Orange is the New Black. Proposed Letter to the Editor.

[Us vs Them]

I would love to send this letter regarding the fashion of politics to any and all magazines we can scrounge the contact info to. Vogue, W, Vinyl, Vice, Nylon, WallPaper, any others. If you subscribe, please post either a physical, or e-mail address.

Orange is the new black.

It is very rare to come across a convergence in our cultures the likes of which bring together politics and fashion. Granted, the designs and theories behind the lines of many haute couture fashion shows have made claims at being politically driven. Raf Simmons$B!G(B derelict, Afghanistan, POW-inspired creations come to mind, when we think about trying to draw the art of fashion into a politically minded forum. Torn headscarves and barely-there shirts were paired with oversized, utilitarian, armed-forces jumper pants. These images inspired an implied connection between something we personify with most, on a daily level: our own clothing; and that which we never hope to personify with: war.

However, the most recent, troubling accusations of a stolen democracy have brought a new symbol of opposition into the conscious of fashion observation. The Ukrainian Opposition Party, as lead by Victor Yuschenko, have adopted, embraced, and taken all rights of ownership to the colour orange. They wave orange flags, wear orange pins, protest in the cold against which their only protection are orange hats and gloves. Perhaps the most inspiring of all is the pride with which Yuschenko, himself, dons an orange scarf; the symbol of his opposition to the stolen democracy he is trying to save.

I recently went out of my way to purchase an orange scarf of my own. Not only out of sympathy for the political strife of my fellow democratically driven Ukrainian friends, but out of the fear that we, ourselves, might be living in equally troubling times. Since the most recent election on November 2nd, there have been an increasing number of credible reports of systematic and deliberate voter disenfranchisement in our own country. The House Judiciary Committee, and the nonpartisan Organization for Free Elections have convened hearings with which damning evidence has been testified proving, statistically, that the only way to reach the results of the 2004 elections were if a substantial amount of votes were stolen. Electronic voting machines, such as those delivered by Diebold, are capable of doing just that, and are untraceable.

As an American, I worry about the future of our democracy. I worry for my fellow citizens who may have simply cast a vote into the electronic ether, never to be officially counted or tallied. Like my fellow Ukrainians, I too am driven to wearing orange until these problems are addressed, by the media and by our own politicians. There comes a time in all corrupt democracies where the average citizen feels they need to make a statement of their own opposition. I know now, that the future of our democracy needs as much attention as we can give it. From now, until that time, orange is the new black.