RED and BLUE make PURPLE

Do you see it yet? I didn’t at first. I saw a reason to lament, to shake my head in disgust, to say to myself “Are you serious??”. A Voice, That Voice, cracked open the door and quietly asked “Why would it be different?” Then I saw it, and once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. It’s like that optical illusion plate picture where all the plates are upside down but once you see the one that is right side up, suddenly ALL the plates are right side up. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it. I can’t unsee what I have now seen. “Why would it be different” indeed. Good one God, got me.

Right now, if you look at the polls at 7:46 AM PST in the United States of America, you see a race that is so close people across our nation have upset stomachs, tense neck muscles and heartburn. I’m sure many of us didn’t sleep well and probably a good number have been living next to their cell phones and TV’s like they are going to decide the fate of the world, and to some degree, they are. But what I saw yesterday, when looking at those polls showing a race that is so close it could make one mad with anticipation, is completely different than what I see now.

The polls are close. More people have voted in this election than in 120 years. So why would we not see two colors almost neck and neck? Why would it be different? That is who we are, and who we always will be as long as we have a two party system and that’s a good thing isn’t it? What I see is the possibility of balance. I see the potential for levity in our decisions. I see choices.

When that Voice asked “Why would it be different?” there was a subliminal other question hidden in it’s depths that asked “What’s the alternative?”. The alternative would be that it would be all or mostly one color or the other in the polls. I would not want that. I do not want to be in a country where one mind-set, one ideology, one condition would be so overwhelming that it would drown out any other representation. Not “my side” or “their side”.

This time 4 years ago, I realized what we were looking into was a mirror. There we were in all our ugliness, beauty, shame and glory. It was all out there, for all to see. We’ve been looking into that mirror for 4 years, 4 relentless years. We’ve seen our darkest and our brightest places without mercy. It’s been an intense 4 years. I also learned, it’s always been a mirror. So, what is the mirror saying to me this morning? It is saying “here you are. U.S.”. You are neither this or that, you are this AND that. You may not like it. It may terrify you, anger you, freak you out but the mirror don’t lie. You are one nation of two, and you have been all along. Isn’t it time you learn to play nice with each other?

Lots has happened and been said over the last 4 yrs by both “sides” to make us believe our side, whatever side that is depending on who you are, is the only side that deserves certain things. That “the other side” is the enemy, is wrong, is bad and is to be feared. We bought it. Don’t tell me you didn’t because I’ve seen your posts. I’ve seen my own also. In spite of my best intentions, I’ve fallen into the trap set for me of “me against them” quite a few times. But ideologically, is this true? I don’t believe it is.

I have no desire to live in a US that is completely Red. That thought scares the poop out of me. Some of those ideals are gut clenching, soul shrinkingly scary. I also have the same visceral reaction when imagining a US that is completely Blue because some of those ideals are just as terrifying and repellant to me. On the flip side, and there is always a B side to the A side, both sides also have some important ideals, policies and goals that are key to a democracy and its society. Then there are the ideals that have passed the mark of good and gone a bit into the “too much” spectrum, but with a little discretion they could also be good for us. And that is why it is important we have each other. A teeter totter doesn’t work with only one person on one side. It needs the work of two to get the motion it was made for to happen successfully. We need Red and Blue. But what we really need to learn how to do is to make Purple. And the Red and Blue politicians aren’t going to tell us that because it is against their best interest. They get elected on a platform of divide and conquer. One thing I’ve learned over the last 4 years, the Donkey and the Elephant have mouths but I’m not sure they have ears and eyes. We need to be their ears and eyes. And we need to mix the paint.

I don’t see purple yet when I look at the election polls this morning, but I do see the Purple Potential. It’s the People that have to mix the two. Its you and me. WE have to pour ourselves and our representatives and leaders into each other persistently and deliberately to make Purple. We have to learn to listen to each other, ESPECIALLY to our friends who voted differently than we did. We have to learn to hear what they are saying and why it is important to them. We have to learn to respect each other’s perspectives and what they bring to the table, what they bring to the teeter totter.

We need to stop falling for the loud voices from the televised pulpits and the talking heads on the “news” convincing us it is Either/Or. That isn’t who we are. Can you see it? Look at the polls again. One plate is right side up. Or maybe they are all right-side up and one is upside down. Either way, once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It changes everything. And I think that plate is purple.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨, 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮."

NW

11.4.20