BLUE STAIRS, RED DOOR

Colors are powerful.  They become even more potent when we assign special meaning to them.  For months before the November election,  Americans were clustered by color into red states and blue states.  Those of us who live in California were reminded that our votes in the national election weren’t critical to the reelection of the President because we live in a blue state, and he was virtually assured that all of our electoral votes would be cast for him.  Texas is a red state, so there was little reason for Obama to squander time there because that state’s winner-take-all arrangement (like California’s) meant that almost certainly Texas’ 29 electoral votes would be cast for Romney; and there wasn’t much reason for Romney to spend time in Texas because he was sure to win all that state’s electoral votes.  Both Romney and Obama concentrated most of their effort on swing states where the outcome of the election wasn’t assured for either of them.  

The red state-blue state designations began to be used widely during the 2000 presidential campaign.  Needing visuals to describe what the polls were indicating, newscasters referred to states that had more Republicans (conservatives) than Democrats (liberals) as red states and the others were blue states...  well, not quite all.  There are some purple states, depending on what the polls are indicating in any particular election year, so the reality, as this year’s election proved, is much more complicated than this simple red/blue dichotomy.  In spite of Karl Rove’s desperate wishing it were not so and Sheldon Adelson’s and the Koch brothers’ pipeline of money to Republican SuperPacs, President Barack Obama was elected to a second term not only by electoral college votes but a clear majority of votes by American citizens. 

O.K., O.K., what the #%$@%$&# does my blue stairs/red door picture have to do with anything, especially with red states/blue states and the election of a President and a scary fiscal cliff?  Nothing much.  It’s a private thing shared publicly on my BLOG... but a guy has got to write something in his journal. Here’s how it happened.  I was on my bicycle coming back home along University AVenue from a long ride out into the Eastern hinder regions of San Diego when I turned into one of my favorite places in North Park.  The Ray Street block of funky art shops and galleries is always a visual treat.  I saw something I hadn’t noticed before today... some blue stairs leading up to a red door.  I took a picture. I still had several miles to go before I got back home, and the image of the blue stairs and red door gave me something to fantasize. During the earlier part of my ride I had been thinking... wishing... hoping... the gridlock that’s paralyzing our government would evaporate into happy compromise and cooperation. Of course, it’s not likely to happen, but I enjoyed a vision of Boehner, McConnell, Cantor and their crew emerging from the red door to join the President and other Democrats to dance and drink and eat and laugh and celebrate on those beautiful blue stairs.  Oh, Yeah!  I know it’s a dream... but it’s a happy one.

Also in the same area of North Park... some wonderful drawings...