The face of the future

On the radio they keep calling him the first African-American president. But they're missing the point. He's not black. He's not white. He's not Island. He is fusion (or as some would say "third culture" -- "all of the above") -- which is the future of America.

While it is noteworthy that color is entering the White House through the front door, Obama's historical importance has less to do with how far we've come than with where we're going. The old categories (and related polarizations) are losing their significance. Some will find that reality painful -- but in Barak Obama we are seeing the face of the future.

It's not that we're all just going to get along and live happily ever after (this is not the second coming of Christ). There will still be cultural and ideological conflicts. They're just going to be different in nature than those of the past -- perhaps even more complex.