Pre-Ramble:  I’m sure there has been way more written about this incident than is necessary or desirable, but when has that ever stopped me?  By now, we’ve all seen the photo-op of what has been flippantly referred to as “The White House Beer Garden” (WSJ); “Foaming Diplomacy” (St. Paul Pioneer Press); ”Red, Lite and Blue Summit” (MSNBC); and my personal favorite, “The Keggar” (David Letterman).

I’m talking about the carefully choreographed shot of President Obama, professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and police Sgt. James Crowley ”hoisting a conciliatory beer around a picnic table next to the White House ‘s new swing set,” following an unfortunate altercation on Prof. Gates doorstep earlier in the week. Vice President Biden was also included at the last minute, even though he had committed no gaffe related to the incident (give him time).

In case you’ve been sequestered in some kind of isolation tank for the past two weeks, Sgt. Crowley responded to a call on a possible break-in at a Cambridge home and ended up arresting Prof. Gates for disorderly conduct, even after becoming aware that Gates was, in fact, the home’s owner. A week later, President Obama exacerbated matters when commenting off-handedly (at a news conference) that the Cambridge police had “acted stupidly” in arresting Gates — a word choice that he later qualified as regrettable.

So, Harvard scholar Gates, … weary having just returned from a trip to China, becomes agitated when he can’t open his own front door.  And Sgt. Crowley, … police officer doing his job, follows up on a call from a neighbor who had spotted a disgruntled man rattling around on Gate’s porch in the middle of the night.

Vigilant officer meets thwarted homeowner — soon, the situation has escalated into an event. Gates is throwing around emphatic exclamatories, and Crowley, tweaked by the tirade, carries out his duty to the very letter of the law. We weren’t there, we don’t know. And, thankfully, that isn’t even the point.

As a kid growing up in a Detroit suburb during the 60′s, I can remember hearing the distant sounds of riots in the middle of the night. And, remember Rodney King? … Fast forward a couple decades — we all know that this whole thing could have gone so much worse.

If we’re smart, we also recognize that the behavior of either Gates or Crowley could have been any one of us, responding inappropriately to a situation that gets the better of us. While President Obama probably should have declined to respond publically to the incident (doesn’t he have other important stuff going on?), the planets couldn’t have been lined up any better for the swift diffusion of this potentially explosive ”teachable moment.”  Stating the obvious, as a black man with a bi-racial heritage, President Obama is in the unique position to bring a deeper and more immediate understanding to the elusive dynamics of race relations in America. 

The Take-Away:  While hot spots of racial tension and its sad effects still smolder under the surface, the acceptance and respect demonstrated in the disarming tone of the Beer Summit models a new way to address our differences and handle the inevitable bumps that pop up. Whether we’re sitting on the White House lawn or in our own backyards, it shows that we can simmer down, sit around a table, look each other in the eye, and talk about things. We can find a common ground and choose to move forward to higher ground together.

Gates and Crowley had like sentiments following the reconsiliatory gathering:

[The day became an opportunity to] move not just the City of Cambridge or two individuals past this event, but the whole country beyond this and toward some meaningful discussion in the future … we didn’t spend too much time dwelling on the past … we spent a lot of time discussing the future.”  — Sgt. Crowley

It is incumbent upon Mr. Crowley and me to utilize the great opportunity that fate has given us to foster greater sympathy among the American public for the daily perils of policing on the one hand, and for the genuine fears of racial profiling on the other hand.” — Prof. Gates

Post-Note:  As a strong proponent of civic responsibility and long time fan of Gladys Kravitz (the Steven’s nosy neighbor on the 1970′s television series, Bewitched), I applaud Lucia Whalen, the individual who made the 911 call to Cambridge police, and welcome her to watch my back anytime.

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