National Book Day: Reading Recommendations for President Trump

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

3 March 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

Today is world book day.  I thought I might recommend some books for you to consider reading.  I know you are busy, but just ten minutes of reading each night will help you sleep better and may provide some wisdom that could help you in the difficult and complex choices that you face. 

1.       Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird – this book has a lot to say about working hard for justice, even in a world that makes it hard to do so.  It is also a good example of why it is important to stand up for the rights of those whose voices are marginalized.

2.      The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Although this one will take a while to read, it is a gripping story about the entrancing danger ofbeing corrupted by having too much power, and how even small and apparently weak people can defeat evil.

3.      Pam Munoz Ryan’s recent book Echo tells three interesting and interwoven stories of kids, one in Nazi Germany, one in New York during the Depression, and one in California during World War Two.  The three stories connect together in the end in a fabulous ending.  Along the way, the book explores themes including the idea that every person has value, regardless of their religious beliefs, economic status, or cultural background.

4.      I don’t know if you have read any Harry Potter, but I think you would like this series. Harry and his friends fight against Voldemort, an evil wizard who thinks only pureblood wizards and witches have any worth, and wants to kill off all those of mixed blood.  Harry Potter and his friends work together to overthrow the evil wizard before he can kill even more people.

5.      Senator John Lewis’s graphic novel series, March, is a really cool inside look at the civil rights movement.  This is an important part of history.  I know you don’t always see eye to eye with Senator Lewis, but this book might help you be able to understand where he is coming from a bit more – and it is a really good series of books.

6.      You also might check out The Bible.  The story is actually very interesting.  There is a lot in there about love and forgiveness.  It really gets good about halfway through when Jesus shows up.  He tries to teach the world about a new way of operating, which includes loving everyone, especially those who might be more needy than you, or those who come from different cultures. The Bible also seems to be pretty big on taking care of God’s creation. 

If you don’t have copies of these books, you can get them at your local library (which for you I guess would be the Library of Congress).  I hope you enjoy them. 

Regards,

 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

Presidential Humor Lessons

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

2 March 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

When I moved from elementary school to middle school, I switched schools.  That meant that I was the new kid and as a result, I got picked on and insulted and mocked a lot.  It took me a while, but I finally figured out that if I made fun of myself, I got to control the conversation, and the bullies couldn’t make fun of me if I had already done so myself. 

As has frequently been pointed out in the press, you have a remarkably thin skin when it comes to people making fun of you.  I certainly understand this.  Such taunts hurt.  You have expressed anger at the cast of Saturday Night Live for their parodies of you, you have been angered at various late night hosts when they make fun of you, and you have proven a remarkably easy person to taunt.   

I am concerned about this because in your anger and vindictiveness, you sometimes seem to make leadership decisions that are motivated more by a desire for revenge than by a desire to make decisions that will benefit the American people.  It also sometimes makes you look foolish. 

If you don’t mind taking some advice from a nerd who figured out how to make humor work for him, I would suggest that your best bet might be to learn to make fun of yourself some times.  Doing so takes the wind out of the sails of those who would mock you and gives you the chance to be seen by the American public as someone who is confident enough to have a sense of humor about himself. 

It may also mean that you do not act out of a desire to hold a grudge when the situation calls for a civil tongue and a wise and thoughtful approach.  

Regards, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

Better Ideas for a Bad Budget Proposal

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

1 March 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

According to an article published in The Atlantic yesterday (28  February) , you are proposing a budget which would increase defense spending by 54 billion and offer a major tax cut primarily benefiting the wealthy. 

Since it is partly my tax money you are proposing to spend, I would like of offer the following suggestions as you finalize your budget. 

1.       You were elected by people who have been complaining for decades about wasteful and unnecessary government spending.  We are not currently at war with anyone.  We are fighting ISIS, a bunch of thugs and bullies who engage in ground level guerrilla warfare. Additional bombers and big ticket items will be good for the shareholders of military contractors, but in a fight which is waged primarily with intelligence and surgical strikes, and in which there is no large massive army or people to drop bombs on, this moves seems at best foolish and at worst immoral.  And it certainly goes against the wishes of your base who have cried out for more fiscal responsibility in the federal government.

2.      Your budget proposal offers a significant tax cut for the wealthy, a population which is not at risk of poverty or even hardship and which does nto need a tax cut.  In fact, in light of your own refusal to release your tax returns, my guess is that most of the people who would benefit from your tax cut already pay embarrassingly far less than their fair share.

3.      I am a white middle class male over fifty.  The article in The Atlantic says that your budget will primarily protect people like me, while making life harder for young people, urban people, and those who are economically disadvantaged.  It cites calculations by The Urban Institute that reveal that the government currently spends 6 dollars on seniors for every one dollar for kids.  I guess I ought to be happy that you are giving me the gift of more spending – except that I have children and I teach college students who are just beginning to make their way in the world.  I agree with you that we need to continue to fund social security as a safety net.  It is one of the things that make this country a good place to live in.  But we have a far greater responsibility to give young people a shot at a better life –especially those that do not have white privilege and wealth on their side. 

Perhaps the tone of these arguments seems harsh.  I do not want to be combative, but honestly, because it is my tax money you are spending (and, since this will increase the deficit, the tax money of my children as well, I urge you to do these three things.  First, keep defense spending at the level it is currently at.  Second, eliminate your proposed tax cut for the wealthy.  Third, redesign your budget proposal so that it benefits all future generations who will need help rather than the older wealthier white generation currently living in luxury. 

Regards, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

 

Seventh grader offers a Biblical basis for hospitality to refugees.

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

28 February 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

You have said before that you are a Christian, Maybe because you are a new Christian it would be helpful for you to hear what I think that should mean.  

In this letter, I want to share some Bible verses with you, that I think might be helpful for you to read as you think about your policies toward refuges and for anyone, really.  

Hebrews 13:2a, states, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.”   This means that we, Christians, shouldn’t reject anyone, of any race, gender, or religion, no matter the circumstance.  

In the book of James it says, “My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?”  This verse really struck me. We, Christians, cannot favor anyone over anyone else. We cannot place Caucasians above Hispanic people, or women above men. We cannot love those who are also Christian but hate Buddhists. We cannot see the wealthy above the poor. 

And lastly, President Trump, I’ll share with you a verse that comes from Romans. It reads, “Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”  This verse is fairly self-explanatory. We should be welcoming to others, just like Christ welcomes us. We should invite them into our houses, and love them with all of our hearts, just as Christ has loved us--so much that he died for our sins.

I think if you think about these verses, you might have some different ideas about how to be president and how to treat other people.  I have noticed that you tweet quite often. As I was writing this letter to you, I came up with an idea. Do you need something to tweet about tomorrow? How about, when you get my letter, you tweet one of these Bible verses that I have just shared with you?   

Sincerely,

 

F.

You never call; you never write...

Our thirty-first letter to President Trump:

 

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

26 February 2017 

Dear President Trump,   

In all of my letters to you so far, I've written to you about things that I think you should change to better serve the American people. You haven't responded to any of my letters yet. Maybe this is because the volume of letters has been overwhelming.  Maybe this is because you don't want to talk about criticism of your job, which is a problem.  Maybe this is because you don't read any of the letters the American people and sending you. which is an even bigger problem.  Our family has sent over 30 letters to your White House.  Why have we not received even a form letter from your team?  As American citizens, we would appreciate an answer. 

Maybe it is easier to answer questions than respond to legislative requests.  If so, I would love to know what you consider to have been the best part of your presidency so far. That might help me to understand some of your decisions.  I look forward to your response.  

Sincerely, 

K.

Honor Students and Teachers, Mr Trump

 President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Washington D.C. 20500

24 February 2017 

Dear President Trump,

Today I have the privilege of speaking to a large room full of teachers about some ways they can be better teachers.  On a Friday, they will be focused and engaged and will ask me har questions about how to connect content with students in a meaningful way.  Then next week, they will be back in the classrooms, managing large numbers of students, caring deeply for each one of them, sharing their passion for learning and making a difference in the world.  When they have finished teaching for the day, they will go home and grade papers for another three or four hours before going to bed.  I have watched my wife do this for nearly thirty years and she cares as fiercely for her fourth-graders and her subject matter as she did the first year she taught – probably more.

I am not at all clear about how you hope to impact education.  To be honest, based on some of your other initiatives, I am rather apprehensive about what that impact might be. 

I would ask you, however, whatever programs you propose, to think first not of the educational testing corporations who might profit, not of how the proposals might impact the owners of charter schools or what impact it might have on teachers’ unions.  I would ask you to think first of the students and second of their teachers and consider how you might make teachers’ work easier, how you might act to honor them, and  how you might celebrate their good work rather than contributing to a culture that blames teachers for the shortcomings of the political system within which they work.

Regards,

Bill Boerman-Cornell

Mr. Trump, don't cut Barrel of Monkeys and the Grant Park Orchestra

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500

23 February 2017 

Dear President Trump,

I am writing today to ask you not to cut the funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which the New York Times reported on the 19^th of February.  I have been paying taxes for nearly 40 years and am most enthusiastic about the portion of my taxes that go to fund the arts.

I could tell you that the United States spends a miniscule amount on the arts – both in comparison to what we spend on other things (arts funding comprising less than one percent of the budget according to the Times article) and in comparison to other industrial nations.  Instead though, I would rather let the products of that funding speak for me. 

One of my favorite theater groups in Chicago is Barrel Of Monkeys, a group that takes the creative writing of Chicago Public School elementary students and turns that writing into a series of delightful short skits that make me laugh my guts out.  Similarly, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera, the free Grant Park Orchestra, and several of the city’s larger theaters draw funding from the NEA.  If you have never sat in the Pritzker Pavilion on a breezy summer night listening to the Grant Park Orchestra with Chicagoans from all walks of life, you have truly missed something. 

I know you have disparaged Chicago recently, but I think that the arts are one way that Chicago shines.  NEA grants allow these excellent organizations to reach more people with good and moving stories and music.  Why would you want to take that away from people?  To do so would be a mistake.

Please revise your budget and either keep the current levels of funding, or, if you really want to make the lives of Americans better, increase the funding.

Regards,

Bill Boerman-Cornell