Barack Obama's election makes the story true

The world is reviewing the historic moments of this election. My father-in-law watched Obama's ascension to the White House through the lenses of a black man raised in rural, racist Texas. He is awe-struck.

I watched the returns gratified for this moment in American history.

My 7-year-old son was so "whatever."

I love our distinct emotions, each ripe for its time. They represent an emotional triumvirate whose slogan could be "God Bless America," a place where my father-in-law survived abjectly racist environments to live out his retirement in a home he owns, watching a man with his skin color take the White House. And America is a place where my son looks at a black president or a black CEO and thinks, "What's the big deal?"

Exactly. My son is being raised to believe in America's full potential. He doesn't know this country as anything other than a place where everyone is equal and skin color is considered in the same vein as the color of your shirt. When he reads what the Founding Fathers wrote about everyone being created equal, he accepts it unquestioningly.

We value our rhetoric — every little boy and girl can grow up to be president, yadda yadda. Yesterday was about daring to practice what we've preached.

I got an e-mail the other week cautioning me and other African Americans from celebrating an Obama victory by doing any of the following: failing to go to work today; going to work doing a celebratory dance; spending too much time around the water cooler with other blacks grinning from ear to ear.

The e-mail was in jest but it underscored how much Obama's victory is wrapped in black pride and vindication. Obama's campaign was launched two years ago amid skepticism that this was the time for a black president. The rationale was that equality always comes in baby steps. From emancipation to the right to vote and serve in the armed forces, black Americans were used to waging long battles and receiving small concessions toward equality.

Obama's presidential bid suggested a gigantic collective leap forward. All over America, black mothers and fathers have done what all mothers and fathers do each night — tuck in their children and remind them they can be anything they dream of being, even president. Here's a secret: For many parents, it was lip service because they feared the time hadn't come when their children would be viewed as anything but black first.

Now, every time Obama's thoughtful brown face appears on television it will be a powerful testament — no, it will be evidence — of the oft-repeated mantra, "Anything is possible in America."

Comedian Bill Cosby homed in on the meaning of Obama's candidacy to black Americans:

"People need to show him in the classrooms, show him in the recreation centers, because there's a new player in town," Cosby was quoted as saying. "He's not dribbling a ball, he's not running the hundred meters, but he's talking and he's using what used to be a mantra, and that is education.

"He is someone that we need to use as an example for our children who are thinking about education not being a tool to move ahead in this world. This man can go any place he wants to go, with his education, his mind, his dedication, his work ethic. That's what our children need to see, need to believe in. It needs to be taught to them. It's better than making a lot of music, or, what is it, 'get rich or die trying.' "

Preach, Bill. And by Obama's very presence in our nation's highest office, he will inspire and teach.

Lynne K. Varner's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is lvarner@seattletimes.com; for a podcast Q&A with the author, go to www.seattletimes.com/edcetera