Those who support hate will lose,

25 August 2017

President Donald Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500

Dear President Trump, 

Last night, someone broke into my friend David’s church in Oak Park, Illinois.  They painted swastikas and wrote the N word on the walls of the nursery school room. 

Today, David and other members of his congregation cleaned up the racist graffiti, they prayed for the person who created it.  Someone dropped off flowers.  Someone else brought 200 “Hate has no home here” posters.  David’s friends asked him when they will get to meet his new girlfriend.  Everyone got ready for the doughnut sale the church has on Saturday mornings.  There is a prayer vigil scheduled for the church lawn tomorrow.  In short, racism did not win this skirmish, love and forgiveness did.  David quoted the verse from the Bible about how the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.

After your failure to condemn the white supremacist terrorists who attacked in Charlottesville, I wrote you a letter to tell you what I am sure many people told you, that this is not a conflict with good people on both sides.  Evil actions against people based on their skin color, culture, or religion, are just that, evil actions. 

Hearing about David’s church though, reminded me of something else you should know.  Dr. King famously said that the arc of the universe is long, and it bends toward justice.  Not only is there a good side and a bad side to this conflict, Sir, but there is a winning side and a losing side.  The side of good and justice will triumph.

You are fond of saying that you are a winner.  If you side with white supremacists and terrorists, you are joining the team that will eventually lose.  Perhaps you should consider that. 

Regards,

William Boerman-Cornell

Hate is evil regardless of who perpetuates it.

21 August 2017 

President Donald Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500 

Dear President Trump, 

It is certainly admirable to try to see all sides of a conflict.  But when one side undertakes violence against another side based solely on race, culture, or religious beliefs, the side that is employing that violence is morally in the wrong.  Period.  This is true whether we are talking about the evil of the ISIS sponsored terrorist attacks against innocents in Spain last week or the white supremacist instigated terrorist attacks against innocents in Charlottesville the week before.  There are not two defensible positions in these conflicts.  The side employing violence against innocents is wrong and evil.  Period.

 Regards,

William Boerman-Cornell

President Trump, that is not how you talk to kids.

 

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

3 August 2017

 Dear President Trump,

Recently I read the transcript of your talk with the Boy Scouts.  As a former boy scout myself, I was embarrassed by some of the things you said and wanted to ask you to be more careful in the future.

The Boy Scouts are an organization that, at its best, provides an opportunity for kids to get together, learn about camping and the outdoors, learn about other skills, tasks, and careers through the merit badge system, and gives kids an opportunity to learn how to serve their community (a service project is a big part of the requirements of becoming an eagle scout.)  While it would be valuable to share with them some insights about democracy and how they could make a difference for their country, a speech to the boy scouts should be about them, not about you.  Bragging about your election victory turns the focus away from the kids, which is the point. 

The story about William Leavitt might be a good one for the board room (though it seems in poor taste there too) but to tell a story that hints at debauchery on a yacht when talking to young impressionable kids would be a poor choice for anyone – but for the president of the United States it seems like a remarkably bad idea.  The president is a role model, like it or not, and idealizing behavior that is by your own admission at the time, not appropriate to tell the boy scouts is falling short of what you are supposed to be.

Finally, taunting former President Obama and encouraging boy scouts to boo him is despicable, no matter how you feel about his policies.  Throughout our country’s nearly 250 years of history there have been many presidents that have not gotten along, but because even the worst of them have had at least an ounce of class, once the election is over, they have not spoken ill publicly of their predecessors.  To do what you did revealed the depth of your lack of wisdom.  I suggest you apologize to the former president. 

You clearly are not cut out for this work.  I urge you to consider resigning.

 

Regards, 

 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

President Trump, It is time to pay attention to citizens.

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

27 July 2017 

Dear President Trump, 

It has been a couple of weeks since I wrote you last.  I had to take a break.  This project has been discouraging for several reasons.

First, when I suggested to my family that we write you letters, I did not expect that we would write 90 letters without a single response.  Not even a form letter.  My daughter wrote one letter to former President Obama a little over two months ago and she got a reply recently.  It was a form letter to be sure, but it was a reply.  We have heard nothing from you.  Sir, you have a responsibility to the American People, not just your base, and that includes the children of this country.  At least acknowledge their interest in the democratic process by responding to your mail. 

Second, every time I hear you speak you seem to be in the process of doing something that will hurt people. Whether it is attacking the former president during a Boy Scout rally (not a good way to encourage civil discourse), banning transgender soldiers from serving in the military, or badmouthing people that you appointed, you seem to be focused on hurting people.  The office of President gives you the opportunity to build programs, relationships, and to encourage average people by acknowledging their successes.  I urge you to use that part of the office to lift up someone of the good things that are happening.  

Third, you seem to be attacking specifically some of the very things that make our country great.  You continually attack the free press, the public education system, the courts, and even your own party.  You have also continually lied about what you have said, what you have known, and what you have done.  You said you didn’t meet with Vladimir Putin, but then admitted that you did.  You told the LGBTQ community that you would protect them, then abruptly kicked them out of the military.  I find it very hard to trust you. 

Finally, in your actions and words, you have not behaved as the president should.  You have continued to insult the appearance of those you do not like, including women.  You have focused all your attention on yourself rather than the people that you serve.   

And so honestly, I do not know why I am still writing you.  Once again, I urge you to listen to your advisors.   If you find you cannot do that, I urge you to resign the office of president before a lot of people get hurt as a result of your lack of concern for the people you are supposed to be serving.

Regards,

 Bill Boerman-Cornell

Tweet no More, President Trump

1110 E. 168th Place

South Holland, Il 60473

 

 President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500

 

Dear President Trump,

 

In this letter, I will echo the sentiments of many letters that my family had sent before, but I will reiterate the message in hopes that, this time, it will reach your desk. 

Please get off of twitter, or have a chain of command to make sure that you will not tweet something you will regret later. 

The latest incident showing that this is a problem happened only yesterday, when, among other things, you insulted a woman who had made fun of you by saying that she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift," when you saw her around New Years. 

This is a personal use of your power and influence that is entirely inappropriate to the office you now hold. It is unacceptable. It must stop. 

Sincerely, 

 

K. 

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