 Twenty years ago this week,
tragedy struck at Columbine High School. In the two decades that have passed, our schools have changed. Metal detectors... campus lockdowns... active shooter drills... these are all part of the landscape of education. Five-year-olds practice hiding with their teachers in corners of their classrooms across America, with the doors locked and the lights turned out. Is this our new normal? Is this the only way to protect our children? What laws have we CHANGED since Columbine? What laws have we CHANGED since Sandy Hook? What laws have we CHANGED since Parkland? On the national level, practically none. This February, the House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. Great name, but maybe not really bipartisan. Only eight republican legislators voted for it. And the news coverage talks about them "changing sides" to vote. Aren't we all on the same side? It's expected to either fail in the Senate or be vetoed by the president. Is this what we want as a nation? How do we get our congressional representatives to work TOGETHER to create a newer normal? Fortunately, STATE legislatures seem to be finding more success finding common ground. According to the Giffords Law Center, 67 gun safety bills were enacted in 26 states in 2018. A glimmer of hope. But do we have to move at a snail's pace? Remember New Zealand? Here are two important dates... March 15: Tragic Shooting at Mosques in Christchurch April 10: New Zealand's parliament votes 119-1 to BAN semi-automatic weapons. Less than a month. Practically unanimous. Action can happen. Faster than we think possible. New Zealand is trying to prevent a "new normal". Can we reverse ours? Only if our representatives realize we are all on the same side. Let's continue to use our productive conversations and our insistent voices to show our elected officials the path toward a new and improved "normal" together.
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 Did you know we're in the middle of National Poetry Month? What poems inspire YOU to listen and to learn? We could use a little "Hope" in our conversations with one another. If "Hope" truly is "the thing with feathers" as Emily Dickinson famously wrote, let's help it take flight! Share a little poetic inspiration with a friend this month! Do you know "A Brave and Startling Truth" by Maya Angelou? She wrote it for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations. It begins... A Brave and Startling Truth by, Maya Angelou We, this people, on a small and lonely planet Traveling through casual space Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns To a destination where all signs tell us It is possible and imperative that we learn A brave and startling truth And when we come to it To the day of peacemaking When we release our fingers From fists of hostility And allow the pure air to cool our palms... Click below to hear her reading the poem in its entirety... Maya Angelou Reads "A Brave and Startling Truth" at the United Nations 50th Anniversary Celebration in 1995 Another of our beloved American poets, Mary Oliver, passed away this year. Here is one of her thoughtful poems, inspired by nature...  During National Poetry Month,
let's remember to draw inspiration from our poets! As we strive to find common ground, We can keep hope alive... We can learn a brave and startling truth... and We can take a lesson from the sea... and keep working!  Check out our latest action project... THE 50-STATE CHALLENGE! The Purple Living Room Project was started by a group of American expats living in Thailand. In the wake of the US government shutdown, we decided to challenge our community to come together and write a letter to Congress asking for a legislative solution to prevent government shutdowns in the future. We drafted a letter with the goal of capturing the "purple points" around the issue...  We shared this letter with our community and began our first 50-State Challenge! Our goal was to collect signatures from voters in as many states and as many legislative districts as possible. We printed letters to send to the Senators and Representatives connected with each of the expats who signed....  We tracked down signatures from each of the voters (in purple ink!) and then addressed, stamped, and sent the letters to Congress...  So, how did we do?
The results are in from our first 50-State Challenge... Number of States Represented? 23 Number of Signatures? 49 Number of Letters Sent to Congress? 80 It was a great start... and we can do better! Next steps? We plan to tackle one issue at a time and see if we can find "purple points" that will help us gather signatures from all 50 states! Join us! Let's contact Congress TOGETHER and let our representatives know that we want them to ACT NOW and create legislation that will help us move forward as a nation! |
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