Dear President Trump, Here is a bedtime story for you. Once upon a time, very much like the present time, there lived a man, of sorts, who had become the center of attention of all the wide world. This man, of sorts, was feted and feasted wherever he went, always receiving a double helping of … Continue reading President is King and King is President
Divisiveness
Make America again
Dear President Trump, The contemporary voice in service this morning was a poem by Langston Hughes that I told you about just ahead of July 4th, 2017 – Let America Be America Again. Three people took turns reading it and the congregation got to participate by reciting the parentheticals, the first one of which is … Continue reading Make America again
Part of why kindness is so important
Dear President Trump, Here’s the letter I had about 65% written yesterday when I pivoted to comparing niceness and kindness instead. You’ll probably be able to tell when I segue to new material to finish it out, but it doesn’t really matter – everything is connected and all of a piece. ~~~~~~~~ Does it add … Continue reading Part of why kindness is so important
She ripped him four new ones ~ for us
Dear President Trump, One of the most important lessons I learned from my political essay teacher last year is that it’s perfectly legitimate to create work that supports one’s own constituency rather than always trying to speak to everyone or attempting to sway those who don’t agree with us. Along these lines, I’ve been thinking … Continue reading She ripped him four new ones ~ for us
Associative learning and Joe Biden
Dear President Trump, This morning Laura and I took a not-rainy walk (finally!) with the dogs in the part of town we call “Swale-land.” It’s on the way to the grocery store and it feels kind of exotic because every other street is lined with richly planted swales instead of the usual plain grass nature … Continue reading Associative learning and Joe Biden
The education of a narcissistic sociopath
Dear President Trump, Dr. Bandy Lee’s quote in the HP (article by S. V. Date) about what you’ve learned from having been acquitted gets it right: “He, more than anyone, ‘knows’ subconsciously that the acquittal is undeserved …. He will likely act with increasing belief in unlimited power and impunity.” Unfortunately, the article ends with … Continue reading The education of a narcissistic sociopath
What will make a difference?
Dear President Trump, I wasn’t able to find the image Seung Min Kim referenced in her WP article this morning (“He also tweeted a clip featuring a mock magazine cover with signs showing him staying in office far beyond the two terms permitted by the Constitution”), but I tried everything short of joining Twitter. I’ve … Continue reading What will make a difference?
Such a redundantly tangled mess
Dear President Trump, Oh, where to start? Who the hell knows? I don’t. The original question implies there’s a single right answer and it also implies that it’s important to choose the starting point correctly. And yes, sometimes it is critical to start somewhere specific, like the beginning or maybe another strategic juncture that helps … Continue reading Such a redundantly tangled mess
Yucky bookends to the day
Dear President Trump, Today looks to be a day that will be bookended by rather spectacularly shitty stuff between the debacle in Iowa and your State of the (dis)Union speech tonight. Then you get to top it all off with the acquittal cherry tomorrow – feels like it might be a good time for a … Continue reading Yucky bookends to the day
Sunshine and shadow, shadow and sunshine
Dear President Trump, Just a few minutes ago out the back window to the East, the light on the huge fir trees (and one birch) in the distance was doing this incredible glow/shadow thing where some of the faces of the trees were bathed in golden light and other faces were charcoal-looking, like they couldn’t … Continue reading Sunshine and shadow, shadow and sunshine