by David D. Horowitz
The golden mean is a rainbow, and, oh, how it glows! The rainbow’s colors complement one another, and they include the brightest colors, not simply “neutral” colors like gray, tan, and beige. And rainbow colors, representing diverse customs and values, suggest goodness and happiness can coexist and in many varieties of each. Indeed, a group of scholars can exchange ideas about difficult texts—and then, over sandwiches and beer, watch a televised basketball game at a sports bar. And that’s perfectly consistent! I could participate in a poetry reading tonight, work in a downtown office tower tomorrow morning, and after work attend a jazz concert. And that could be perfectly consistent: indeed, I could write a poem about walking to a jazz venue after a day at the office. Why not? Why couldn’t such a balance work for me or you?
Again, “mean” need not mean mealy middle: tan, gray, beige, and timidly conforming. Think complementarity of scarlet, gray, and black—or white, blue, and gold. Choose your own colors and create your own balance. Blend a business career with yoga and meditation; a teaching career with raising a family; a part-time job as a nurse with a night gig as a romance writer. Synthesize your particular complexity into energizing coherence. And, in the public sphere, consider how a principled politician discusses and researches details with peers, experts, and constituents to develop a responsible policy. That’s innovative and risky, not bland—especially as the golden mean is not a yellow brick road reliably routed to an emerald city. No journey is without a Scylla and Charybdis. Finding the mean requires deep, continual engagement with the world. Indeed, adhering to the golden mean feels more like walking a tight rope than standing on safe ground, and one misstep could cause a fatal fall.
Balance! Red passion, blue aspiration, green health, yellow joy, tan patience, brown warmth, black depth, white openness, pastel nuance. Hard work, then relaxing vacation. Long day at the office, then refreshing walk in the park. And all blended to complement and nurture. The golden mean is an ancient concept that maintains contemporary credibility. Surely, some ancient customs do not suit modern life—the nationalistic city-state, collective racial and gender disparagement, imperial rule, messianic worship of self-proclaimed prophets of God. The golden mean, though, still suggests wisdom. It might not be a yellow brick road, but it isn’t pie in the sky either. It’s as tangible as my friend’s maple desktop, on which she’s placed her favorite book of poems, a maroon mug of honied jasmine tea, a plate of fresh Greek salad, a fond letter from her best friend, a brochure about how to apply for a passport, and a generous check she’s about to mail to her favorite charity.
But the work of navigating, of balancing, of adding and winnowing, is never done. And that’s the richness of it.