Ideas on Empty
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs.
What color is an idea? It
might sound like a strange question but in today’s hyper-polarized world, one
that needs to be asked. Are ideas blue? Do they suddenly appear and reflect the
pure, clean sky above us? Are they maybe more red, filled with the blood and
energy that courses through all of our veins? Or are they maybe newer colors
like orange, bright as the fruit hanging off of the trees in winter or perhaps
a bit darker and more difficult to define, like the reflection of the clouds as
the sun sets during the same season? How about purple, like that wine stain
that stubbornly refuses to come out in the wash? Or even an unlikely green, lush,
brief and violent as the dehesa that surrounds us when a little rain falls here
in our beautiful yet forgotten Extremadura? It seems to me that if indeed ideas
are made up of colors, they would be a mix of shades rather than one solid hue. If indeed
ideas were colored, they would be a blend of the different shades that reflect
the different influences behind them rather than some sort of pure, single thought.
So why is it that we, for some reason, attribute ideas to political currents
rather than to the people who actually come up with them? Of course it’s
impossible to completely excise someone’s political beliefs from the ideas that
may occur to them but, especially at the local level, ideas should be judged on
their content and how they would make our city a better place to live rather
than the color behind some political ideology. Would a brilliant idea that brings
much needed investment and employment to our region only be blue? Or would an
ambitious plan to energize our youth only be red? To paraphrase the great Duke
Ellington when asked about the kinds of music he liked, to me there are only two
types of ideas: good and bad. To which I’d add those that can be bettered. I’m
not sure if ideas in fact are made up of colors but I do know what a city and a
candidate for mayor without them will look like and that’s a dark, scary place
indeed.
