We're headed down the  
political, 
divisive,
BUMPY
road to impeachment.

No looking back.

Whether you are
for or against
impeachment proceedings, 
we all need to
buckle up
for the ride ahead. 

Let's make sure
we don't get so
caught up in the
impeachment frenzy
that we forget 
to listen,
to respect,
to care.
​
The Purple Code
is more important than ever....

Respect
Care 
Trust 
Gratitude
Fun

Let's look for ways to embed
these purple values in our daily interactions
with our fellow Americans...

It's time to make sure
our
own conduct
is
unimpeachable!

​The United Nations
has designated
September 21st
as an
International Day of Peace.

Each year,
the UN selects a theme
to promote global peace initiatives.
​
​This year, the focus is...

Here is a bit from their website about
why 
CLIMATE ACTION
is necessary for
PEACE...

"Climate change causes clear threats to international peace and security. Natural disasters displace three times as many people as conflicts, forcing millions to leave their homes and seek safety elsewhere. The salinization of water and crops is endangering food security, and the impact on public health is escalating. The growing tensions over resources and mass
movements of people are affecting every country on every continent."
​
You can read more here...
Climate Action for Peace

So, what climate action can we take?

We can continue to take our individual actions...
reduce, ​reuse, recycle, etc.

But we also need to
advocate
for
systemic change.

Millions of people around the world 
joined the Global Climate Strike this week,
calling for this kind of massive CHANGE.

 As Sir David Attenborough says, 
we need to change
Societies,
Economics,
and
POLITICS.

That's a tall order.

It can only be done if we
put aside
political differences
and work
TOGETHER.

Climate change
affects us all,
whether we are
Republicans
or
Democrats.

We
must
take
united
PURPLE
action
NOW.

Happy Labor Day!

Let's take this holiday weekend 
to reflect on all the purple work
that needs to be done.

Listening takes effort.

Opening hearts and minds is not easy.

Finding common ground is hard work.

Whose JOB is it anyway?

It's yours

and 

It's mine.

No time to rest!

Enjoy your holiday

and 

Let's get working!
​

Gun violence is in the headlines again...
and again and again
AND AGAIN.

How can we fix the problem?

There are many organizations
working hard to pass
meaningful gun legislation.

All of them would welcome support.

Here are several choices...
***
Brady 
is one of the oldest
gun violence prevention
organizations in the country.
It is named for Jim Brady,
the White House Press Secretary 
who was shot during an assassination attempt
on Ronald Reagan in 1981. 

Brady focuses on bipartisan solutions.
Their motto is...
"Take Action, Not Sides."

Click to learn more about...
Brady

***
Everytown for Gun Safety
is an umbrella organization that  includes
Moms Demand Action
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Everytown Survivor Network
and
Students Demand Action

​Last weekend,
Everytown For Gun Safety
​organized 
"Recess Rallies"
across the country
to send Congress this message...
"Change Gun Laws or Change Congress"

Everytown For Gun Safety
has a form to help you
contact your Senator quickly.

Click to learn more about...
Everytown for Gun Safety

***
Giffords 
began as Americans for Responsible Solutions
and was started by
Gabby Giffords who was shot in 2011
while meeting
with her congressional constituents in Arizona.

This organization merged with the
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence,
a group initially formed by
Bay-Area lawyers in 1993
with the goal of strengthening
gun laws in California.
 
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
produces an annual "Gun Law Score Card"
showing how individual states
rank in terms of gun laws and gun deaths.
It's worth checking out your state...
Gun Law Score Card

Click to learn more about...
Giffords

***
March For Our Lives 
began as a student-led demonstration
following the 2018 shooting at
 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

They have just released a 
Peace Plan for a Safer America. 
It contains a wide range of actionable steps
to make our communities safer.
Take a look at their inspiring vision...
 Peace Plan

And click to learn more to learn about...
March For Our Lives

***
Gun Safety Alliance
looks for ways to bring
business leaders,
creative & tech communities,
and non-profit
gun violence prevention organizations
together to make
meaningful reforms. 

Click to learn more about...
Gun Safety Alliance

***
States United 
to
Prevent Gun Violence
is a grassroots network
of gun violence preventions organizations
from 32 states all working 
​to pass meaningful gun reform
at the state level.  
While legislators in D.C. have done
little to help at the federal level,
there have been many significant laws
passed in individual states.

Click to learn more about...
States United to Prevent Gun Violence​
​
***
All of these organizations
would welcome support.

Help where you can.

There's one more EASY thing you can do right away...

CALL YOUR SENATORS.

Let them know that you want the Senate to take action on 
H.R.8 - Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.

It passed the House and is ready for the Senate.

It's been waiting for nearly six months.

We need to hold Congress accountable.

We need our Senators to ACT.

​We need to fix this together.

This was an EPIC week for US soccer.
Our US Women's National Team won the world cup!
For the FOURTH time!

Moments like these can help bring us together.
The USWNT's slogan this year reminds us that we are...

ONE NATION.
ONE TEAM.

 Team Co-Captain,
Megan Rapinoe,
had these words for us all at the
USWNT's ticker tape parade
in New York this week...

"How do you make your community better?
How do you make the people around you better?
Your family?
Your closest friends?
The 10 closest people to you?
The 20 closest people to you?
100 closest people to you?
It’s every single person’s responsibility. 

There’s been so much
contention
in these last years.
I’ve been a victim of that.
I’ve been a perpetrator of that...

But it’s time to come together.

This conversation is at the next step.

We have to collaborate.

It takes everybody."

It takes everybody.

Let's all do our best to..
Love More and Hate Less.

And remember that we are...
ONE NATION.
ONE TEAM.

A day for
parades and fireworks...

A day for
hot dogs and apple pie...

A day to show
gratitude
for our country...

 A day for red, white, blue...
and PURPLE!

What could be more
patriotic
than having a
purple
conversation?

It's a day to
celebrate
together!

Happy 4th of July!

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.

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! 

On Memorial Day,
we honor those
who have made the
ultimate sacrifice
for our country.

We may disagree,
but regardless
of our political beliefs, 
we can come together today
in a spirit of gratitude to
REMEMBER
and
HONOR
the many brave heroes
who have given their lives 
for our freedom.

Their sacrifice
gives us 
us the
liberty
to
disagree.

We can 
honor their 
memory
by
disagreeing
​with one another
respectfully.

Doing so requires
its own
smaller 
kind of bravery.

Let's try to be brave together. 

​