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
The Common Good
Not afraid
Dear President Trump, Whether you care at all, I’m sure you’ve heard that Cokie Roberts died yesterday from complications of breast cancer. She was only 75. I heard clips of some of her interviews on NPR driving home last night and when they aired the one where she interrupted the other broadcaster and told him … Continue reading Not afraid
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
A “Twilight Zone” moment with Rod Rosenstein
Dear President Trump, This is a variation on my thought experiment exercises…. Let’s say an envoy of aliens from another planet (as in real aliens) plopped down somewhere in the US. On their way here they did some good homework and learned to read and speak several of our languages, including English. They also knew … Continue reading A “Twilight Zone” moment with Rod Rosenstein
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
Real f*cking snowflakes
Dear President Trump, Two things this morning got me muttering “f*cking babies” over and over, but before I tell you what they are I want to say that I decided it would be better to go with “f*cking snowflakes” instead since I don’t want to denigrate babies. Babies are supposed to get fussy and cry. … Continue reading Real f*cking snowflakes
Tears and outrage, outrage and tears
Dear President Trump, I’ve already cried twice this morning. And have been outraged once. The morning is still young and it’s the anniversary of such an awful and impactful morning 18 years ago that there’ll probably be quite a few more strong emotions before it’s over. To get it out of the way, I’m going … Continue reading Tears and outrage, outrage and tears
SCOTUS and the scourge of anonymous money
Dear President Trump, I don’t know if you, or whoever reads these letters for you, felt it, but at the end of yesterday’s letter I sent a Category 5 blast of anger and frustration at you and at the economic system you and yours have milked so hard that next to nothing is left for … Continue reading SCOTUS and the scourge of anonymous money
‘Blessing Boxes,’ tent encampments, and our messed up priorities
Dear President Trump, Yesterday on our Saturday dog walk we were in a neighborhood we frequent pretty often and we saw one of those Little Libraries. They sometimes look like the houses they belong to, but are always smallish wooden boxes with shelves that are perched atop a post. Each one has a glass-paned door, … Continue reading ‘Blessing Boxes,’ tent encampments, and our messed up priorities
Daily Trump Letters 