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. 

​

"Pro-Life"
"Pro-Choice"
"No Labels"
"First Trimester"
"Heartbeat"
"Late-Term"
"Partial-Birth"
"Doctors"
"Politicians"
"Supreme Court"
"Privacy"
"Control"
"Autonomy"
"Removal"
"Murder"
"Embryo"
"Fetus"
"Unborn Baby"
"Faith"
"Science"
"Reproductive Health"
"Birth Control"
"My Body"
"Voiceless"
"My Choice"
"Protection"
"Freedom"
"God's Will"
"Personal Liberty"
"Women's Health"

"Rights"
"Rights"
"Rights"

Whose rights?

Whose decision?

Who's in charge?

We'll be hearing much more
about all this in the coming months.

We haven't focused on
abortion
much here at the
 Purple Living Room Project 
 because,
let's face it,
this is one of the most
divisive
issues of our time.

​And yet,
according to Gallup polls
there ARE a few 
Purple Points.

Gallup's latest polling suggests that...

29% of Americans
think abortion should be legal
under any circumstances
AND
an additional
50% of Americans
think abortion should be legal
in limited circumstances.

So...

79% of Americans believe
women should have access
to abortion in some circumstances.

When asked if abortion
should be considered legal
in a series of specific circumstances, 
the numbers were split fairly evenly
yes/no
for most situations,

But...

77% believe abortion should be legal
in the case of rape or incest

AND

83% believe abortion should be legal
when the mother's life is at risk

There also seems to be some
purple agreement around
WHEN 
abortion should be
legal...

87% of Americans
do not think that
abortion should be
generally legal
in the third trimester.

Can we all agree that 
decisions about abortion
are
difficult
and
painful
and have
lasting consequences
for those involved?

Let's try to have
empathy
for one another
and acknowledge that our
deeply held beliefs
are coming from a place of
​positive intentions...
even if we disagree vehemently
about what "positive intentions" look like.

Fortunately,
there seems to be one aspect of
reproductive health
that most of us can agree upon...

89% of Americans believe that
birth control is morally acceptable. 

Seems like a place to start...

Can we work 
TOGETHER
to make sure
all women 
have 
affordable access
to birth control?

​We can do that together.

Happy Mother's Day!

This year,
after you've called your mom...
why not check in on Mother Earth?

Did you hear the news this week?

One MILLION species face extinction.

One MILLION.

It's time for us ALL to do our part.

Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
RETHINK
REACT

What are the
purple points 
that we can act on
NOW
to protect
our environment?

Let's start talking.

We all need to help with the dishes.​

The White House Correspondents' Dinner
was held last weekend.

No comedians this year.

Instead,  
the featured guest
was acclaimed
 historian
Ron Chernow.

He offered
valuable insights
into the
relationship
between the
White House
and the
Press
throughout
our nation's history.

Chernow's speech
celebrated the important role
that journalists play in our democracy.

He quoted Thomas Jefferson,
who famously wrote, 
"Were it left to me to decide whether
we should have a government
without newspapers,
or newspapers
without a government,
I should not hesitate a moment
to prefer the latter."

Freedom of the press
is enshrined in our Bill of Rights.

We depend on a
free press to bring us
the facts
so that we can make
informed decisions.

And,
as Chernow says,
we need
the facts
in order to have
honest
disagreements.

Let's show our
gratitude
to the journalists
across our country
who work tirelessly to
bring us
the facts.

And let's try to
ground our
purple conversations
in these facts
rather than 
bombastic rhetoric.

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.

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...

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! 

Our hearts go out to all of
those affected by the
tragic shooting in
Christchurch, New Zealand
last week.

The outpouring of
love and solidarity
shown by New Zealanders
in the wake of this tragedy
 has been inspirational.

Equally inspiring is
their government's
swift movement to
change gun laws 
in response to the shooting. 

New Zealanders
have joined
thoughts
and
prayers
with
ACTION.

One week after the tragedy,
Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern
has announced that all 
military-style
semi-automatic weapons, 
assault rifles, 
and high-capacity magazines 
will be banned in New Zealand.

One week.

The legislation required to
enact these new laws
will be drafted
immediately
with a goal of being
enacted by April 11th. 

If all goes as planned,
the new laws will take effect
one month after the atrocity.

One month.

This kind of decisive action
stands in stark contrast
to the response our government
has given the mass-shootings 
that continue to shake our nation.

Let's look to New Zealand as a reminder...

Change is possible.

And it can happen
faster than we think possible.

We can do better.

We must.