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Illinois Congressman Signs Purple America Pledge

Pledge Sees Common Ground in America’s Values

Cleveland, Ohio — October 28, 2011 — Illinois Congressman Tim Johnson (R-15), co-founder of the Center Aisle Caucus launched in 2005, has signed a pledge circulated by Purple America, a national initiative to support civil discourse centered around America’s widely-shared values.  Purple America is challenging political leaders to seek common ground for America’s greater good through a campaign to Re-Imagine America® around the non-partisan, core values Americans of all faiths and political parties share.

Rep. Johnson was a guest in a televised Purple America Values Forum in September where he decried the constant pressure from party leaders to stay on their side of the aisle. Also earlier this year, he participated in a town hall meeting in Champaign, Ill., with Rep. Christopher Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.  The lawmakers used the event to promote conversation over criticism and dialogue over divisiveness. 

“Contrary to popular belief, there are some of us in Congress who are eager for rational debate and civil discourse,” Rep. Johnson said. “In my discussions with people throughout Central Illinois and beyond, there is a single theme that prevails over everything, and that is their wish that we would get along and get something done. That’s just what we’re trying to promote.”

Purple America Founder Stuart Muszynski says, “We’re extremely pleased that Congressman Johnson, a leader in the House Civility movement, has made a commitment to finding common ground through civil dialog based on the values that unite us. We ask all elected officials to do the same. The American people deserve no less.”

The Purple America Pledge states, “I believe Americans from all walks of life value Equality, Family, Faith, Freedom, Love and Respect, Self-Expression, Community, Giving Back, The Good Life, Success, Opportunity and Doing the Right Thing.  These values unite us in a common bond that defines us as uniquely American, making us more similar than different. Our society benefits when we honor this bond, above our differences, in our conversations. I pledge to honor this bond, to practice these values and to celebrate them in others for the greater good of all.”

For more information, go to www.purpleamerica.us.

About Purple America®

Purple America is a national initiative of Project Love® Remember the Children Foundation, a character-building program that has trained more than 50,000 American teens and 2,000 educators to build a culture of kindness, caring and respect in their schools. Purple America’s mission is to unite America around twelve values, neither red nor blue, that form our common ground: Equality, Faith, Family, Freedom, Love and Respect, Self-Expression, Doing the Right Thing, Community, Giving Back, the Good Life, Opportunity and Success. Project Love is a non-profit, 501c3 organization.