This week's impeachment proceedings highlighted the voices of several career diplomats and foreign policy experts, including Fiona Hill, a former National Security adviser. Her words remind us that there is real danger in letting ourselves get whipped into a partisan frenzy by the latest tweet or post. How do we keep ourselves from getting pulled into the partisan vortex? One important step is to think critically about who is producing the information in our media diet. AllSides is a non-partisan organization working hard to burst our internet news filter bubbles. Their mission is to... Strengthen our democracy by freeing people from filter bubbles so they can better understand the world — and each other. A worthy goal! Check out their media bias page and see where your favorite online news source falls on their left/right continuum. Then, consider seeking out a different news source every now and then... Can the same story be told in another way? Find out! Let's make an effort to consume a balanced media diet and burst those filter bubbles!
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Happy World Kindness Day!
Did you know that was even a thing? How can you celebrate? WQED, home of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, is encouraging everyone to wear cardigans today in honor of Mr. Rogers, the king of kindness. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation offers lots of great ideas for spreading kindness. Check them out... randomactsofkindess.org A purple way to spread kindness might be to reach out to someone on the other side of the political divide. Think of someone in your daily life who sees things in a different way. What little act of kindness could you share with that person today? A cup of coffee? An encouraging note? A smile? Give it a try! One little act of kindness today might pave the way for a purple tomorrow. Did you get your
"I Voted" sticker this week? Did you wear it with pride? Or did you let this year's "off-season" election pass you by? Let's remember that EVERY election counts. And local elections have an IMPORTANT impact on our daily lives. There's a pithy quote floating around the internet that sums up our current situation... "We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate." (This is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but monticello.org says he never wrote this... and they should know!) Whoever said it, the message rings true. Red voters, Blue voters, Purple voters... let's all work together, to make sure the majority of us are participating in the process. Our democracy is counting on our votes! Ghosts and Ghouls
Monsters and Aliens Witches and Werewolves Vampires and Zombies Democrats and Republicans All kinds of creatures roam the streets on Halloween! While we open our doors for our trick-or-treating neighbors, Let's try opening our hearts. Who lurks beneath the scary mask? A LIBERAL? A CONSERVATIVE? Who cares?!?!?! It's a NEIGHBOR, NOT A MONSTER. Let's try and remember that today... and every day. Happy Halloween, Neighbors! 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! |
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