Dear President Trump, Given how much chaos and tumult is going on in the White House, I did some tonglen for you this morning. It took me a minute to settle on what I think is likely the main negative emotion you are feeling. I passed on the obvious ones (rage, anger, and frustration) and … Continue reading Surreally messed up, really
Month: March 2018
“Dear Abuser”
Dear President Trump, Sometimes I can be pretty dense. Yesterday as I was going over papers to include in a review of therapies for people with both PTSD and substance use disorders I came across two that evaluated treatments involving writing about one’s traumas. This led me to remember how such writing therapies got traction, … Continue reading “Dear Abuser”
“Don’t Believe Everything You Think”
Dear President Trump, It must be as rare as hens’ teeth since I’ve only seen it three times to date, but Wednesday I saw my favorite bumper sticker: “Don’t Believe Everything You Think.” I immediately thought of you. However, before I launched into an internal rant about your thinking, I dutifully reminded myself that this … Continue reading “Don’t Believe Everything You Think”
Sunday glums
Dear President Trump, How was your weekend? How many rounds of golf did you get in? I hear you were “joking” about a constitutional amendment to allow some president, some day, perhaps even you know who, to serve as many terms as they are “elected” to. How was it to try on the idea of … Continue reading Sunday glums
“be kind as well”
Dear President Trump, At the outset of her sermon yesterday, our pastor said that it feels like the entire country is going through Lent together. It’s an odd thing to lay such a Christian construct on the entire populace, but I think I get where she’s coming from on this. Lent is a strange time … Continue reading “be kind as well”
Blind white privilege
Dear President Trump, I want to circle back to the ideas I was trying to develop yesterday on Lent and waiting. I actually feel less like I’m waiting for something to happen and more like I’m enduring what is happening, doing my best to hang in with the toxic uncertainty and the daily surges of … Continue reading Blind white privilege
Kids need us to be the adults
Dear President Trump, Monday evening our daughter let me know she planned to take an unexcused absence and miss school on Tuesday because she and two friends were driving down to Olympia to participate in the rally urging lawmakers to pass gun control legislation. She was close to tears as she told me how angry … Continue reading Kids need us to be the adults
Magpies of a different feather
Dear President Trump, The other day a friend who is reading my letters to you on my blog (yes, I did get it set up and if you want to check it out, the url is http://www.dailytrumpletters) commented about the bouncing variety of topics I cover over the course of a week. I told him … Continue reading Magpies of a different feather
POTUS fails on Management Do’s and Don’ts
Dear President Trump, This week I took the three-hour VA’s EEO Compliance Training for Managers and Supervisors. Have you taken the equivalent one for the Executive Branch? Surely there is one. If not, you can borrow ours. We have to do it every two years to stay on top of the new laws and to … Continue reading POTUS fails on Management Do’s and Don’ts
Mental health and masculinity
Dear President Trump, We have posters all over the VA that say “It takes the courage and strength of a warrior to ask for help….” Some have a silhouette of a single solider with his head in his hands and others have a male hand reaching down from a military vehicle to help another male … Continue reading Mental health and masculinity
Daily Trump Letters 