Dear President Trump, The overarching theme of yesterday’s church service was “Rise and Shine.” There was a lot of great rise-and-shine music and the guest minister’s sermon along these lines was pretty terrific, but it wasn’t until much later in the day yesterday that I paused and really thought about what it could mean to … Continue reading “Rise and shine”
Engagement
Fox News and independent thought
Dear President Trump, Does anyone in the front office at Fox News owe you a big favor? Because if so, you probably want to cash it in pretty quickly and have Chris Wallace removed. I don’t think you can afford to have a Fox News anchor seriously pushing back on your press secretary on the … Continue reading Fox News and independent thought
Adding to your legacy
Dear President Trump, It looks like if I went to a National Park or Monument (or, starting today, any of the Smithsonian Museums) and wanted to send you a postcard to mark the occasion, I’d need to purchase the postcard somewhere other than those places since the visitor centers are closed along with nearly all … Continue reading Adding to your legacy
You could have visited after all
Dear President Trump, There wasn’t a peep about it this morning, but I’m sure the news outlets will tell us later whether you decided to stick it out in Washington DC in a pouty austerity move or went on to Mar-a-Lago so as not to disappoint the patrons who are paying dearly for a few … Continue reading You could have visited after all
Courage, not hope
Dear President Trump, We’ve gotten almost half an inch of rain in just over four hours this afternoon. There’s standing water all over and things are a sloppy mess. The wind has died down so hopefully we won’t have trees or power lines coming down. However, the ground is completely saturated and I’m worried about … Continue reading Courage, not hope
Connection and care
Dear President Trump, Last night our minister’s Christmas Eve meditation was entitled “Discomfort and Joy.” I wish you could have heard it; it was really beautiful and the message is one I think many of us desperately need to hear and abide. The main point is that having to contend with discomfort makes space for … Continue reading Connection and care
Bullies are losers
Dear President Trump, Would you prefer we go with “Happy Holidays” this year after all? I’m thinking you’d rather not have your base remember how you hosed everyone just before, the day of, and for an as-yet-unknown time after Christmas day, so probably best to skip the “Merry Christmas” greeting enforcement this year. You’ve managed … Continue reading Bullies are losers
“Plogging” and “Plokking”
Dear President Trump, I just learned that there’s a new (since 2016) Swedish word ~ “plogging” ~ that refers to picking up litter while jogging. It’s a pretty exciting find for a couple of reasons starting with the “hey, that’s what I’ve been doing!” reaction, which signaled feeling some connection and validation for what has … Continue reading “Plogging” and “Plokking”
Another December day
Dear President Trump, The sad, scary, enraging stuff I wrote to you about yesterday hasn’t gone away and isn’t going away anytime soon; kids are still contemplating suicide today and young adults are still concluding that it doesn’t make sense to have children. Nothing has substantively changed – you’re still lurching from one manufactured crisis … Continue reading Another December day
The time horizon is grim to a lot of us
Dear President Trump, ~Heads up – I’ve got a lot to say today~ I’m afraid it’s going to take a lot more than a few folks scattering bits of joy to shift things in a better direction. I just finished reading this morning’s HP piece on the recent scary spike in teen suicide and it … Continue reading The time horizon is grim to a lot of us
Daily Trump Letters 