It occurs to me that there is really little wonder that the American politic has reached its current state...
Take just as a very simple example the matter of colour. No, not race, political colour.
In NZ, Britain for sure, blue is the colour of the right, the conservative element. Quite apart from anything else, think "blue-blood" for "upper class".
In NZ, all communist countries, Britain too, red is the colour of the left, of the revolutionary, of the worker and the working class.
Why is it then that in the US, blue is the colour of the Democrats, the "liberal left" and red is the colour of the "conservative right", the Republicans?
Strange. Realy, really strange.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Hey, Probe, I've questioned this, too. However, I suspect that since the right are bloody war-mongers, and the left are always sad/mad about something or another... I guess it fits.
Today is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. 'Tis one public day to celebrate that which I experience everyday.
Hah. You read my mind with the bloody war-mongers comment.
Actually the system in the United States is that Red and Blue alternate in successive elections on the incumbant party. In 2000 the incumbant party was due to be blue so the Democrats were blue, in 2004 the incumbant party was due to be red so the Republicans were red. the closely contested 2000 election led to a lot of political commentary on the Red State/Blue State divide. The fact that the same parties ended up using the same colors in the next election may have cemented this color affiliation in the popular conciousness, we will have to see what happens in 2008 when the Republicans should be blue and the Democrats red.
However, there is certainly no meaning in the color choices.
Taking into consideration that the religious right likes to insult the liberals by calling them "pinkos" as in "almost red" in reference to the socialists, then it is amusing that all the states that voted Bush were actually "Red" states.
Irony, irony...
Post a Comment