How Obama’s Presidency Highlighted the Value of Distinct Differences
When it comes to metaphors about the USA’s multi-hued swirl — with some folks living the American dream, others trying to awake from a national nightmare — the “melting pot” approach doesn’t appeal to me.
I’m partial to the “salad bowl” model.
Instead of dumping ingredients in a blender or boiling them into a homogeneous sauce — eliminating their distinguishable tastes — I like lettuce to be lettuce and onions to be onions. I like the distinct difference between croutons and cucumbers, carrots and cheese.
The bowl is what unites them, along with the red-white-and-blue dressing. They retain their individual characteristics, yet combine to form one unique taste, without hot stoves or food processors.
I dare not match our ethnic groups with particular veggies. Many Americans maintain few connections to their roots, which might trace to Italy, Ireland, Germany, or Eastern Europe. Many intentionally downplay the heritage and culture of their forebears.
However, some Americans warmly embrace their ancestral lineage and take great pride in their homeland’s customs. They keep traditions alive in the USA: a Little Italy here, a Germantown there, and numerous urban sections devoted to Irish pubs.
There’s no right or wrong approach. That’s allegedly among our country’s greatest attributes, citizens’ ability to retain as much or as little group identity as they please. Either way, we’re still supposed to be considered “full-blooded” Americans.
It’s just a whole lot easier for many groups to blend in.
Take a look at that salad bowl again. If you’ve thrown in some iceberg, romaine, and red leaf lettuce, the variations don’t stand out nearly as starkly as, for instance, the bacon bits.
The iceberg, romaine and red leaf leaves can show pride in their strains or keep it to themselves. Regardless, more than a passing glance is required to distinguish one from the other. Consider some noteworthy politicians. John F. Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic elected president. Fiorello Henry La Guardia was New York’s first Italian-American mayor. Abe Beame was that city’s first Jewish mayor.
But if you’re unaware of their religious or ethnic backgrounds, they’re just another three white guys. Kind of like those types of lettuce.
However, there was no mistaking Barack Obama’s difference. He was like bacon bits on a bed of greens.
Many Latino Americans and Asian Americans stick out just as much, unable to conceal their heritage whether they want to or not. Some embrace it, others discard it. Fine. As mentioned, no right or wrong there.
But imagine the sense of pride among Latino Americans and Asian Americans if one of their own becomes president. Imagine the sense of accomplishment among, say, the peppers or the radishes, if one of them is elected to lead the salad bowl, a spot heretofore lettuce’s exclusive domain.
(That must be how many women would’ve felt had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election. Woman have been so out of the mix as presidential candidates, you’d think they’re not into salad.)
The point is, everyone should understand why Obama’s campaign was so moving for African-Americans, why so many chests swelled and eyes welled. Unfortunately, certain elements of society — usually proponents of the melting pot — dislike celebrations of diversity. They consider group identity to be divisive, ignoring the political systems that operate via group identity. But historical and current events cause division, not minority groups taking pride in members’ milestones.
Obama’s feat wasn’t just a significant accomplishment for African-Americans. It spoke volumes of the entire country. Even though a segment of white voters might never vote for a Black president, those eight years helped us inch closer to the desired goal.
Not a colorblind society, but one in which color is OK, too.
Everything in the salad bowl doesn’t have the same color or the same texture. There’s bright and dull, thick and thin, hard and soft. And that’s what makes it so tasty. Each ingredient is valued and appreciated for what it brings to the dish.
As for the presidency, eating nothing but lettuce all the time was bound to get old.
That’s no way to live.
