Gray connects the black and white dots

While very young and impressionable, we learn to see things as black or white, true or false. Real life is full of gray.

But old beliefs can keep us from seeing what's real .... and until we do, we can't connect all the black and white dots, which is why we often feel separate and at odds.

Some argue that President Barack Obama is black or white. He can appear to be one or the other, or identify with one or the other; but he is not. He is both.

In truth, he appears to be both; and I trust he identifies with both. Clearly, a majority of people identify with him ... and while it would be naive to ignore race as a factor, it is one of many.

Nonetheless, now that President Obama has won the most powerful position in the world, some — like proud parents — would claim him as their own. He already has two parents, though; one is black, and one is white.

"If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German, and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German, and Germany will declare that I am a Jew," said Albert Einstein.

Some would claim President Obama as black or white, even both, because they're prejudice against one of his parts. We can hope that he is not. And as a society that has elected a man who is black and white as our leader, we can claim the truth with the intent of honoring the union not just of the black and white, but all races, not just diverse believers but nonbelievers.

We, the people, elected Barack Obama to represent and unite all of us. He is better prepared than many of us to connect the black and white dots. We need not be so "politically correct" that we turn a blind eye to the truth.

We still see the color of skin, thus, the headlines: "The First Black President ..." But we see more than that ... and we are learning not to distort the rest of what we see based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or political affiliation.

In doing that, we break down the stereotypes and the facts that, to some degree, support them and keep us in fear. We can find exceptions to any stereotype, but we have to look with a willingness to discard ill-founded beliefs.

The "truth" that we grew up with is no longer the truth. In some cases, it was never the truth.

In fifth grade, I attended a junior high school in the Midwest with only three black students. During recess, one of them put her hand over my mouth and twirled me in a circle until I dropped. I was dizzy and petrified.

I rode the school bus with one of the other black students, who lived only a half mile away from me. I walked to his house and sold Christmas cards to his parents.

When we drove through a "black neighborhood," we were taught to lock our car doors. Was the fear rooted in prejudice? I don't think so.

I was afraid of some white people, too; but I probably thought race played into my fear of blacks more than it did. If I'd driven through high-crime white neighborhoods, I would have been taught to lock my doors through those, too.

Why say this? Some of us have yet to reject old beliefs about race, religion and politics in order to embrace new ones that can finish our work of unity.

When we invalidate our fear of differences, we see our similarities; and we connect the black and white dots to see the world as it is. And only what is real is worth building on.