This month marked the
100th anniversary
of the ratification of the
19th Amendment
granting women the
right to vote. 

Of course,
this did not even
mean that
all women
were granted the
right to vote.

Universal suffrage
would have to wait
until much later...
and we are
still waiting
for the vision of
universal suffrage
to be fully realized
in our nation.

Carrie Chapman Catt,
founder of
The League of Women Voters,
had this to say about
women winning the
right to vote in 1920...

The vote is the emblem of your equality,
women of America, the guarantee of your liberty.
That vote of yours has cost millions of dollars and the lives of thousands of women.
Money to carry on this work has been given usually as a sacrifice,
and thousands of women have gone without things they wanted
and could have had in order that they might help get the vote for you.
Women have suffered agony of soul which you can never comprehend,
that you and your daughters might inherit political freedom.
That vote has been costly.
Prize it!
The vote is a power, a weapon of offense and defense, a prayer.
Understand what it means and what it can do for your country.
Use it intelligently, conscientiously, prayerfully.
No soldier in the great suffrage army has labored
and suffered to get a “place” for you.
Their motive has been the hope that women would
aim higher than their own selfish ambitions,
that they would serve the common good.
The vote is won.
Seventy-two years the battle for this privilege has been waged,
but human affairs with their eternal change move on without pause.
Progress is calling to you to make no pause.
Act!

Progress still calls on us to
make no pause.
We need to act together.

We've just seen the
DNC and the RNC 
share their visions
 of political leadership
for our country.

It's now our
responsibility
to
VOTE.

Countless Americans
have worked  
tirelessly for the cause of
universal suffrage.
Many have given their
LIVES
so that
WE THE PEOPLE
 can have the precious right to vote...
PRIZE IT! 
​Get ready to
VOTE!

This week, 
our nation remembers
a true American hero,
Congressman John Lewis.
He used his life 
to light a path
toward a more perfect union.
He calls on us ​to continue this work.
Here are just a few of his words to guide us...

Black Lives Matter
​ demonstrations
across the country
and
around the world
have put the
spotlight
on a crucial
 question...

What will we
DO
as a nation
about the reality of
systemic racism?

We need
Republicans and Democrats
to unite and create
purple policies
that will bring us 
meaningful
systemic change.

There is no quick fix.

Dismantling
our nation's 
legacy of racism
 requires
hard work
and
reflection
and
courage
and
persistence
and
vigilance
and
empathy
and
compassion
and
respect
and
LOVE.

It's
LONG PAST
time
for us all
to
STAND TOGETHER
and
           DO THE WORK
              and
               BE 
                                                                THIS CHANGE.                                   

Slowly,

slowly...

step by 

cautious step...

We are coming out of our homes.

We are seeing each other in the streets.

We are coming back together!

And as we
move forward,
we are also
falling back 
into our old, 
familiar habits...

"Why AREN'T you wearing a mask?"

"Why ARE you wearing a mask?"

"Why don't you care about public health?"

"Why don't you care about civil liberties?"

"Why don't you listen to SCIENCE?"

"Why don't you listen to REASON?"

Here's a question for us all...

Why don't we
STOP 
​JUDGING
and 
focus on
CARING
for each other?

It is certain
that we will not all
agree
 about how to
interact
in our new
COVID-conscious
world.

We're all wondering...
​
When
and
where
is it
appropriate
or
necessary
to wear masks?

How close
is
TOO CLOSE...

At the store?
At the beach?
At restaurants?
On the sidewalk?
On the hiking trail?

When can we get back to
normal life?

We're all thinking
about these questions...
and we're all coming
to
different
conclusions.

What works for
one state 
or
one city
or
one neighborhood
or
one household, 
might not work
for another.

We're creating a
new
"normal"
and we have
to do this
together.

We have an
opportunity
to create these
new norms
with
grace
and
empathy
and
compassion.

We can do this!

We can care
SELFLESSLY
for one another.

Let's give each other
a break
and
give each other
encouragement
and try to
keep each other
​safe 
while we
create our 
"new normal"
TOGETHER. 

This month,
the world
hit the
"PAUSE" 
button on
everything.

Before we press
"PLAY"
once more,
let's take this
moment
to appreciate
what we've learned.

We can work together.
We can make sacrifices.
We can help those in need.
We can ​lift each other up.
We can consider the common good.
We can find common ground.

This week,
Broadway legends
​celebrated the
90th birthday of
composer, lyricist, and 
​national treasure,
Stephen Sondheim.
During the celebration,
Brian Stokes Mitchell
sang a Sondheim
piece called
"Flag Song".
It ends like this...

COVID-19
is everywhere...

on the internet,
on magazine covers,
on television,
on cruise ships,
on talk radio,
on airplanes,
and...
on every continent
except 
Antarctica.

It's a fierce
reminder
that our world
is
truly
connected
and that
empathy
for one another
is more important
than ever.

It's remarkable
how communities
around the world 
have joined together
to try and slow
the spread of COVID-19.
We know that we
MUST 
work together.

This virus
also reminds us
why we use 
the expression 
GOING VIRAL.

COVID-19 is on the 
MOVE
and it doesn't care 
if you're 
rich or poor,
urban or rural,
conservative or liberal.

What if we
could share 
empathy
as quickly?

In these uncertain times,
let's support each another and
try to make empathy go viral.

Be well.
Be kind.
Listen.
Share.
Care.
Wash your hands.
Stay balanced.
Stay healthy.
Stay positive.

Let's work together
to make
EMPATHY GO VIRAL.

Does your heart
leap
when you see a
rainbow?

YES!

Does your heart
leap
when you see a
sunrise?

ALWAYS!

Does your heart 
leap 
when you see a 
baby?

OF COURSE!

Does your heart
leap
when you see
someone with a
different
political viewpoint? 

WHAT?!?!?!

Our stomachs
might lurch,
our brows
might furrow,
but our hearts
probably
aren't leaping.

Why not?

Let's change that!

This Leap Year,
let's try to find the
joy and wonder
in discussion.

Let's try to approach
one another
with the
awe and reverence
we usually
reserve for rainbows.

Let's challenge
ourselves
to find delight
in finding
common ground.

We have an
extra day
this year to
​make it happen...

Let's LEAP forward together!

Happy Leap Day!
​

In honor of Presidents' Day,
here is a bit of
presidential wisdom
from the past
to inspire us
to find
common ground
in the future...

"Too often...we enjoy the comfort of opinion
without the discomfort of thought."
-John F. Kennedy

"In religious and in secular affairs,
​the more fervent beliefs attract followers.
If you are a moderate in any respect -
if you're a moderate on abortion,
if you're a moderate on gun control,
or if you're a moderate in your religious faith -
it doesn't evolve into a crusade
where you're either
right or wrong,
good or bad,
with us or against us." 
-Jimmy Carter

"The middle of the road
is all of the usable surface.
The extremes,
right and left,
are in the gutters."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

“All of us share this world
for but a brief moment in time.
The question is whether we spend that time
focused on what pushes us apart,
or whether we commit ourselves to an effort
— a sustained effort --
to find common ground,
to focus on the future we seek for our children,
​and to respect the dignity of all human beings.”
-Barack Obama

"In crucial things, unity. 
In important things, diversity. 
In all things, generosity."
-George H. W. Bush

Happy Valentine's Day!

Is that
LOVE
in the air?

Or contempt?

Last week,
the featured speaker
at the National Prayer Breakfast
was Arthur Brooks,
a prominent conservative thinker
and author of
Love Your Enemies:
How Decent People Can
Save America from a Culture of Contempt.

He challenged the audience 
to become
"missionaries for
love
in the face of
contempt".

You can read his
prepared remarks for the speech
in the Washington Post .

These days,
we don't have to search far
to find contempt.

It's on display
in every
news channel
and
coffee shop
and
comment section
in America.

The question is,
when we find it,
how will we
​answer it?

Can we answer with patience?

Can we answer with kindness?

Can we answer with LOVE?

Let's do our best.
​

"I solemnly swear
(or affirm, as the case may be,)
that in all things appertaining to
the trial of the impeachment of Donald J. Trump,
now pending, I will do
impartial justice
according to the Constitution and laws:
so help me God."

This was the oath taken by all Senators
 before the impeachment trial began.

But the oath begs the question...

Is
impartial justice
even
possible
in these
​divided times?

It's likely that
the votes will be
split along party lines
in the Senate... 
just as they were
in the House.

Justice
is meant to be
blind,
but we keep
wearing those
red and blue
tinted glasses
as a nation.

Where does that
leave the truth?

What does
impartial justice
look like?

Stay tuned...

Whatever the outcome
of the impeachment trial,
we're going to need a lot of
purple thinking
to move beyond it
together,
as
one nation.
​