Dear President Trump, I've thought some more about both the “stop to think” and “Kindness is Magic” messages I wrote to you about yesterday and want to add a couple more things about them. First, I realized this morning that the encouragement to “stop to think” is probably mostly about being intentional about thinking, it’s … Continue reading “Political” isn’t a dirty word
Activism
Scream out loud
Dear President Trump, Alexandra Petri is my hero of the day. Her WP editorial about your shameful comment that E. Jean Carroll is not your type is some kind of powerful. I’m sure you haven’t read it so I will briefly summarize her approach and will then quote her last two paragraphs directly. She starts … Continue reading Scream out loud
Rainbows
Dear President Trump, Last night around 9:15 as we were winding down to go to bed I was in the kitchen and Laura was already upstairs when we called out to each other at the same time to look out back; there was a full rainbow arcing across the sky to the East against dark … Continue reading Rainbows
May we make peace with limits
Dear President Trump, Hey, good morning. Where are you today? I don’t feel like checking your schedule so I’ll assume you are back in DC, ready to menace us from up close this week. I can’t find the article now, but did you see the news that’s come out recently telling us that you eat … Continue reading May we make peace with limits
A boatload of racist crap
Dear President Trump, Today is Laura’s birthday. Last night after work I purchased a lovely bouquet of flowers for her that I hid until this morning. She was so sleepy first thing that she missed seeing them on the dining room table, but her smile when she did see them was wonderful. It’s not easy … Continue reading A boatload of racist crap
“No one breathes”
Dear President Trump, I wasn’t going to stay for service at all yesterday. The plan was to go to choir practice at 9 and leave right afterwards because there was a choir potluck later in the afternoon and I didn’t want the whole day given over to churchy stuff. The plan was going just fine … Continue reading “No one breathes”
“Atmospheric discrimination”
Dear President Trump, For a few days now, I’ve been chewing on something to tell you about, trying to figure out how to frame it, what to include, what to let stay shadowy. This morning while I was getting some exercise I finally decided I was ready to tackle it (I’ll tell you what “it” … Continue reading “Atmospheric discrimination”
Marginalized voices
Dear President Trump, I told you yesterday that Laura and I took the dogs on a walking tour of the University campus to see the heron rookery. We tagged on visiting a couple of the newer buildings on campus that Laura wanted to show me with the idea that I could go in and check … Continue reading Marginalized voices
Forging a path between all and nothing
Dear President Trump, I’ve started this letter over four times now. It hardly ever happens to me that I can’t get a toehold with a letter, but today I’m really struggling. I’m quite certain it’s because I keep thinking about how white Northeast Seattle is and the fact that I live here and am not … Continue reading Forging a path between all and nothing
So many phoenixes rising (out of the ashes of the patriarchy)
Dear President Trump, This morning I have three true stories for you, all of which I heard on the same day last week. The first involves a woman who re-entered the work force a few years ago and whose talents have quickly become apparent. Recently her boss asked her to take over a poor-performing department … Continue reading So many phoenixes rising (out of the ashes of the patriarchy)