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
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
“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”
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
“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”
“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”
Surreally messed up, really
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
Please pull your head out
Dear President Trump, I haven’t shared anything especially positive with you lately so I thought I’d tell you what happened this morning on my run-walk. A young white man who looked like he might be homeless was standing on a corner with his skateboard out in front of him in my path. I said ‘hi’ … Continue reading Please pull your head out
Campaign coffers => Children’s coffins
Dear President Trump, A friend of mine sent me a text yesterday summing up your absurd “hero in your own mind” insistence that you would have rushed in and overpowered the gunman at MSD high school with or without a weapon: “Donald bone spurs would have gone into the school and the Sun did not … Continue reading Campaign coffers => Children’s coffins
Tonglen for Mona
Dear President Trump, This morning when I was doing my tonglen practice I decided to focus on Mona Charen to see what might come up. You may be aware that she is the conservative writer who thoroughly called out other conservatives at the CPAC conference for giving sexual harassers and abusers passes. She blasted you … Continue reading Tonglen for Mona
Daily Trump Letters 