Scott sent me this essay by Garrison Keillor, another reminder that the notion of red states and blue states is specious at best, and that one can be proud to be a liberal in any state. Keillor points out that the notion of enforced self-sufficiency is contrary to the notion of compassionate civilization. We put up paramedics for each other out of an enlightened self-interest, but even if we never use one ourselves, we don't begrudge others their use out of a fundamental sense of kindness:
Men and women make love and have babies in the knowledge that if the baby should be born with cerebral palsy or Down syndrome or a hole in its heart and require heroic care, the people of Minnesota and of St. Paul will stand with you in your dark hour. If you are saddled with trouble too great for a person to bear, you will not be left to perish by the roadside in darkness. Without that assurance, we may as well go live in the woods and take our chances.
The essay is an excerpt from Keillor's new book, Homegrown Democrat.
