Dear President Trump, There are two small things from recent letters I want to apologize for: 1) The other day I said the gun control sign in our window says “NO! To Gun Violence”. Well, that was incorrect. Although that is the sentiment and it is consistent with my desire for there to be an … Continue reading Redistributing the onus for apologies and forgiveness
empathy
If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
Dear President Trump, I don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but I work from home on Fridays (and actually get tons done those days J). This is relevant because there was a get together for a colleague who’s leaving the VA at a venue near the VA, which meant that I had to … Continue reading If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
A sweet anniversary and a critical caution
Dear President Trump, I watched it again this morning even though I knew it would make me tear up and even though I knew you would be popping in at the end ruining everything again (still). It was the last thing I looked at last night before going to bed. Well, except for a quick … Continue reading A sweet anniversary and a critical caution
Shifting the baseline towards love
Dear President Trump, Yesterday when I was mentally formulating my letter to you I kept thinking that the “shrinking baseline syndrome” was the “shifting baseline syndrome” – not that far off, but not quite right, either. When I was in “shifting baseline” mode, though, I found myself toggling between the frightening shifts in ethics and … Continue reading Shifting the baseline towards love
Safety and equality, equality and safety
Dear President Trump, There’s a line in Melinda Gates’ new book, The Moment of Lift, which I keep coming back to (pg. 163): “There is no equality without safety.” There are hundreds of insightful, gasp-in-recognition lines in the book, lines that evoke reverential nods and copious underlining for their elegant statement of fact, but this … Continue reading Safety and equality, equality and safety
Risking connection and compassion
Dear President Trump, I didn’t tell you about this part of yesterday in yesterday’s letter because I wanted to hold it close for a little while before sharing it with you, my most difficult person – still. What happened is that the universe did its universe thing when one of our neighbors called in the … Continue reading Risking connection and compassion
Pink flower boy
Dear President Trump, It’s been a really hard day. One positive thing about it, though, is that the reasons for its hardness have absolutely nothing to do with you. For a change. About six weeks ago we were invited to an annual walk around the medium sized lake near us to celebrate the life of … Continue reading Pink flower boy
Fighting for big dreams
Dear President Trump, Last night Laura and I were stopped at the light right by our house, waiting to turn left and we noticed a modest sized poster in the window of a house that reads “Dream Big / Fight Hard.” Neither of us knew who or what it was referencing, but we both liked … Continue reading Fighting for big dreams
A toxic stew of anger, sadness, and helplessness
Dear President Trump, Sometimes when I’m contending with the combination of anger, sadness, and helplessness I resort to being snide and I’m afraid that’s what happened in yesterday’s letter. I’m certainly not going to apologize to you, but it’s not a posture or way of being that I’m proud of or want to indulge in … Continue reading A toxic stew of anger, sadness, and helplessness
The climate change reality show for select world leaders
Dear President Trump, This is another one of my absurd “if only” thoughts, but here goes: how about all the world leaders who have either refused to sign the Paris Climate Agreement or who have pulled their countries out of the Agreement spent at least two days in Dorian’s path? I think it’s a terrific … Continue reading The climate change reality show for select world leaders
Daily Trump Letters 