Summer is here...
the perfect time to pack up those tents and sleeping bags and journey to the great outdoors. Our country is filled with beautiful National Parks waiting to be explored! Here's the added benefit of camping this summer... Campgrounds are truly PURPLE places. Head to your local campground and see for yourself... In one camp site you'll see a vehicle with a "Feel the Bern" bumper sticker and in the next, you'll find a vehicle labeled "Make American Great Again." Conservatives and liberals coexist peacefully, even happily in our nation's campgrounds. Why is that? We're all there for the same reason. We want to enjoy nature. We want to see the stars. We want to escape our phones and our computers and our social media accounts and just BE. It's truly a purple activity. Camping allows us to connect with our fellow Americans and appreciate that we all enjoy the immense natural beauty of our country. Why not give it a try? Maybe a little time spent as happy campers in the great outdoors can help open doors and bring us closer together.
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Happy Father's Day!
This week, we'll share a little wisdom from the Father of our Country, George Washington. When he was a teenager, Washington copied down 110 "Rules of Civility" which he adapted from a set of popular rules developed by French Jesuits in the 16th Century. Several of these guidelines could still help us with our purple conversations today! Here are a few highlights from www.mountvernon.org... RULE NO. 22 Shew not yourself glad at the Misfortune of another though he were your enemy. RULE NO. 50 Be not hasty to beleive flying Reports to the Disparag[e]ment of any. RULE NO. 58 Let your Conversation be without Malice or Envy, for 'tis a Sig[n o]f a Tractable and Commendable Nature: And in all Causes of Passion [ad]mit Reason to Govern. RULE NO. 65 Speak not injurious Words neither in Jest nor Earnest Scoff at none although they give Occasion. RULE NO. 73 Think before you Speak pronounce not imperfectly nor bring ou[t] your Words too hastily but orderly & distinctly. RULE NO. 74 When Another Speaks be attentive your Self and disturb not the Audience if any hesitate in his Words help him not nor Prompt him without desired, Interrupt him not, nor Answer him till his Speec[h] be ended. RULE NO. 76 While you are talking, Point not with your Finger at him of Whom you Discourse nor Approach too near him to whom you talk especially to his face. RULE NO. 86 In Disputes, be not So Desireous to Overcome as not to give Liberty to each one to deliver his Opinion and Submit to the Judgment of the Major Part especially if they are Judges of the Dispute. RULE NO. 89 Speak not Evil of the absent for it is unjust. RULE NO. 105 Be not Angry at Table whatever happens & if you have reason to be so, shew it not but on a Chearfull Countenance especially if there be Strangers for Good Humour makes one Dish of Meat a Feas[t]. And, George Washington's final rule of civility... RULE NO. 110 Labour to keep alive in your Breast that Little Spark of Ce[les]tial fire Called Conscience. Let's try to keep that "little spark of celestial fire" burning brightly as we all work together to treat each other with greater civility! Last week brought this
unexpected twitter exchange between Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Senator Ted Cruz. The two political rivals have found a purple point! It's refreshing to see lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle focus on something they can accomplish together. What do YOU think? Do you agree that there should be limitations on lobbying for those who have served in Congress? Let them know! |
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