Red, Blue, and Green

Enjoy this Valentine's Day inspired reflection by Dan Klein.   Dan  puts an interesting twist on red/blue politics relevant to the exchange in the comments to my previous post.  The only thing I wonder is why  those who tend to call themselves Democrats or progressives tend  so often to the color green and allow their rhetoric to sound more like a  politics of envy (i.e., make the rich pay) than a politics of compassion.   In compassion we may come closer to finding some unity of spirit and truth, whether we experience the hot red passion of romance or the cooler blue passion of prudence.  Envy, however, is by nature divisive.   

Comments

[danieljoconnor]

Hello Lenore... by way of Michael Herman http://globalchicago.net/weblog/2005/02/catallaxis.html

The article you linked fails to note that both parties in the US have embraced the leviathan state, expanding as if there were no tomorrow. They differ somewhat on the portions of the state budget they wish to expand the most, but they seem to be in total agreement that the state is inherently good as long as it is in service to their particular party interest.

I like your post on the addition of "green" to the spectrum and note that blue, red, and green are the three colors of light... perhaps the clear light of wisdom and compassion for which so many of us yearn... without which we are fragmented and unbalanced, showing up with a bias toward one color or another.

[LenoreE]

thanks, Michael. there is much truth in your observation, and many of my fiscal conservative and libertarian friends lament this state of affairs quite a lot. Others are rather easily swayed to justify said state of affairs because of the demands of "governance."

Still, the move during the last 4 Administrations--2 Clinton and 2 Bush--to implement greater transparency and accountability on government agencies indicates at least some positive movement. Perhaps tying funding to some demonstrable outcomes will help us better discern exactly where government is particularly inept at facilitating positive outcomes. My own suspicion is that the No Child Left Behind initiative will self-destruct along these lines within a few short years and only then will we manage to make real progress on utilizing our public commitments to education in the most equitable and effective ways (through "market-based" reforms such as tax credits, parental vouchers, etc.)