As a child, I loved purple. My bedroom walls were all purple, which perfectly matched my purple curtains and bedspread.
I wore as much purple as I could. Even Grandma helped me by knitting purple sweaters, gloves, hats, and mittens.
And then, while finger painting in Kindergarten, I mistakenly discovered that when I spread blue over my red, it became purple.
My world changed that day.
Suddenly every finger painting featured my unique scribbly blend of purple.
Yes, my mom saved one of my fingerpaintings.
Okay, I’ll get to the point.
This election features bold Red and Blue choices.
But to get anything done, it will take purple—a willingness to mix together and see what we can paint on the canvas of our nation—and in our communities.
The solutions to our problems are far more complex than mixing colors, and I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t always put my Kindergarten lessons to work—listening, sharing, and being kind, but I’ll do better.
It is a sad reality that our media is more attracted to our division than to our unity.
I hope we can get past that. Because together, we can get some good work done.
