Dear President Trump, Nothing in particular has gone wrong, but most of the day I've felt on the verge of tears. I'm guessing you don't have these sorts of days, but who knows? Maybe when you are alone or just spending time with Melania you can let your guard down and let yourself feel unsure … Continue reading Healthy doses of doubt
Month: September 2017
Old, old wisdom we need to heed
Good Morning President Trump, If you were studying justice you likely would have already made the slight leap from JG's framing of it (all humans as unique and irreplaceable works of art) to Jesus's encouragement to love your neighbor as your self and to love your enemy. And maybe you'd even have made the connection … Continue reading Old, old wisdom we need to heed
Beautiful doesn’t belong
Dear President Trump, I want to revisit Julius Goat's frame for ascertaining whether we are hewing to justice. Here it is again: "Every human being is a unique and irreplaceable work of art carrying unsurpassable worth." There are billions of reasons to remind you of this framing but the reason I want to focus on … Continue reading Beautiful doesn’t belong
Pernicious “othering”
Dear President Trump, I bet Elton John isn't too happy with your "Rocket Man" tweet from this morning. What were you thinking? Were you thinking? Sure doesn't seem like a good idea for you to have access to your phone over night. You know how super responsible parents have all family members leave their devices … Continue reading Pernicious “othering”
Charting new territory
Dear President Trump, It seems to be my week for finding messages in bottles. When I was walking the dogs I came across a large piece of shiny white paper on the sidewalk. Because it was litter, I went ahead and picked it up. When I turned it over, I found that it's a school … Continue reading Charting new territory
A drop of water
Dear President Trump, It was a beautiful, clear, cool, quiet morning with a nice smattering of stars visible. I only felt scared once when my own shadow surprised me over my shoulder. Near the end of my run I said my usual lovingkindness prayer for myself, Laura, Iris, a runner I don't know, you, and … Continue reading A drop of water
“Irreplaceable works of art”
Dear President Trump, It doesn't happen all that often but over the last couple of years (yes, even before you were installed in office) I have periodically found myself pondering questions of my relative worth. Usually it is when I am doing some mundane task. I am not aware of feeling resentful of doing said … Continue reading “Irreplaceable works of art”
Empathy boost
Dear President Trump, Yesterday as I was crossing the parking lot at work to get to my building I found a small, folded piece of notebook paper with what looked like a letter written on it. I think rather than being a letter, it's actually the text of a short speech someone wrote for a … Continue reading Empathy boost
Proposed increases for NIH in spite of you
Dear President Trump, Before sharing my thoughts on the good news in the news I want to finally tell you about the walker. It belongs to the widow of one of our longtime ministers. She is always impeccably and elegantly dressed and her hair is always perfect. She is both warm and cool when we … Continue reading Proposed increases for NIH in spite of you
9/11 and doodle prayers
Dear President Trump, I promised you more from yesterday's church service, but first I want to pause and recognize that today is the 16th anniversary of 9/11. I imagine you remember where you were when you found out what was happening and since you were probably in NYC I'm guessing your first reaction was terror … Continue reading 9/11 and doodle prayers
Daily Trump Letters 