There has been some buzz about a couple of President Obama's holiday activities. One is the first Passover seder in the White House. The Week mentions the speculation that it is designed to soften the blow to Jewish groups of the President having just been in Turkey and all the talk of engaging the Muslim world. My question is why are we just now having the first one in 2009? Many Christians of all varieties have been participating in seders for a long time. As long as that participation is respectful and not a sort of commandeering of another faith, it's a good way to connect with a people's defining experiences. It also acknowledges the long and rich history of people who have shaped the country. Others can sort out the public relations motivations, but the short of it for me is, it's about time.
The other event is the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. The administration has set aside some tickets for GLBT families for the event. Like the seder, it's an appropriate acknowledgment of who counts as an American family. The policy debates go on and the disagreements about the stimulus continue, but that is precisely when we need some symbolic politics to send a unifying message.
Finally, in a nod to a friend who posted this on his Facebook page, what better way to acknowledge Good Friday and Easter than a video of Tennessee's own favorite gay icon (No, she's not gay, but a lot of her fans are) singing He's Alive:
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