Oliver’s New President

It occurred to me this morning while watching the inauguration that Barack Obama is the first President that Oliver knows about (even though I’m quite sure he doesn’t yet have a clue what a President does. Wave a trident and say “so be it,” maybe, since King Triton is a likely reference ’round about now.) From all the posters and magazine covers, he learned to recognize Obama’s image way back last spring, and he enjoys saying “Barack Obama” very much. This morning he saw all the fuss at the Capitol and we explained that the man we had been seeing and talking about all last year is the “new President.” Not “first Black President” or any such thing, just “our new President.” It gives me some hope to think that this experience will change the way Black people are perceived by Oliver’s and Luiza’s generation in the years to come.
Yeah, I feel hopeful today.