#iampurple

mira antoun finance director

As a child, I vividly remember coloring often. With Crayola 12-packs, I filled in and shaded princesses, geometric shapes, and nature scenes. When the rainbow of colors in the box was not enough to get my vision on paper, I created my own colors. Blue and yellow made green, pink and orange made a bright hot red, and blue and red made purple. Purple was my favorite color, and mixing different amounts of blue and red gave me different shades of it. Sometimes, the drawing ended up being bluer with shades of red, other times it was red with streaks of blue; and it was different every time.

When I think of what it means to be purple, I think back to coloring. There were never two instances when I mixed red and blue and got the same hue of purple, the same shade, or the same stroke of color. When I think of the political gradient of the American people, I think in shades of purple; shades that vary based on individuals and their belief, tradition, and experience. For instance, before moving to America, I was raised in a small conservative community where cultural norms dictated what kind of life and behavior was acceptable or not. My American values defy that custom, and while I cherish the traditions, I cannot identify with them all. I believe in the freedom of being true to oneself in spite of communal customs and traditions; but I do so with a respect to communal values, norms, and those who choose to abide by them. 

I grew up in a traditional family; my mom was a homemaker for most of my younger years. After we moved to the United States, she juggled working and spending time with us. I watched her blossom from a loving caregiver into a force of nature in her own right. She found her voice and began to express her opinions more - which, in true mom fashion, were insightful, wise, and almost always right. As result of my upbringing, I believe in the importance of a two-parent household; others may not. As a result of my experiences in the world, I believe a woman has the right to choose whether she wants to be a full-time mom or pursue academic and professional aspirations. The choices others make to fulfill their dreams should not impact mine. In this respect, being purple gives credit to every family structure no matter how traditional, progressive, or somewhere in between it is. Being purple means having children if you want them, or not; pursuing a career, or not; and being a member of a traditional two-parent household, or not. 

Purple is built on the foundation that a government’s primary duty is to guarantee that every citizen’s voice is heard and represented regardless of how politically convenient, correct, or popular it may be. Government must choose objective policies that benefit all of its constituents. Sometimes that process is not straightforward, but I believe that by having an open discussion, and by hearing the other side, we can come to understand opinions other than our own, and to derive the value that benefits our society. 

Politically-speaking, I hear mixed statements like “I am a social liberal, but a fiscal conservative” or “the government should provide a safety net but I do not believe in a big government.” These statements challenge the concept of the single-issue voter and raise the question of why a person would relegate themselves to a simple “yes” or “no” on one issue. Why should a person align themselves with one political party over where it stands on a specific divisive issue? And most importantly, why should a person self-select out of the policy process?

I believe in the American way that welcomes people from all corners of the globe. While this country’s history with race, gender and other forms of equality may be less than perfect, its form of government permits each of us to be ourselves. It affords us the right to believe what we want to, to be who we want to be, and to live how we want to. To protect this freedom, it is important that we afford it to those we consider “others” or it will be lost for us all. Beyond the politics, we are all human and we care about our well-being and that of our loved ones’. We care about our fellow Americans and want to strengthen our country with the knowledge that we each bring value to a shared American dream.

For me, the meaning of purple materializes in founding People’s Policy. Our team is volunteering time to drive this mission, and this campaign, because we believe that if you paused for a few minutes and evaluated your political stance, you will come up with contradicting sentiments that do not fit the party-line division. What are they? Tell us on social media - Twitter @pp_action & Facebook - and use #iampurple to start the discussion. We look forward to hearing your opinions and discovering common truths. 

I truly believe we are a jumbo box of purple crayons, each purple hue unique on its own, but as part of a greater tapestry of purple, spectacularly beautiful.

#iampurple