The White House Passover Tradition

I know, tensions are running high between the White House and Israel these days. But I support Obama's stance. I believe you can be pro-Israel and not think that everything they do is right. Compromise is hard, and not natural in the land of Moses. But it is easy to demonize a position. There is nothing harder to communicate in a sound bite than nuance.
In the midst of all the rhetoric, we have this wonderful article in the New York Times (click on title to link to it) that reflects cross cultural celebration. It does not take a genius (or a psychiatrist) to figure out why the Passover story resonates with African-Americans. The seder, a ceremony full of reminders of the fact that once we were slaves, and today we are free, is a bittersweet story. In this one, G-d intervenes on behalf of the Jews to set them free--but not until they have been in bondage for generations, more than 200 years. The message of the holiday is not so much about hey, look at the chosen people, but rather that we all share a past of enslavement, and we need to remember that, and to celebrate the fact that it is our past and not our present, and remind our children to prevent it from being our future.