Brief by Central Staff
Colorado Central – March 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
Colorado Central is now a teenager; the first edition came out 13 years ago, and was dated March 1994.
Normally, the March edition is printed and mailed in February, but that one was printed in late January. Our distributor at the time, Alpine News, said it was so late in January that it wouldn’t be on the shelves for very long if it was dated February, and so we should date it March.
We did; for one thing it gave us six or seven weeks, instead of the usual four or five, until we had to produce the next edition.
We also have to confess that we didn’t think we’d still be doing this 13 years later. We figured that the magazine would either flop — the average new magazine dies after two years — or someone would buy us out and change Colorado Central to some slick mountain lifestyle publication.
But neither has happened, so we stay at it. The most common criticism is that we’re “too political” or “too liberal.”
The political part is easy to address. Resort areas have lots of publications that promote recreation with no political coverage. And hey, it’s an enchanting idea to have a Shangri La where the mundane cares of the world fade away while one delights in a challenging single-track trail or ascends to a summit.
But decisions are being made all the time about which lands are public and which are private, and how much water will flow in the river, and what uses are allowed. And those decisions are political. Therefore we don’t think it’s responsible to ignore the political angles and just focus on the fun.
As for the liberality, Martha and Ed are both Democrats, and there’s no point in pretending that doesn’t affect the magazine they publish. But we’re open to all political viewpoints.
Besides, there’s not a lot of logic in what’s considered “liberal” and “conservative” these days. When we were kids, conservatives believed in balancing the federal budget and separating church and state — it was the liberals who wanted state aid to religious schools and federal deficits. Also, contrary to modern suppositions, the Republican Party was founded by zealous reformers who supported abolition and women’s suffrage. And where would the Democrats be today if it hadn’t been for those reforms?
Clearly, our political parties aren’t based on fixed principles, nor are popular concepts like who’s a “liberal” or what passes for “conservatism.”
But if you think they are, try this. Ann Coulter, the prominent conservative, says that liberals are traitors. One tenet of liberalism is support for single-payer national health insurance. That’s something Harry Truman ran on in 1948. So by her logic, Truman was a traitor. But the current president, compassionate conservative George W. Bush, has said he looks to Truman as a role model.
Think you can sort that one out?
