President Trump, thanks for reversing your position on the Dreamer Act

Hello, Everyone.

We are nearing our 100th letter to President Trump.  This has been an exercise in civil discourse from the very beginning, but it has also been hard since we suspect that on one in the administration is reading our letters -- and a one-way correspondence is hard to keep up.  The original idea was also to participate in democracy by expressing ourselves and letting the president know what we think -- but again, if no one in the White House is reading our letters we aren't exactly participating in democracy at all.

We are trying to decide what to do after letter 100.  We have talked about maybe redirecting our efforts to congresspeople and senators since they are more likely to read and respond.  We have some other ideas as well.

So we are going to take some time off to figure this out before we write our way through ten more letters or so and hit 100.  We'll be back at the beginning of July.  Thanks for your interest and support.

--Our Family

(Oh, and today's letter is below).

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

16 June 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

On the campaign trail, you frequently spoke of yourself as a winner (and of others as losers).  I was thinking of that when I was reading yesterday and ran across this quote from Benjamin Barber:  “I’ don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong or the successes and failures…. I divide the world into the learners and non-learners.”  (quoted in Dweck, 2016, p. 160. 

Since you have taken office I have been opposed to nearly all of your policies, some of which I have viewed as potentially catastrophic for our nation and the world.  Through your presidency so far, I have, perhaps unfairly, viewed you as someone who is a non-learner.  I based that in part on your rejections of science, your tendency to rely on bullying and denial when confronted with criticism, and your dismissal of anyone who disagrees with you. 

Then I read in this morning’s New York Times that your administration has decided to allow the children of illegal immigrants (sometimes called the Dreamers) to stay in this country.  This tells me that I have perhaps unfairly dismissed you.  This action gives me hope. 

There are roughly 800,000 people affected by this decision.  Most of them are kids who have grown up in this country – often children of parents who fled oppression or unsafe conditions in central and South America.  These children, in many cases, speak only English, and America is the only home they have known.  To deport them to a country they have never seen, where they are not a citizen, where they have no place to live, and where they do not speak the language is, by definition, to endanger them.   

I am heartened that you had the conviction to make the right and good decision to retain the DACA act, even though doing so may make you unpopular with some members of your conservative base.  Thank you.

Regards, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

Birthday Suggestions for President Trump

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Washington DC  20500

Dear President Donald Trump,

Happy Birthday!

I remember that when my sister and I were little, sometimes we would make gifts for the relatives and friends that attended our birthday parties. We felt as though it was a way to express our gratefulness for their love to us, their presence in our lives, and the thoughtful gifts they gave us on our birthday. It was a way for us to show them that we were thankful.

President Trump, I think that, to celebrate your birthday, you should do something similar. You should “give back” in some way. Show God that you’re grateful for his love and care for another year. I don’t know exactly what form that should take, and I think that that’s’ your job now.

You recently suggested that the Republican HealthCare bill was too mean and would hurt people.  This is a good example of how you can use your position as president to look out for people who really need the help that government can give them – so they have a chance to be healthy and strong and they can try to make their dreams come true.

You might also start replying to some of the mail people send you.  I am in middle school and my family has sent you almost a hundred letters offering advice and telling you what we care about.  We have gotten no replies.  That is okay for us – but if little kids write to the president, you ought to answer their letters as a way of encouraging them to participate in democracy.  Just saying.

Sincerely,

F

Trust, Popularity, and Earning Respect

 

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C.

12 June 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

It is perhaps presumptuous for me, a regular citizen, to give advice to the president.  It is a hard job you have and I readily acknowledge that.  On the other hand, our country was founded on the principle that the chief executive is a citizen, no more, no less.  So please allow me to offer you some suggestions.

Sir, according to today’s Gallup poll, nearly two thirds of the American people disapprove of your actions as president.  While there are certainly plenty of policy reasons for this, I believe that much of it comes down to a matter of not being able to trust you.  And I think much of the reason that they do not trust you is that you are not being honest, particularly with yourself.

This morning you held an open cabinet meeting in which you asked every cabinet member to tell the reporters present how great you are.  However, because they are your cabinet, appointed by you and beholden to you for their jobs, this is not a particularly convincing tactic.  Last week, James Comey testified about his meetings with you.  While I am not sure that he is completely trustworthy either, when you immediately tell the American people that his testimony was false without conceding that some of it may have had some truth in it, it makes you seem on the defensive and less trustworthy.

Sir, everyone makes mistakes, and almost everyone who has held office has admitted to making mistakes – starting with George Washington (read his final address and you will see he leads off with that theme).  You seem incapable of conceding that you too are fallible.  Your repeated claims that you are the best at everything, that your efforts have been record-breaking, and that everything is going wonderfully – all that rings hollow when considered in light of what you have actually accomplished and failed to accomplish.

You have failed to appoint people to fill a great many positions in your administration.  You have failed in your attempted travel ban, which was found unconstitutional on the grounds of discriminating against a particular religion.  You have failed to propose any significant new legislation – including a replacement to the health care system you wish to get rid of.  You have had a series of foreign policy mishaps, most recently alienating our NATO allies by demanding they unilaterally increase their payments,  In fact, most of what you have done has been cutting protections, regulations, and laws designed to protect the American people. 

Now actually, since you are only near the beginning of your presidency, it is not like anyone would have expected you to have accomplished that much --  but by refusing to acknowledge that you might not be perfect, you are setting yourself up for failure.  Hubris brings about its own demise.  Humility would serve you much better.

One of the best ways to turn that situation around might be to start listening to what the American people have to say – not only those who are devotees of Fox News, and not just those who you know will flatter you -- but everyone.  Listen to the concerns that Americans have for clean water and air, for the risk of climate change, for health care issues, for the rising tide of racist incidents, and for other issues.  Then take those concerns seriously, admit that the problems are complex, and try to do something about them that will benefit all Americans. 

If you did that, you might discover the difference between popularity and respect.  Please consider these words.

Regards,

Bill Boerman-Cornell

 

Multitasking the letter to President Trump

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington DC 20500

June 6, 2017

Dear President Trump,

Judging by the fact that we have received no response to any of our letters thus far, I am assuming that answering the questions, thoughts, hopes, and pleas of the American people who elected you and have elected to write to you personally is not something that you find to be of major importance at this time. Maybe you figure you have better things to do. Maybe you think that you can better serve the American people by making speeches and setting the public agenda than by reading individual letters. However, I know that our government is a government that is very fond of paperwork and categorization, and therefore I am almost certain that every day, or perhaps every week, your receive tallies listing the subjects people are writing to the president about. With that in mind, I speak directly to you, mail room workers of the White House. Please count this letter as:

A letter angrily denouncing President Trump’s decision to withdraw America from the Paris Agreement regarding climate change.

A letter asking President Trump to delete his personal twitter account, or at least to consider how his tweets will affect the people they concern before he posts them.

A letter demanding that President Trump remove himself from anything remotely concerning the investigation into the links between his campaign and Russia.

A letter challenging President Trump to treat all Americans with respect, even those who have disagreed with him at some point.

A letter asking President Trump to abandon his attempts to reinstate his travel ban.

I realize that this is asking you to count this letter in six different categories, but I would rather not waste stamps on letters that will never get replied to, and so I am trying to be efficient and accomplish multiple tasks at once.

Sincerely,

K. 

Making America Great Again Means Helping Refugees

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington DC 20500

5 June 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

A the best moments in its history, the United States of America has made a difference in the world.  We fought in World War II to defeat Hitler and his campaign of genocide, an after the war was over, we opened our doors to a flood of displaced widows, orphans, and families who had nowhere to go.  After World War Two, when Berlin was cut off from the rest of the world by the Russians, we airlifted food and supplies on a massive scale.

When earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural disasters strike anywhere on the globe, America has usually not be slow to lend a hand.  In the face of a massive AIDS epidemic in Africa, the United States pitched in and saved hundreds of thousands of lives and families.  I believe it is our responsibility to provide such aid, since we have been given so much as a nation. 

Though we do not do so for this reason, rescuing and helping out other nations in the face of famine, disease, war, and natural disasters earns us goo will throughout the globe.  Many experts argue it is our strongest weapon in fighting extremist groups – making their recruiting efforts much more difficult.  We also know that refugee camps, where young men sit around with no prospects or possibilities and nothing to do, are breeding grounds for such extremist groups. 

Mr. President, wars in the Middle East, Africa, and Central and South America have left record numbers or refugee families without homes.  America must step up, as we have many times before in our history, and make room for such people to live in our country.  Of course we should run them through background checks (we already do so) – but we should make such checks efficient and transparent.  We need to give people a place to call home. 

Sir, I am lucky enough to have never been homeless.  That is a great gift.  I am sure you have never experienced such a thing either.  But perhaps you can imagine what it must be like to have to huddle with your family in an unsecure shack, with no possibility of meaningful work and no chance to change your situation.  Our country can help make a difference for people such as these.  It is our responsibility, Sir.  Please work toward that end.   

Regards, 

William Boerman-Cornell