Dear President Trump, Yesterday I went to a writing class for people who want to become better allies both through their writing and in real time encounters. I left quite humbled and feeling as though I have a lot of remedial work to do. One of the exercises involved writing a manifesto framed by the … Continue reading Make it so
Positives
Cruel and usual
Dear President Trump, I’ve decided writing to you and sending us all loving-kindness meditations has become too important to me to let go of yet. Besides, it’s highly likely I would become impossible to be around if I didn’t have these letters as an outlet for my frustration, dismay, and anxiety over what’s going on … Continue reading Cruel and usual
Please watch Fred Rogers’ 1969 congressional testimony
Dear President Trump, There are a lot of beautiful scenes in “Won’t you Be My Neighbor,” the movie about Fred Rogers, but my favorite covers his 1969 congressional testimony in support of continued funding for PBS. I was all of six years old at the time so I wasn’t aware that President Nixon wanted to … Continue reading Please watch Fred Rogers’ 1969 congressional testimony
The specter of an even stronger you
Dear President Trump, I am very happy to report that I just got back from picking up our daughter at the airport! She was able to get a new passport at the US Consulate this morning after lot of middle of the night (for us) texting and calling back and forth to get her all … Continue reading The specter of an even stronger you
Swamp creatures and Goodwill ambassadors
Dear President Trump, When it was first announced yesterday that Scott Pruitt had “resigned” my initial thought was that the EPA would be temporarily hobbled in its de-regulation and repeal melee. Later in the day, however, I realized it’s far more likely you cut bait on Scott P because all his blatant unethical B.S. was … Continue reading Swamp creatures and Goodwill ambassadors
Peacemaker
Dear President Trump, The other day Laura was late getting home from an outing that seemed unlikely to stretch long so I was pretty sure there would be a story, and there was. On a main arterial that crosses over a deep ravine she saw a young woman standing in the middle of the bridge … Continue reading Peacemaker
COAL → diamond → CURE
Dear President Trump, When we teach veterans mindfulness skills so they can better cope with stress, pain, depression, and PTSD we address both specific strategies (e.g., mindfully attending to one’s in-breath and out-breath and corralling one’s attention back to the breath over and over) and the cultivation of certain attitudes towards oneself and one’s experience. … Continue reading COAL → diamond → CURE
Buddha as launch point
Dear President Trump, The other day I noticed that the Buddha head up next to the tree in our backyard was lying on its side so I set it back upright, nestling it firmly in the pea gravel there under the tree. Later, looking out the kitchen window I saw it was down again. Very … Continue reading Buddha as launch point
Real patriotism
Dear President Trump, It’s good you went ahead and slapped the idea of readmitting Russia to the G-7 on the table this morning. I was wondering when someone was going to point out that your baiting of Macron and Trudeau and the wanton tariff leveeing were likely at Vladimir’s behest. I didn’t see anything in … Continue reading Real patriotism
Marjory’s legacy
Dear President Trump, My alumnae magazine was especially engrossing this month with interviews featuring six of the former presidents of Ethos, an organization for students of African descent, as well as a piece by a WP reporter who happened to be in Las Vegas the night of the horrific mass shooting and was thus, one … Continue reading Marjory’s legacy
Daily Trump Letters 