, the issue was immediately brought to the voters in Tuesday's election, with Proposition 8, which proposed to take that right away through a constitutional amendment.

Sadly, Proposition 8 and several other similar ballot measures in other states passed on Tuesday. In California, two lawsuits have already been filed to challenge the decision. Let's hope they prevail.

We still have a long way to go in terms of equality - for African-Americans, for women, and for the gay/lesbian/transgender community. Bigotry and hate are still out there, and we must be ever-vigilant against them.

But the election of Barack Obama has shown that we as a country can overcome hate, prejudice and bigotry and, as Martin Luther King said, judge others not "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." And let's add to that, "not by their gender, not by their sexual orientation." Then and only then will this country be a country where everyone truly has a right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." But electing Barack Obama has been an important step in the right direction.

13 comments:

Life As I Know It Now said...

I was thinking the same thing about Obama being a boomer. I am 45 and still considered a boomer--tail end that is.

His being elected is a big step forward. We will still see racism but this shows that progress is being made.

I am a feminist. AND, I am a humanist. AND, I am for life and peace. Yes!

Fran said...

The historic meaning of Obama's presidency is still just sinking in. It has been moving to watch this wave of emotion about what that means to so many people.
Let the healing continue, as we change course of the direction of this country.

Christopher said...

Mauigirl,

Thanks for mentioning Stonewall!

Randal Graves said...

"I wish THAT guy was President NOW!"

Hopefully those that wish that Jack Bauer was pretzeldent instead will enjoy their well-earned pariah status for awhile.

Anonymous said...

We have come far, thanks to those who came before us, and I hope that we will go further still.

Great post, Maui!

Comrade Kevin said...

Yes, sometimes in contemplating the breakthroughs of life we forget to acknowledge all the advances that came before which paved the path for them.

D.K. Raed said...

This was wonderful, MauiG! Here I had been feeling bad thinking that when it was our turn at bat, all we could throw up was Bill C and Geo W.

But don't worry, there will be plenty of boomers in an Obama administration -- just like every other stage of our lives, we are the pig in the python, our sheer numbers dictate our presence!

And oh, I heard someone call those born at the tail-end of boomerdom & a little beyond, "Generation Jones". I still don't know what that means, unless it's a reference to the Bob Dylan song.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post and blog; wish I was in Maui. Relevantly, many prominent experts and publications (and one of your other commenters here) have pointed out that Obama is part of Generation Jones, born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and GenXers.

You may find this page interesting: it has, among other things, excerpts from publications like Newsweek and the New York Times, and videos with over 25 top pundits, all talking specifically about Obama's identity as a GenJoneser:
http://www.generationjones.com/2008election.html

Anonymous said...

It cannot, and should not, be forgotten that Chimpy, Cheney, Karl Rove, Wolfowitz, and LIEberman are also "boomers." The "boomer" generation is actually more likely to be remembered for THEM, and all the greedy kinsmen of the "Me Generation, as it is for anything else. That's sad, but it's true.

Mauigirl said...

Liberality, I am with you - life and peace sound great to me. I hope we can have lots of both now.

Fran, I agree, it's still sinking in even now. It has been very moving.

Christopher, I couldn't let this historic moment pass without noting that there are still civil rights yet to be won. I think the push for same-sex marriage should be a key priority for progressives during the next four years.

Randal, it was really funny when they were seriously referring to Jack Bauer's situations as if they were real, when they were discussing the merits of waterboarding.

Thanks, DCup and Kevin. I was partly inspired by a column I read that gave Lyndon Johnson a lot of credit for the gains in civil rights that took place, and it made me think of all the other people who had a part in it.

D.K. and Societywatch, thanks for the information about Generation Jones. I had never heard of this subgroup before! It makes perfect sense that the later Baby Boomers wouldn't identify much with the older ones. I was born in 1953 (just before Generation Jones) and even I feel as if I'm not that in touch with the older Boomers like, for instance, Bush.

JR, please - it's not quite as bad as you're making it! Wolfowitz, Cheney and Lieberman are not Boomers, they were born just before official Boomerdom - the early 40's - before the cutoff date of 1946 (had to look it up). However, much as I hate it, I do have to admit "W" and Rove are in my generation. Oh well, there are always bad apples in every generation! ;-)

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I had no idea that I'd been categorized out of the boomer generation. In a way, it makes sense. I've always noticed a large difference in cultural experiences between myself and my husband (five years older). However, I didn't identify much with what I read about Generation Jones. Ah well, I'm used to not fitting into categories.

Anonymous said...

Maui, such a superb post. You summed it up so well, and I guess I do feel that I have something to be proud about. This has been a long time coming, but the threads started many years ago, and through the generations, many of us have had a hand in moving things along incrementally at least. We often forget that it can takes years to reach the fruition of our dreams. I know that gay rights will come soon. The times they are a changing! And I am euphoric with happiness.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I didn't get to this post sooner. MG. I've been so far behind. Well said. Brava!