Dear Mr. President - April 2019

Dear Mr. President,

It’s April 5, 2019 and you are still spinning out of control. But enough about you.

Have you heard of the Peace Corps? It’s a government program established by Executive Order 10924 by the great President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961. It was ratified by congress on September 21, 1961. The program’s purpose is:

“To promote world peace and friendship through a Peace Corps, which shall make available to interested countries and areas men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower.” (also, womanpower – my addition)

I’m asking if you’ve heard of this program because my son was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer this past Monday. He’s in South Africa. Like my three daughters, he’s pretty awesome. They all have a knack for finding ways to help those in need. They take care of others because others are worth taking care of.

Before my son was sworn in as a volunteer, he went through three months of training. He had to learn the Zulu language in that time. He also had to learn about the history, culture, and people of South Africa. He lived with a local family. He worked hard to pass his Zulu test. It was hard. He wasn’t sure if he would pass. But he did. And now he’s off to a new village to serve the sick, the elderly, the very young, and anyone else who has a need. He’ll do this for the next two years.

Just to make a point, I have a daughter in Morocco who teaches English as a Second Language, another daughter in Ghana who works for an NGO in a small village, and my youngest daughter is in Phoenix teaching emotionally impaired high school students. Three of my children are in the “shithole” countries you degrade. The thing is, they get so much more from they people they live and work with than they give. It’s because they are willing to learn from others. They know they don’t have all the answers.

If my son had not passed his Zulu test, he would have had to stay back for extra training. He did not want to do that. So, he passed his test and moved on to his new good work.

That got me thinking about you. If I had to say that you passed your presidential test thus far, I’d be forced to say, NO, YOU HAVE NOT. The list of your calamities is long and nefarious. You have put our country at risk from foreign hostile adversaries. Your policies to terrify children, women and men who seek asylum are wretchedly cruel. You lock babies in cages. You have dismantled as many policies as possible that protect those members of society most in need. You and your party passed a fake tax reform that did not help the middle class. You and your party are destroying creation. You are trying to take away the healthcare of millions.  You planned to defund the Special Olympics. This is just the tip of the iceberg. You are basically turning the USA into a shithole country. Most of us aren’t impressed with your lack of skill, intelligence, vocabulary, propriety, honesty, or human decency. You are an international disaster.

So, I thought I could help brainstorm possible ways for you to get more training on how to be a basically decent human being. I know, it’s a long shot. You will never be presidential, but maybe you could consider one or two of the following:

Go to the southern border, not to stare at your wall but to find the children who are locked up. Unlock their cages. Feed them a meal. Then find their parents and begin the reunification process. Ask some of the parents why they left their own countries. Listen to their stories.

Visit West Virginia. The Opioid Crisis is ravaging this poor state (along with so many others). Ask questions of addicts, medical professionals, and social workers. Then do something legislatively to stop the big pharmaceutical companies and get money released for treatment.

Visit a Native American reservation. Ask questions. Listen to their stories. Then make a difference in their lives. They are the only people in this country who aren’t immigrants.

Stop lying. It doesn’t work.

I read recently that you cheat at golf. Don’t do that.

Instead of your unnecessary wall, how about using the budgeted money to pay teachers in the poorest school districts of our country. We are raising illiterate children who don’t benefit from a sub-par education. These children will be doomed to poverty and want. Our country could have the best public education in the world. But we don’t come close. Do something powerful for our children.

Our country is divided, it’s been your MO all along: turn us against one another. If you can’t end the hate, xenophobia, misogyny, racism, anti-LGBTQ stance, and bigotry, then you are (surprise) in the wrong job. Stop the darkness.

Climate change is real. You know it. We all know it, except for the greedy and unintelligent. 

Make the changes necessary to save our planet.

We know you are a crook and have done a lot of dirty deals throughout your entire adult life. You have taught this to your children. They will teach it to your grandchildren. This is nothing to be proud of. It is time to pay the piper. The truth is coming for you. Stop running.

Go to church. Just a thought. It might be a reminder that you are not God, but even you are loved by God. Not because of who you are, but because of who God is. I would guess you break God’s heart all day long. I wonder what happens to people who don’t want to be redeemed? I’m glad that’s God’s work and not mine.

You definitely need more training. You were sworn in too soon without being prepared. 

·       

For me, I will be thankful today for all the people around the world who:

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” John Wesley

I will be thankful for everyone who chooses to make someone else’s life or day or a moment just a little bit brighter. I’ll be thankful for everyone who is willing to clean up your messes. Your shit. We will clean, we will wipe away tears, we will clothe and feed and care. We will love. Relentlessly. 

What are you going to do?

Sincerely,

Pastor Barb