Dear President Trump, The universe is a funny, funny place sometimes. It’s also a downright crappy place sometimes, but every now and then there’s a pretty great absurd irony to call out. A couple of days ago I hit the 600-page mark for the word document where I compose and edit my letters to you … Continue reading #100
Common Ground
Make it so
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
Systemic consequences
Dear President Trump, Just giving you a head’s up; this is going to be a longer than usual letter. I found out from Laura yesterday that our brother-in-law’s oncologist told him that people with his type of cancer (i.e., bone metastases from an organ tumor) have a median life expectancy of 20 months. This is … Continue reading Systemic consequences
Self-appointed arbiters of personhood
Dear President Trump, This is not an original thought, but it hit me yesterday in a clearer way than ever before that religion is frequently used as a cudgel to deny certain people full personhood. The core messages of the central religious tracts we say are foundational to our country focus on treating others as … Continue reading Self-appointed arbiters of personhood
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
Our children’s children’s safety
Dear President Trump, So where’s Melania? What’s she up to? Your staff insists all is hunky-dory and everyone is just in a spin over nothing, but you’ve got to know this is at best a very odd situation. For someone as rabid about managing optics (even though you fail miserably all the time), it is … Continue reading Our children’s children’s safety
Jesus and Buddha would have liked each other a lot
Dear President Trump, Two days ago I discovered that someone in the next block up has a log on their front porch that’s been carved into a likeness of Jesus. The top is plain log, complete with bark and tree rings and the rest has a detailed Jesus face, neck, and upper chest carved into … Continue reading Jesus and Buddha would have liked each other a lot
Real people with names and lives
Dear President Trump, We have family visiting from Atlanta and decided to take a drive to check out an island in the Salish Sea. On the freeway I saw a pick-up truck that had a brown sock monkey on a rope tied to the trailer hitch flying out behind like it was being dragged. No … Continue reading Real people with names and lives
“This is America”
Dear President Trump, Have you seen Donald Glover’s “This is America” music video? If you haven’t, you should. In an interview about it for the Huffington Post Julia Craven talked with the founder and curator of the Jim Crow museum, David Pilgrim. He notes that throughout the video dancing is juxtaposed with brutal violence. He … Continue reading “This is America”
“Our deepest fear…”
Dear President Trump, First thing this morning I thought of Marianne Williamson’s quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” It popped into my head when I was pouring my tea water. In trying to sort out why, I wondered if I was … Continue reading “Our deepest fear…”
Daily Trump Letters 