Purple States

The concept of Red States and Blue States is irritating. The notion falsely conveys that everybody in a state believes one thing or the other. The notion engenders division. The idea that a state is “safely” red for this candidate or blue for that candidate is just a symptom of the process our republic endures every 4 years.

At the county and city and neighborhood level – and maybe even down to the dinner table level – US political ideals and views are some shade of purple. Blended.

Thanks Princeton for the visual reminder of who we are. In our democracy we evaluate the diversity of ideas, policies and values in a marketplace of ideas that is somehow supposed to survive the binary red versus blue choice every 4 years. The media, the parties, the debates, the ads all bifurcate us into red or blue. But we’re neither blue nor red. We’re solidly purple, in any possible shade. Viva pluralism.

Now let’s go vote for the best leader and remember all the other candidates at the bottom of the ticket who work at the county, city and neighborhood level.