An Open Letter to Donald Trump

An Open Letter to Donald Trump

            I just got up off my knees and I do not usually find myself in that posture.  I prayed for you and for people like me who are completely shocked at what happened, but then that is my problem not yours.  I prayed for our country because if it had gone like many of us thought it would we would still be in a mess and terribly divided.

            I am writing this because I have to get something out.  I have no idea what I will do with it until after I read it.  I do not want to do harm.  There is enough harm and blame to go around.

            I want you to know why so many of us are confused and perhaps afraid.  It can be summed up in the words of a young child who when told by her tearful mother that you had won the election simply responded, “Well Mommy, maybe this will make him a better man.”

            I/we need you to be a better man than the candidate who worked so hard to get where you now are.  We need the office to transform you because if we believe what you said and promised we will remain afraid and even hurt.

            You can begin with letting go of your threat to prosecute your opponent.  Even if she is “guilty” of something your first act can show us what kind of person you are.  Whatever your feelings about Mrs. Clinton she is obviously a wounded person right now.  You can show us the kind of character you possess by disappointing the angry people who shouted so much, “lock her up.”  You can become a better man by changing direction and offering a hand of reconciliation to a divided people.  It will show who you are.

            Next you can listen to all those voices that you did not hear as a candidate who will now fill your ears and mind with the reality of the world and how complicated and dangerous it is.  None of us will know what kind of briefing you will daily get about those who seek to do us harm.  Surely you will quickly realize that the issues you so often tweeted about cannot be responded to in tweets but must be thought through and handled carefully.

            Mrs. Clinton may have been guilty of being “careless” in her handling of e mails but as our new President we do not need to go to sleep at night thinking that you will lead us as a nation in the careless manner in which you often acted and spoke.  All Muslims are not terrorists.  All immigrants are not rapists and thieves.  All women are not objects.  All trade agreements and treaties are not sound bite material.

            I believe when you start to hear the “truth” of these matters from those who will give you those detailed briefings that you can start talking not in tweets but with substance.  If you do this you will disappoint some of those who voted for you because you promised to build walls and deport people, but that will show that the office is bigger than the candidate who ran for it.

            Border security is justified without having to use angry rhetoric.  Immigration reform is long overdue without having to paint with such a board brush and gather groups of people and send them back.  You will learn that such nations as Russia and North Korea are not what you claimed them to be.  You will know more about them than we ever will and it will and can change your attitude and policies but you can do that because now you are not running you are serving.

            We need you to show us you know how to serve not just how to rule.  Your language painted a picture of a ruler who promised to “fix” things that are not easily fixed.  I am sure it will not take you long to learn this. Show us that you can lead and not just dictate.  We need that Mr. President Elect.

            You promised to “make America great again,” and it now appears that more people believed you than doubted you.  Many of us still doubt you.  Make us believe you by showing us what great really means.  Show us that it is not just a slogan on a hat but a portal to bring about a spirit that created the heritage that is America.  It is a heritage of a welcoming spirit that prized freedom for all.  We learned the hard way as a nation and we did not always live our stated principals of liberty for all but you can help us remember what true greatness is.

            Greatness does not begin with fear and labeling.  Greatness begins with listening and offering a kind of strength that is not just based on big words and threats.  Greatness means a willingness to take chances on justice, mercy, and love.  This is not naïve simplistic thinking but neither is it sound bite kind of thinking.  Show us that you can quickly learn when you close those doors and listen to the great complexity of the issues you spoke so firmly about.  Show us you can do what that child hoped.  Show us you can be a better man because we need and want you to be.

            Make me wrong about you Mr. President.  I want to be wrong.  I/we need you to be a better man.  I hope you believe that we really want that from you and for you.  You will be our President.  That cannot happen simply because of a vote count.  It can happen if you will listen and learn and serve.  I will continue to get on my knees because I need to.  God bless you Donald Trump.