Dear President Trump, I just watched Tarana Burke’s TED talk. Ms. Burke started the Me Too movement 10 years ago and she offered a sobering analysis of where the movement is now and how incredibly far it is from its original intent, which was to foster empathy between survivors. She described being numb and exhausted, … Continue reading Tarana Burke is bending the moral arc towards justice
Month: November 2018
“Breaking News:……”
Dear President Trump, You know how news sites periodically flash a bright red banner with “Breaking News:…..” emblazoned across it? Well, lately I’ve been thinking about how the phrase speaks to both the idea of some new, presumably important, piece of information breaking through the background noise and also to the idea that whatever the … Continue reading “Breaking News:……”
Further thoughts on standing in gaps
Dear President Trump, I’ve been using the phrase “standing in the gap” as a bit of shorthand in my recent letters to you focusing on efforts to foster belonging and healthy attachment both because it’s familiar and because it conjures the image of someone standing in the in-between, reaching out to either side to form … Continue reading Further thoughts on standing in gaps
Standing in the gap (3)
Dear President Trump, Both the caring letters suicide intervention and the program to curb cycles of violence for young black men profiled in the HP remind me of something Mother Teresa’s said: “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis but rather the feeling of not belonging.” There are probably just about as many … Continue reading Standing in the gap (3)
Standing in the gap (2)
Dear President Trump, The second HP piece in what I’m calling their “standing in the gap” series, is about a program developed by Dr. Joseph Richardson Jr., at the University of Maryland. It’s designed for young black men who’ve been hospitalized two or more times because of gunshot or stabbing wounds. The idea is to … Continue reading Standing in the gap (2)
Standing in the gap (1)
Dear President Trump, In the last two weeks or so the HP has published several long pieces that all focus on different rips in collective care taking and ways that people are trying to stand in these gaps. The one I’m going to focus on today is about an old way of addressing suicidality that’s … Continue reading Standing in the gap (1)
‘dued, as in subdued
Dear President Trump, It’s only Saturday, but the day has the melancholy feel of a Sunday (tomorrow should be loads of fun). We had some sun and bits of blue sky earlier that have since given way to clouds and flat light. Laura and I sometimes joke with each other on days like this that … Continue reading ‘dued, as in subdued
The imperative of doing things we love
Dear President Trump, This morning Laura and I went to a nearby coffee shop to meet an old friend of hers. They get together to catch up a couple of times a year and since I took the day off, I tagged along. It was lovely meeting her friend and getting to hear about their … Continue reading The imperative of doing things we love
Bits to be grateful for
Dear President Trump, Here’s something to be grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day, 2018 – a Republican Senator (Todd Young of Indiana) was quoted in the WP as saying “Economic interests are important, but they are not the most important thing,” in reference to the lack of real effort by the Saudis to minimize the … Continue reading Bits to be grateful for
There but for grace go he….
Dear President Trump, Currently the most read article in the WP is about how a man who repeatedly yelled racist epithets and threw a bottle and then a punch died after the African American Fed Ex driver he attacked punched him in the face. Once. In self-defense. As determined by the courts. A friend of … Continue reading There but for grace go he….
Daily Trump Letters 