Mr Trump, own up to your mistakes and start thinking -- about others if possible.

President Trump

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington DC 20500
16 February 2017

Dear President Trump,

Yesterday, as reported by the Washington Post, three investigations into your administration moved forward.  The office of Government Ethics opened an investigation into KellyAnne Conway’s promotion of Ivanka Trump’s fashion line; the Republican-led Oversight Committee began probing your discussion of sensitive information in public at your resort; and Republican Senator Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate investigation into pre-election conversations and negotiations with Russia will deepen. All of this only about 25 days into your presidency.

I know you will be tempted to respond that the news media is out to get you, or worse, that this is “fake news” – an accusation that just makes you look foolish.  The fact is, each of these investigations looks into a mistake that could have been prevented with some careful thought first.  You need to own up to this.

And, moving forward, you need to think less like a reality television star trying to grab headlines and more like a president who cares for the people in his country – all of the people in his country.  Stop eliminating regulations that keep corporations from polluting the skies and water that belong to all of us.  Stop trying to shut out refugees who are fleeing oppressive regimes.  Work toward justice for all people.  Work toward excellent schools for all students, not just those whose parents are wealthy.  Work toward alternative energy sources that reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  Do that, and do it with wisdom, and you may leave a far different mark on history than the one you seem to be headed toward now.

Sir, this is the twenty fifth letter our family has written you.  I am not so naïve to think that you are actually reading them.  I am also not so foolish as to give up hope that one day maybe you will.

Regards,

Bill Boerman-Cornell

 

 

 

 

 

Our friend Shari''s letter encourages President Trump to take the high road.

Guest writer, friend, and my former student Shari Spoolstra may have a slightly different political position than our usual letters.  It is a thoughtful and graceful example of civil discourse.

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington D.C. 20500

15 February 2017 

Dear Mr. President, 

I’m going to jump right in, you are a busy man after all. I beseech you to listen with an open heart and mind.

There are so many citizens in our country that want you to fail. (I don’t understand this logic, at all, but that’s a different topic.) I fear that, even if your “presidential stat sheet” has great numbers, millions of people won’t care or even sadder, they won’t believe it. So, it is vitally important that your stat sheet be successful. Unfortunately for you, it's going to take more than numbers to be considered a successful president.

My point is- prove them wrong. Don’t only succeed; succeed with grace, humility, and compassion. Succeed by bringing unity back to this country. Succeed by encouraging peace. Succeed by respecting your opponent’s ideas. Succeed by protecting the weak, by listening to your constituents- on both sides of the aisle, by making compromises when necessary. Succeed by rising above backbiting and malicious talk. Succeed without Twitter, without boasting, without bulldozing. Succeed with prayer, dignity, humility and compassion. These are the values our country was built upon- embrace them.

Confidence can still be achieved without bulldozing the weak. Decision making can be made while including others and following procedure. Signing executive order after executive order doesn’t prove that over half the voters agree with you, it proves that you can bully your views into reality. You don’t need to prove to the opposition that you are right by tweeting about it, prove them wrong with humble silence.

Succeed, Mr. President, but do it well.

Respectfully, 

Shari Spoolstra

What will you build?

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington D.C. 20500

14 February 2017 

Dear President Donald Trump,  

Since you have taken office, you have issued a lot of executive orders.  These have mostly involved undoing initiatives or cancelling rules or laws.  You have also spoken about building walls and travel bans and keeping refugees out of the country. 

But this is all tearing down what came before and shutting out what is outside. While I am strongly opposed to all of this, that is not what I want to ask you about. 

My question is, what are you going to build?  What new things do you want to start?  How are you thinking you are going to make things better for average Americans?  What will you do that will promote justice and fight against ignorance, poverty and disease?  How are you going to make it so those who are sick can get medical help; so those who are hungry or homeless can get access to food, shelter, and jobs; so that everybody has a shot at a good education and a meaningful job; and so that people of this country can live without fear of injustice? 

Tearing down and shutting out – those things are easy.  Building up, helping the weak and the poor, making it so everybody gets a chance – those things are difficult, but worth working toward. 

Sincerely,  

Bill Boerman-Cornell

 

Don't be the class clown

Our family has sent over 20 letters to President Trump.  After completing this letter, my daughter F said that she feels like she has nothing left to say to Mr. Trump.  I know what she feels like.  There are still an endless series of issues that need to be addressed, but it can get tiring when we feel that, when we put each letter into the mailbox, no one is reading it on the other side.  But she wrote this one.  And she has a week to think about what to put in the next one.  We'll see what happens.   

 

 

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington D.C. 20500

13 February 2017 

Dear President Donald Trump,  

I am a middle schooler, and there are numerous class clowns in my seventh grade class. I’m sure you are familiar with what class clowns do--they oftentimes make inappropriate jokes or comments to make people laugh and hide the fact that they don’t understand the lesson being taught.

I wonder if sometimes you might have a little bit in common with the class clowns I know.  It seems to me that sometimes you, like class clowns, say outrageous things for attention and popularity. I do not mean to be disrespectful, this is just what I see, and it frustrates me. 

I wonder what would happen if, instead of saying that people who disagree with you that they are wrong or “Sad” you should perhaps talk to them. They might see things differently than you do, but maybe that is okay.  Sometimes I think about what our world would be like without diversity. If everyone thought the same, there would be no imagination or competition, or even cooperation.

You, Donald Trump, could change your reputation. You could be known across America for being kind, thoughtful, and respectful. It would take some work, but it would definitely be worth it.

Sincerely,  

F

 

Twitter No More (part 2)

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500

11 February 2017

Dear President Trump, 

My sister wrote to you a few weeks ago with a sentiment that I now echo: Please remove yourself from twitter. Whenever you tweet, your opponents use the tweets to ridicule and mock you, and your allies smack their heads with their hands as they anticipate another PR crisis to explain away. From your own point of view, removing twitter from your life would be an enourmously good thing.

 

And if you are unwilling to do this, perhaps there is a crew of people who could all sign off on your tweets before you send them. One of the most important lessons I have learned in my life is that multiple diverse perspectives are invaluable to me when I consider political issues and make decisions, and I hope that you will find this to be true as well, whether that is through tweeting or through any other policies, orders, and speeches you may make. 

Sincerely,

 

K.

No More Rude Phone Calls to Heads of State, Please

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500

10 February 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

An article in the Washington Post two days ago (Feb 8) summarizes your phone conversations with foreign heads of state.  It speaks of some successful calls, including one to China which has set a good tone for your relationship with them, but also describes several calls that were rude or contentious (Australia, France, Mexico, Pakistan, and others).   

In your discussions with foreign countries, particularly those that are our allies (Australia, France, and Mexico, for example), can you please treat them with the respect and dignity that they accord us?  To do less than that is to endanger the progress that statesmen from both US political parties have committed their lives to.   

In your discussions with foreign countries that we are not on good terms with, can you please tread carefully? There is no sense in antagonizing countries like North Korea or China.  It may well be that North Korea, for example, does not have a missile capable of reaching the US at this time as you mentioned publically last week, but they can easily reach South Korea, a country we have been allied with for some time. Taunting North Korea puts our friends in South Korea at risk. 

I am not a diplomat.  I am just a guy . But even I can see that the behavior you have shown toward other nations is unreasonable.  As one of the most powerful countries in the world, we can afford to show some gracefulness to the other countries.  Since you are our representative, it behooves you to show evidence of that grace in the way you speak. 

Please consider this. 

Regards, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

The First Complaint Ever About the Dakota Access Pipeline

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500

9 February 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

ABC News reported yesterday that you stated that the Dakota Access Pipeline was not controversial and that you did not receive a single complaint about it.   

The pipeline runs next to Native American land.  It runs under the Missouri River.  It is close enough to both a sensitive aquifer and fragile prairieland that an environmental study was called for.  You issued an executive order to cancel that study.   

There have been protests for months because to build a pipeline in that location seems both insensitive and antagonistic toward the Native Americans who live there.   

Because this seems short-sighted, dangerous, and more like the actions of a bully than the actions of  the president of the United States, allow me to officially lodge a complaint.  Now you have at least one. 

Regards, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell