Dear Mr Trump:
You have entered the political arena in much the same fashion as a Brahma Bull would traverse a china shop. There certainly has been a great deal of noise and clamor. You certainly have a knack of expressing exactly what a very downtrodden, voting public seems to want to hear, and expressing it at the top of your lungs. There are those of us who never voted for the current administration, and have braced for, and received the worst of one of the greatest economic recessions in history. Hope and change have totally passed us over for underemployment and unaffordable health care because we can't afford both the insurance and the health care. Transparency in government is actually an exercise in diversion, smoke and mirrors. We are constantly being told what to concern ourselves with, while elected officials do exactly as they wish in other areas. Quite frankly, your statements resonate very well with people who are tired of politicians trying to live their lives for them.
After the past six years, I would truly like to believe that you are the genuine savior, the breath of fresh air in the halls of government, a return to "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Unfortunately, I am not a newly minted adult. I have certainly had my enthusiasm curbed. I have been through my share of election cycles, heard my share of promises, and had more than a little bullshit shoveled on top of me, so please pardon my natural reticence, my holding back on judgement as things continue to unfold. I have been burned too many times already to blindly throw support to somebody merely because they flatter me and tell me what I want to hear. I believe, in all fairness, it could be said that is the way our present administration rode to power and was re-elected. What I am seeking this time is not just great speeches and slogans, but a proven resolve to carry out what has been promised. And I truly don't give a rat's ass how much muck you can rake up on the other guys, because ever since it became acceptable for the President to carry on extramarital affairs in the Oval Office, I am really not sure that there is anything else out there that is serious enough to preclude somebody sitting in the Oval Office. Decorum and discretion do not seem to be of paramount importance any longer, so which candidate had an affair, experimented with drugs in college, had a child out of wedlock....simply doesn't matter. Truth be told, even our Founding Fathers had their share of skeletons in the closet and bodies buried under the floorboards.
And while we are discussing the notion of ethics and morals, please let me state for the record that I am not a fan of "eating our own". If, as you claim, you wish to return America to its greatness, then we cannot be subdivided into a million self serving, entitled, put upon factions. All who are dissatisfied with the status quo will need to unite at the voting booths to change what has gone on for too long in Washington. Therefore, systematically dismantling and digesting other conservatives, who are not in total agreement, only weakens the conservative movement overall...At some point, we all have to agree that we are not going to agree on every detail, but that the overriding desire is a return to a healthy country full of opportunity, fully respecting the Constitutional rights of each citizen. While there are a huge number of "candidates" purporting to represent the conservative viewpoint, we are all aware that the process of attrition alone over the long months until election day will cull the herd. There is no need for us to descend to the level of our opposition. Don't you think that the Democrats are going to scramble double time to prove the conservative field to be inept and out of touch with the "real needs of the people"? They really don't need our help to sling mud, rake muck, and generally try to mock the abilities of any candidate who is not of their choosing. So please don't aid and abet them in their appointed character assassinations.
I fully respect your knowledge of the business community and what makes it thrive. That practical knowledge and experience has been lacking in government for quite some time, perhaps because government has become a business all in itself. The people in office have been there so long, they are the ones out of touch. They are the ones that have forgotten what it means to work every day. They have set themselves up as a nobility, above the laws, and better than the voting people. They firmly believe their own press releases, claiming expertise in areas that they never had prior to coming to Washington. I would truly like to know Mr. Gore's scientific credentials. They are not dependent on hourly wages or monthly salaries. They do not have to rely upon Obamacare or Medicare, now or in future. They have salaries far in excess of the average American, and benefit packages for retirement of which most can only dream. Yet they will attack you for being wealthy and successful, and will try to demonstrate that you do not understand what the average voter experiences. For us down here on the ground, the average voter, you have to go a long way to demonstrate why we should trust either of you.
Please remember that for many voters, the devil they know is less threatening, and in the present context, the devil they know is often providing their food, shelter, education, medical care.....In other words, they have already signed their souls away. You, my dear Mr Trump, have to figure out how to buy those souls back, and how to convince people that our present "social safety net" is actually a tool to keep people just above basic need and beholden to the providers. There has to be fresh reason to want to move out of the cycle of poverty, new incentive, and that will not be achieved by class hatred and racial baiting. The issue of sexuality should return to proper context behind closed doors, as people cannot judge what they cannot see. It was certainly not a unifying moment to have the White House bathed in the rainbow colors. If our government is truly respecting all groups equally, truly vested in equal treatment under the law, truly color blind, truly religious neutral.....then the stark white purity of the buildings should reassure all Americans that one side is not being taken at the expense of another group.
We cannot let the constitutional principles of separation of Church and State become an excuse for abdicating all sense of right and wrong. Ethics and morals are not inherently Christian, but reflect the basic code that has allowed society to live together since prior to recorded history. It is not bigotry or racism to suggest that people are responsible for their own behaviors and responses. It is not hate speech to point out that to injure one individual is an injury to the society as a whole and subject to penalty. Most certainly it is not wrong for citizens to expect a higher level of regard and consideration from their government than those who are not citizens, even those non-citizens who are legally here. Our Constitution spells out specific benefits to being born as an American citizen, and yet citizens are being stripped of rights while more and more is being accorded to non-citizens.
So, I guess the question stands: Can you be a healer? Can you provide a bridge? Can we once again become American citizens united?
And finally, it is no secret that in the past, you have supported liberals and liberal causes very publicly and with the same passion that you now seem to embrace the conservative cause. That is not to say that anyone cannot have a change of heart, or experience things in life that cause them to change views. Christianity is built on the notion that nobody is beyond conversion, while Islam will beat conversion into you. So, I am hesitant to call you out as a Trojan Horse. the cat put among the canaries, the fox in the hen house, but I do remember a Mr Ross Perot. Twice, he threw his vast wealth and supposed business savvy into the election fray, touting his commitment to conservative values, and twice he handed the election to Bill Clinton due to plurality and the eccentricities of the electoral college process. If you truly are a conservative, I would ask you to look at the toll taken on those who believe in free enterprise, constitutional freedoms, our national identity and morale by Mr. Perot's insistence on running a third party. For some, voting as Democratic or Republican, is steeped in family history, tradition, and is clung to as stubbornly as religion by a martyr. Right or wrong, this is the reality of human behavior. Given that there are those who will never actually examine a candidate, but rather vote for whomever their party nominates, and given that there are those who will literally vote to keep their own personal American dream alive at the expense of others, can we afford the arrogance to state that if the Republican party doesn't play nicely, we are just going to go create another party? Too much is at stake in our nation for ego to decide the best course of action. If you truly serve the return to American excellence, then at some point, the good of the election will override personal satisfaction or feelings of being slighted by the hierarchy of the conservative movement. Regardless, you will walk away from this election as a wealthy and powerful player, win, lose, or draw. There is a very large percentage of the population who could suffer greatly from your choices during this election cycle, and I sincerely suggest that you bear that in mind as the campaigns move forward.
What I am politely trying to convey is that it isn't a great idea to screw with the American people, to build them up only to pull the proverbial rug out from under them. We are not pawns in a chess game, and we are certainly not expendable. The working and voting public is what built America into the greatest nation on earth. The Admiral of the Japanese fleet warned the Emperor of Japan that to bomb Pearl Harbor was to awaken a sleeping giant. He seemed to sense that the repercussions would be vast and long term if circumstances forced the rank and file Americans to think and act for one cause. Hiroshima and Nagasaki proved his prophecy. Our present course has done a wonderful job of breaking us down into the least common denominators resulting in a survivalist mentality, every man for himself. We have already been lied to and cheated, forced to accept policies and regulations that are not the will of the people. And yet still, our government persists in dividing us further, spreading the misery farther, and all the while denying that anything is wrong in America. So many have their hope and change riding on you, and I am not sure you recognize how fragile individuals can be. American strength has always derived from unity which is why he Civil War was the costliest one in which our nation ever engaged.
Perhaps from the perspective of entrenched politicians, the roaring stock market is the only gauge of policy success, but few Americans are able to play on that field any longer. Few Americans feel that opportunity exists, and many have abandoned hope for fair and equal treatment by their government. How can the government expect allegiance from a nation of people who see no mutual respect and concern? Quite frankly, I am baffled as to why anyone would wish to take on clearing up the mess in Washington and on the world stage. You are signing on for a non-stop, four year, migraine without relief. And you are paying for the privilege of taking on that burden with millions of dollars. I sincerely hope that your assertions are true, the desire to serve and protect the Constitution is genuine, and your vision of a great America is not merely rhetoric. I respectfully reserve judgement, and propose that you give true consideration to the prophecy of a Japanese Admiral almost 75 years ago. Be careful of waking the sleeping giant, as it has an awesome power for good or ill.
Sincerely,
A Proud American
