An open letter to President Trump
Mr. President:
You have the most important position in the world. Nations, people and governments look to you to provide leadership and inspiration. You were elected by Americans to bring change and return politics and government to respectability and responsibility. I implore you to begin doing just that.
I call upon you to act presidential. The campaign is over and now it is time to deliver the goods. Don’t let detractors lure you into minefields from which there is no escape. You were elected to be outside the usual political circles and foment change. Act with decorum, act with rectitude and use diplomacy in all of your interactions. That doesn’t make you weak it makes you effective and those associated with you will appreciate your attitude and produce results that will be astounding.
Cease and desist from acting like a prepubescent or pubescent adolescent who lives on the ragged edge of propriety and self-control. The smallest action or reaction causes them to ratchet up an emotional response and they behave irrationally. They become a petulant child who cries and lashes out at every perceived word or action from others that is not total approbation. Certitude must be the bellwether sheep to follow.
Throw your phone into the dumpster and resist the urge to retrieve it. Get off twitter. Stop tweeting. Just because you can does not mean you should. You are not an adolescent with thumbs that a professional bowler would love to have and who spends his life tweeting any and everything to any and all who reside on that emotional rollercoaster called adolescence. It makes you sound petulant just like a hormonal teenage or 20-something person who must respond to every demonstrative slight either real or imaginary. The social media will consume you. It will eat you alive.
You must learn to be selectively deaf and blind. If you don’t develop those skills you will be forever blasting opponents real and imaginary; fending off attacks from those whose only purpose is to “poke the bear” and watch his reaction. Develop the skin of a rhinoceros not the skin of a just birthed kangaroo. People will purposely goad you into making hasty and irrational responses to real and fake situations. I had to do that as a teacher and high school principal. The mission of some students was to “poke the bear” and watch him become bellicose and irrational. They would laugh at the situation while telling others even their parents. Too much of your energy will be consumed by these reactions and there will be too little remaining to face the real issues of the day.
I suggest that you review your university and high school rules of grammar and speech. Choose your words carefully, speak in complete sentences; communicate don’t bellyache. Americans want to hear lofty goals and plans for a greater America not complaining about some perceived exploitation or maltreatment by those who oppose you.
Remember that the citizens of this great nation are not incapacitated. The opposition party is not composed of incompetents. Just because they disagree with you does not make them debilitated or un-American. The nature of American politics has always been that the party out of power assumes the role of the worthy opposition. Their main purpose is to regain power and control. They just might have some ideas worthy of consideration. Prepare to be disappointed if you expect them to always agree with you.
That climate exists and will be in place the day you leave the presidency. The Republicans assumed that role all eight years of Pres. Obama’s administration. This will require diplomacy and compromise to keep the wagon train generally headed westward.
Tell the truth. Do not gasconade or bloviate. Get the facts before you speak. Just because you believe something does not make it true. Thus far that has been one of your major peccadillos and has caused many Americans to doubt your sincerity and ability to lead. Just because the media does not print what you believe to be the truth does not mean they are not reporting the truth.
Remember leading a great and diverse nation is far different from the fiefdom known as “Trump Land” where you have imposed your will on any and all who trod the land. You are not in Kansas anymore.
Larry Vandeventer – I am a Calvertville Native. Reach me at 317-839-7656 or at Goosecrick@aol.com. Read about me, my books, and my columns on my Two Websites – Larryvandeventer.com and Rambler1956.com. I am a graduate of Worthington High School and Indiana State University.
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