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I’ve talked about the mean green meme a few times in the last year as an unfortunate detour in the long-term development of values.
First, a key assumption I am making about values is that there is a long-term developmental trajectory toward a more complex and comprehensive view. (If you don’t share this view, then what follows may not appeal to you.) As I reflect on this “mean green” wrong turn, it seems to me that a key aspect, embodied chiefly in the “progressive” left, is the tendency to look backward rather than forward. By that I mean focusing on fixing the injustices of the past. The problem with this view assumes that the values and worldviews of today should simply apply to the past. It fails to recognize the level of development of the past is not the same as it is today. In short , applying postmodern values to 100, 2200 or more years ago does not fit the context. Postmodern values emerged in the 1960s and 1970s and applying them to a context a century before simply doesn’t fit. It reminds me of the Prime Directive in Star Trek, in which more advanced civilizations are not to intervene in lesser developed ones (I know it’s a tv show, but it’s a solid principle).
To be clear, I am not advocating that we ignore the past (I have an undergraduate degree in history and really appreciate it), but rather suggesting that instead of being overly focused on fixing the past, we redirect that effort towards focusing on and improving the future. Same effort, same passion, but focused forward instead of backward. – Andy Hines
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