This morning the following letter came across my virtual desk:
Subject: Silly immature Minnesota Senator Wants State Color to be Purple.
Her reason is because he nodded towards her years ago after she waited outside for three hours hoping to catch a glimpse before he drove off. That’s all it takes to influence this Minnesota lawmaker. LA TV just picked up on her suggestion.
So…what is the Minnesota state color? There is none. The state flag is blue with gold fringe, the official poem is “Minnesota Blue” and the state muffin is the blueberry, designated in 1988 at the request of a third grade class.
http://kstp.com/politics/minnesota-senator-wants-state-official-color-to-be-purple-prince-death/4115578/?cat=12681
Clearly, someone doesn’t like the idea of honoring Prince, so the idea is presented in ad hominem, denigrative terms. If you follow the link, you’ll find that state Senator Karin Housley is presented (by the AP via kstp.com) as suggesting the idea merely because she liked Prince, and he was “ours”.
So let’s remove the emotional content on both sides of the issue and ask: did Prince do anything worthy of state recognition? (See my earlier related commentary here.)
- He became one of the indisputable great pop stars. As part of that, he transformed the pop scene. Pop is certainly one of the largest, and perhaps the largest, music scenes of the 20th and 21st centuries.
- He never advocated violence or any other socially repugnant activities in his music. Instead, he celebrated love and peace and understanding, with a special interest in the physical aspects. I realize some will shake their heads and claim I don’t understand love; I suggest that love always has a physical aspect, for do not the old Christian mystics speak of the physical effects of their attachment to their Savior? Even the love of our parents can bring a sense of peace, which is attended by a dropping of blood pressure.
- He was ours. Senator Housley’s remark is stronger than it might seem at first, because Prince never left for the big-time. He brought it here. This is important because of both tangible and intangible benefits – including making the Twin Cities a music scene in its own right, which brought in dollars, contributed to our movie making (he made two movies), brightened the arts scene, with knock-on effects – and gave the residents of the state a sense of having produced a special person. Certainly, we have many of those: Humphrey, Hrbek, the Brotens, Mondale, all just in my lifetime. Prince had pride in his home state, and while I don’t know if that was a conscious part of him, it is certainly illustrated by his staying, if only in the face of our inclement weather.
Conclusion: He was a dominant part of the landscape if you lived in the Twin Cities, and certainly had impact throughout the state.
The Senator has not proposed a statue or a building, so she’s fiscally responsible. I think this is a fine idea and should be implemented at the first opportunity.
