Our original sin wasn't disobedience. It was color preference. Eve preferred the mystery of red on the advice of a blackened angel.
When I grew up, white people were right people, browns hung around, and blacks were forced to stay back. Even a brown-skinned Jesus was painted white in my church.
Politicians now prefer red or blue. Their mascots, grey elephants and grey donkeys, are now painted bright red or blue. Why Republicans got red is a mystery. Theirs is supposed to be the party that's cool, calm, and collected. Blue is cool. Red is hot and dangerous. Communists, the Red Coats of Britain, Cupid, fire trucks, and stop signs are red. President Donald Trump used to prefer blue but has now gone totally red. He wears a red cap and red tie, and he serves red meat at his rallies.
Judges dress themselves in black. Black is often associated with witches, demons, Darth Vader, and cop cars. Black is also associated with blindness, and judges are supposed to be colorblind when it comes to administering justice. During a recent interview for a seat on the Supreme Court, a blue-leaning white woman from blue Minnesota asked the nominee if he ever blacked out. Colors are everywhere.
We're a color-conscious people who elect color-conscious individuals and then expect them to elect a few individuals who will leave their color consciousness on the doorstep of justice. If their black robes are really secretly lined with blue or red cloth then what Willie Nelson sang about and football announcer Don Meredith said will become our worst nightmare. "Turn out the lights, the party's over."
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The real color of our collective future on Mother Earth isn't red, black, blue, yellow, violet, or orange. It's green.
Dave Griffin
Duluth
