Dear President Trump,

Apparently we are just two or three weeks away from Mueller having you and Mr. Pence in for questioning. If you don’t fire him between now and then, that is. I’ve tried to imagine what that scenario would be like, you firing him, I mean, and it gives me such bad willies I can’t stick with it long enough to form a coherent idea about who would react how. I just hope you are somehow, some way banking on the buck stopping short of you so you opt not to interrupt the process by firing him. But really, if you did fire him, I think all hell would break loose. At least I hope all hell would break loose. All hell should break loose. Realistically though, I worry that with your craven party in control, you would get away with it. God, I hope that doesn’t happen.

We have a dear friend visiting us from Houston this weekend and, no surprise, we’ve been talking politics and how in a crazy sort of way, you don’t really matter. You are what you are and at this point you are predictable in your heinousness, your highness. Uh oh, I’m resorting to clang associations, which isn’t a good sign even if it was a pretty clever one. Anyway, we’ve been talking about how you are simply filling a role aimed at destabilizing the country and getting as much money flowing up the chain as possible. Granted, you were a really good pick for the role, but this isn’t about you. Rather, it’s about the millions of Americans who are grasping at your straws because you, in this role, promise them their old lives back while you play up their anger, fear, and sense of entitlement. It’s this dynamic we have to worry about. It’s a dynamic the Republican party has been fomenting for years and that the Democratic party has never sufficiently grasped or effectively countered. It’s a dangerous, dangerous dynamic, which if left unchecked, could lead us to civil war. So, what do we need? Listening. Reconciliation. Sadly, though because there is so much racist, sexist shit being spewed, I honestly don’t know how to address the spewers constructively except through blessings from a distance.

May we be safe long enough to start listening to one another.
May we be happy when we are forced to make common cause on something.
May we collectively become healthy enough to not be taken in by self-serving dividers.
May our lives unfold and intersect peacefully.

Sincerely,
Tracy Simpson