Dear President Trump,

The universe sure behaves in some uncanny, weird ways sometimes. After telling you yesterday about the positives of having gotten to see both a hawk and a female jay on the way home from work, this morning on my run I encountered yet another dead bird a couple of blocks away. This one wasn’t a hummingbird like the other two from earlier in the summer. I think it was a wren, but it was still dark out and I didn’t feel emotionally sturdy enough to stop and examine it closely so I’m not sure. And then there was the professor from Nevada, Dr. Mark Bird (as in another bird), who shot himself in the forearm yesterday on his college campus to protest you. I really can’t understand why he’d hurt himself so badly when it will have zero effect on you. Sadly, I think you might even kind of like that some nutty liberal was so out there that he shot himself because of you. I’m also pretty sure that if you were paying attention, you’d be pleased he’s facing criminal charges.

Although I’m 99% certain that US citizens publicly self-harming in political protest is exceedingly rare and not something we’ve just been overlooking, I’m not at all sure what to make of the dead bird sightings. I can’t tell whether small birds are now dying at a higher rate than in the past, if they just happen to have died in more visible places this summer, or if I’m just noticing them more now. If they are dying more frequently, there’s the obvious question of why this might be and whether it has anything to do with climate change. That’s what I think is probably happening, but I’m not an environmental scientist and really don’t know. Do you? As our commander-in-chief you should be on top of such things since they have grave implications for the wellbeing of your citizens. And really, if you just wanted to stay in your money grubbing, the-world-be-damned-soulless-jerk mode, it would still behoove you to get real about global warming since the financial implications are beyond enormous. But no, anything that might suggest that President Obama was correct (i.e., regarding the Paris Climate Agreement) would be an anathema. Essentially, you are imperiling the world because you are vain and greedy. What a legacy.

May we be safe from vain, greedy despots who cannot admit their predecessors did anything of value.
May we be happy to call such people out.
May we take it upon ourselves to make the changes that need to be made.
May you not start a war too.

Sincerely,
Tracy Simpson