An open letter to the 45th President, Donald John Trump.
Dear Mister President Sir,
Firstly I have no idea if you will get the chance to read this letter but a few other citizens will probably read it so this letter is as much for them as it is directed to you. I am personally one of the citizens that in the past you expressed negative views about. My hope is that once you read this message, or have your staff read it to you, that you might see that I am not a bad person, in fact since you say you are a Christian, I am your fellow brother in Christ. Besides that, I am a registered Democrat from California and an African American Male, which means that my ancestors are from one of those bleep-hole countries you mentioned. Otherwise, I am a typical American citizen attempting to do the best I can to care for my family and loved ones. Whenever possible I try to help my neighbors no matter how far they might extend away from me, their race, religion, creed, or other differences. I happen to believe in the teachings of Christ but please don’t hold that against me. His Father is the reason you are in the office so I am obligated to pray for you as I would any family member. I must also respect the office that you hold because God allowed you to be the president over His faithful followers.
This is not a time to cause harm or to put others down including, but not limited to you, and our top political leaders. The circumstances and situations will find their own level; more deaths and destruction are certainly in our immediate future. Though some feel the need to place blame where they feel it is warranted, if casting such a negative tone causes harm on those you are leading, then let us all hold our tongues or find ways to lift upward, rather than pull downward. I also agree with you, those in the business of reporting should seek to find positive things that are happening rather than harboring on the bad things that we know are happening. We don’t need to hear about such things as breaking news every single hour of the day because we see them right in our own neighborhoods. I realize just how important it is to keep the public informed about things that are essential for public safety and welfare but during these times we need to find creative ways of lifting up morale in any way possible. You say these things in one minute but in the next, you feel the need to throw a sucker punch as those who punch you.
Might I suggest that people are not concerned about hearing what a good job anyone is doing now because the need to judge anyone for what they are or are not doing is not a crucial matter now? Saving lives and lifting up people could be of tremendous assistance. Rather than going on the megaphone daily to praise what a good job the people in business or government are doing… why not instead give that time to the medical professionals on camera so they report science and facts that people need to hear about in order to save lives. The president does not need to be on camera daily but instead, he should be sitting in the oval office meeting with crucial staff members making the really tough decisions about how we can distribute the most help to the neediest in our country. Being in the public light daily holding a two-hour conference tells us that you are only spending too much time reporting and not nearly enough time discerning those really tough decisions of which only our top leader can make the final decisions.
It appears that somehow the attention is turning off of how the economy is doing and what a great job we are doing with the economy. Right now the world needs to shut down. We realize that the economy will be underperforming at this time because of the circumstances. We know what is causing this and that we need to take drastic matters. The quicker these drastic measures are taken the better we are able to control the spread of this virus, hunker down the new victims, help the sick and dying, and continue to explore ways of containing, confining and hopefully curing this virus. With time and the assistance of the entire world of science and medicine working together on a common issue and with God on our side we can achieve so, so much. You have an opportunity to lead us in that direction.
Standing together as human beings regardless of any borders is what a great leader should be shouting at this time. Get on the phone with all the leaders from all around the planet and have worldwide conference calls where you can share best practices and then perhaps once a week get in front of the camera just for a brief moment to turn the meeting over to the scientist and medical professionals so they can give us the hard cold facts, not the rosier-than-thou-picture. A great leader knows how to lead from the back of the pack… unseen. This was so true about Moses during his time of crisis.
This is not a time for thin skin and counter-punching. I realize many of your supporters love that quality in you but this is neither the time or the place for such behavior. Those are negative qualities that are just not productive. They tear down people rather than building them up. We already know the statistics, we see the widespread of the virus, we see the number of deaths on the tickers of our TV screens, and we see the stock market dropping every time you say unpredictable things. Even the markets are so nervous about what you might say that they instantly start falling because of anticipating what you are about to say. The markets know things are bad but you do not tell them facts so they must shut you out in order to predicate their responses based upon facts and truths, and not these feel-good chats for hours. Tell us the bad news so we will adjust to what we know.
Order a national shut down of all non-essential agencies across the nation and ask people to cover their faces and hands when they must go out in public. The less we spread this virus amongst one another the quicker we can contain this beast. When returning home wipe down things you touch and even wash your clothes if possible. Protect your families from bringing in the virus accidentally because we really don’t know who has it. By all means, ask the people to cooperate with this mass shutdown so we can get to a point of containment quicker rather than place false hope on rushing to opening things back up so we may have glory days again.
There is no glory when people are constantly dying in increasing numbers. Shut us down! Batten the down hatches, as one would do in a superstorm until the storm passes. This is not a war Mr. President but a mega-storm that is caused by Mother Nature. You can’t win the upper hand against Mother Nature; you can only get out of her way so you are not killed as she passes through. Shutting down our nation is getting out of her way until she passes through. You are the one that can convince the nation to take this bold step.
As far as the news agencies, we know their jobs entail doing or saying things that uplift their ratings as well as keeping the public tuned to their broadcast. Even though they are obligated to cover the news fairly, they also belong to a competitive business and they want to find the scoop or newsflash to keep people glued to their agency so they can also sell space to advertisers as well. That is just business and we know how that works. If you stay out of the public more they will only want to see you more in anticipation so hide for days at a time. When you reappear perhaps they will be happier to see you and only ask questions about the public welfare rather than about something that you said or did wrongly. At this time everyone is either part of the problem or part of the cure to the problem, the news can be both but they need to concentrate on intentionally and creatively broadcasting things that edify rather than things that destroy in order to get a newsflash. The dead will need to bury their dead but the living need to find a way to remain alive. Work on the living or we will all be dead and there will be no one there to say what a great job we all did.
When people say they are praying for you, that is not something that godly people fake, they know that we must always pray for our leaders because God allowed them to be in their positions. We look up to God and not down to a person who may be in a position. Accept the prayers of the people because most genuinely want to see our leaders succeed rather than fail because our lives are in the hands of those who lead us. Your function is to save the people because the nation here is the people, all of them and not just the ones who agree to heap praise on you.
Who cares to be re-elected as president when the entire country is a morgue? People will shout your praise if they believe that you have done everything possible to lift up all the people to the best of your ability. Do your best and then turn the mantle over to someone else who can take us further down the road. If the people decide that you are the best one for the job then good. If they don’t, there is no skin off your back because you claim to be rich and you have the power to get richer when out of the office and unbound by the press watching your every move. Teach your kids how to be great Americans doing what is good for the people and not tearing them apart like they are doing in this current dog-eating-dog incivility. Tell them as a parent you want to see them bring people of the next generation together rather than pulling them apart. Teach them how to love this great country rather than divide it. With all your money feed more of the poor. We don’t need another tall building or golf course… people need food and shelter.
And finally, it is not how you started in this position but how you will end. The final curtain has not been drawn on your presidency. Right now we are in the middle of arguably the worse times the world has faced in hundreds of years. You are sitting at the helm when this happened. From this day forth you have the opportunity to shine like no other president has shinned before you because most of them did not face what you are facing. Stop thinking of yourself but start thinking of your office and what it represents. Think about the power that is contained within your office to do some of the most incredible things in the history of mankind… or you can remain selfish and pull the entire white house down around you. Being a leader requires making tough choices but if you put the people first your choices become easier because all the people are willing to stand by you when they know that you are doing what is best for all of them.
I pray the love of God and His grace and mercy upon you to care for His people. Those who are given more… more is expected of them. Selah!
