What do you think was the earliest election it was possible for an African American to be elected President?
November 4, 2008
When did America become tolerant enough?
Mid-1970s, or thereabouts. You could argue that this date is consistent with the fact that ideas have to be out there for about 30 years in order to become reality, but in actuality "tolerant" is such a poor choice of words. If we only tolerate Obama, then we do have a problem. Black people, especially the descendants of slaves in former English colonies such as Virginia and Jamaica, prefer the term respect. I noticed that one of the most common farewell gestures when I was in Jamaica was to make a fist and give each other a light punch, or tap, and say, "Respect" Except that it is rendered "respet" in Jamaica. And the response is, "Respect, man." ("Respet, mon.")
But, since you asked about tolerance, I'd say mid-70s. I remember discussing this, at least in the abstract, when I was a small child in elementary school. It would have been '75 or '76. Of course, tolerance went away in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, the phrase "zero-tolerance" became quite popular, first applying to drugs in the 80s, then to athletes failing, and then to failing schools in general, and later to anyone with whom you disagree. ("I won't tolerate that attitude" became the mantra of the politically correct crowd by the turn of the century. Tolerance was especially low in the first half of the first decade of this century.
But since it wasn't tolerance that was required, but rather something like respect, and not respect for a demographic, but respect for a man, that made Obama's election possible, we have to recognize the factors that led to his election. (Time for us to get over seeing Obama as an object. He is a man. An individual, with an individual identity. Just like you and me.) And it wasn't tolerance, but admiration, or respect, or hope, that allowed for his election. Also, it was a combination of factors including abject disdain for the current president and, perhaps unfairly, his political party; a desire to get past the low-tolerance, politically polarized Clinton-Bush years; a profound desire for change in the way politics is done. This perfect blend of fertilizers produced growth in an organism that came to fruition on November 4, 2008.
