Dear President Trump, I’ve got another essential element for our post-covid-19, post-you, better-culture-for-all; empathy. However, before I unpack it (again), I want to do something I don’t do very often (ever?), which is to thank you for being such an incredible foil. Most of the time it would make no sense whatsoever for me to … Continue reading Another essential element: empathy
Language
Oh, it’s just words (not)
Dear President Trump, When one’s community is in the midst of a crisis, whether of the immediately obvious variety like the covid-19 situation or of the drip, drip, drip variety that is climate change (at least here – elsewhere it’s far more in people’s faces), it probably seems like a bad time to zero in … Continue reading Oh, it’s just words (not)
Nice and kind
Dear President Trump, So I started a very snarky letter to you this morning, but I’ve ditched it, at least for today. I’m tired of my own negativity and don’t want to be in that space on Valentine’s Day so instead I’m going to send you some thoughts on niceness and kindness. After a sweet … Continue reading Nice and kind
Calling out problematic headlines and getting results
Dear President Trump, I never know whether the thing that occurs to me at 10pm to write to you about the next day will be compelling enough to hang in through the night and the next morning’s adventures (ha!). Of course it helps when the news cycle is stale and things are quiet around here, … Continue reading Calling out problematic headlines and getting results
“VOTE” and “LOVE” are so, so close
Dear President Trump, I’m sure you missed it so I’ll tell you that not only can Natalie Portman embroider, but she’s up for embroidering for a cause. She used gold thread to embroider the names of eight women directors who didn’t receive Oscar nominations this year down the left edge of her black Dior cape. … Continue reading “VOTE” and “LOVE” are so, so close
Professed beliefs are perhaps not real beliefs
Dear President Trump, Recent events have me going back to Barbara Kruger’s installation at the Hirshorn Museum. I told you about it when I visited there in 2017 and since I’m sure you don’t remember, I’ll remind you that it involves the entire central open space of the museum’s bottom floor as well as the … Continue reading Professed beliefs are perhaps not real beliefs
Allies and/or The Golden Rule
Dear President Trump, At work we’ve been pushing harder and more persistently on social injustice lately through a handful of initiatives including the gender equity committee I told you about several months ago and a recurring Diversity Café, which happened yesterday. The topic was allyship and in preparation we were to listen to a 2017 … Continue reading Allies and/or The Golden Rule
Restorative and fortifying
Dear President Trump, I feel like I must have told you about our weekend wake-up issues at some point over the last nearly three years so if this is old news, I apologize. The deal is that over the years I’ve trained the dogs to expect their breakfast sometime between 5 and 5:30 a.m. as … Continue reading Restorative and fortifying
Behold the babies
Dear President Trump, This year for Christmas our pastor chose to focus on the word “behold” – it’s on the front of the church Christmas card and it was the title of her Christmas Eve sermon two days ago. The dictionary definition of “behold” is to “see or observe (a thing or person, especially a … Continue reading Behold the babies
Fixes
Dear President Trump, Happy Solstice! Did you and the fam do anything to celebrate the shortest day of the year or did you studiously avoid it because you don’t acknowledge things that are the shortest, smallest, briefest? You generally are only in it for the biggest, hugest, longest whatevers so you probably let this day … Continue reading Fixes
Daily Trump Letters 