It was so close to perfect

There is a saying in politics (and in life?): "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." This saying can be traced back to Voltaire, but it goes back much further, to Greek philosophers and Aristotle and the Golden Mean. If there is one thing that sums up public life today, it is that few people in power seem to care about finding that golden mean, that balance that satisfies.

A couple recent news stories reminded me of how that saying works and how many times zealots can muddy the waters.

The first of those stories is about how some critics/thinkers have complained about "In the Heights" not being quite as diverse, in terms of skin tone, as it might have been. In reality, lots of Dominicans are Afro-Latino and tend to have darker skin shades. For whatever reason, they were not very visible in the musical. Predictably, Lin Manuel Miranda, the composer and former star of the show on Broadway, issued an apology and promised to do better in the future.

So here's what we have with the movie version: a major motion picture features nothing but "actors of color," and the complaint somehow arises that that just was not enough. If I were Miranda the saying "no good deed goes unpunished" would come to mind. 

I'm not arguing that well-meaning people back off from pushing for more equality, more representation, more progress. Society will always need people who stir the pot, so to speak, and who keep us all from becoming complacent.

I am simply arguing that "In the Heights," and then "Hamilton," are carrying a lot of weight and attracting a wide audience, most of which is white and not Latino.

The first reaction need not always be "but there could be even more done to..."

The second story is one I mentioned earlier this week, about the Catholic bishops and their potential withholding of the Eucharist from politicians like the president who are not following each and every position of the Church.

You might think that having only our second Roman Catholic president, plus six members of the Supreme Court and a large number of legislators, might encourage Catholic leaders to celebrate a bit, and think about how their particular brand of religion has produced political power far beyond raw numbers of parishioners. I know it's not a race to be won and that religion should be non-political, but being Catholic does not seem to be a barrier to political success, and it definitely WAS a barrier in the not-so-distant past.

This seems to be another case of wanting the perfect from a Catholic president, rather than leveraging all the beliefs and goals that Mr. Biden shares with the bishops (from caring for the poor to social justice to compassion for the immigrant and so much more). As we often say in times of strife: "There is more that binds us than separates us."

Forget the hypocrisy of bishops previously ducking any moral and ethic problems from the president recently voted out. Hypocrisy just comes with the territory when you become a religion or political leader, at least in some ways. The world is complex and vast and there are always exceptions. I have long given up on wiping out hypocrisy.

I just wish we could all celebrate just a bit longer when the world takes a forward step before we resume arguing over details.