Dear Mr. President:
It's been almost two whole weeks now since you've taken office, and while I still haven't read many of your plans, I've done a little bit of homework to see where your priorities have been over the past week and a half or so of your presidency. You've obviously been working on dealing with COVID-19, and most of your focus seems to be taken up with that and the bill you sent to congress. There has been a lot of focus, too, on the climate, though that seems more talk than present action. That said, I get that the pandemic needs to be your main focus right now, but it is nice to see that there are other important things moving forward, too. Obviously getting your teams in will eventually make this better overall, and hopefully Jen will be able to start giving more answers during the press briefings rather than relegating many questions to their respective agencies--which is nice for reporters, I suppose, as they likely know where and how to get answers from them, but for us lay people it is rather frustrating. I mean, sure...I could go look up whatever statements those agencies have made, but it would be nice to see Jen just able to offer a summation of some of those from time to time.
I've seen that you're committed to reuniting families, too--the ones that were separated at the border. I imagine that's going to take a lot of work, and time, and effort. I hope you have some successes there. I like that you've been working to make our processes for immigrating to this country better, and I look forward to your efforts in that regard--knowing that it's going to be a slog to get it through the congressional process more than likely.
That is something that I want to learn more about, though--what the Executive branch can and can't do--just so that I'm not looking in the wrong place for the wrong kinds of leadership and change. Your predecessor blurred those lines quite a bit, and I confess I hadn't paid much attention until then. So, I've got some catching up to do.
It was nice to see the statement on Burma, even if other people want to criticize us for not dealing with our own democratic issues. Mostly I'm glad to see that criticism doesn't seem to stop you from doing what you believe to be the right thing; I could wish there were more politicians that did such rather than pandering to their constituents for re-election. And though we are not perfect, I am glad to see us committed to fair, free, and open democratic elections, and to taking steps to seek redress when countries' leaders try to stop that from moving forward when things don't go their way.
We are celebrating today, Mr. President--the end of January. We decided to do dry January this year, and we ended it a day early because we were able to go out to eat with some friends today whom we haven't seen in a while. Here in Orange County, I do sometimes feel like we're living in the Wild West still, with people not wearing masks, eating inside, and seemingly not caring about the health and well-being of others. It's frustrating to see that, sir, but when we can do things safely, like my friends and I did today, it really is something worth celebrating. Maybe we should consider having a national celebration of some sort when our health leaders feel like we've gotten this thing licked. It would be nice to be able to get together on a national day of celebration to commemorate our successes, mourn our losses, and provide a remembrance moving forward of the dangers we still face. I think, too, it might help with those grieving the loss of loved ones to know that their President hasn't forgotten about them. Maybe we could create some kind of national database where people can send information about their deceased loved ones so that we'd always have a way to view it--to grieve and remember together this tragedy we faced as a nation. For example, the site of the 9/11 attacks--the memorial that was built there--is such a beautiful testament to our grief and to our hopes moving forward. I got a chance to visit there when I was in New York a while back, and emotions that I hadn't realized were there, sharing those recollections with those with whom I'd traveled there--my loved ones, was important. And no, COVID isn't some great war we engaged in for a grand purpose, but we lost so many more people to it. So having a place to share our common grief would be nice, Mr. President. But also a day of celebration when we can finally say we've made it through.
We haven't heard much from you with regard to foreign policy, though part of that is dealing with starting things up with your new teams and the reviews that you're doing. I was glad to see your choices with regard to the lack of installing your family into government positions, and also that you decided not to reward large donors to your campaign by doing that for them, too. I hope you keep with that, Mr. President. It would be good to see some people serving in the government again who are doing it out of a commitment to service, rather than as a reward.
I see we're still talking about Iran and Afghanistan. Also China. Hopefully you've been able to get in some good time with other world leaders, as well. But again, it's very obvious you're interested in making sure we beat this COVID thing.
I'm glad to see that you're looking to get schools back in session, too. I think that's the one thing I've heard most of late is that parents really want their kids back in school. Being the sole provider(s) for everything for their kids right now probably isn't healthy for them or their kids. Still, I hope you'll look at the fall as the reopening date for schools. I know that seems like forever from now, but I feel like if we want to make sure it's done right, waiting until the fall seems better than trying to shoehorn something in within the next couple of months. Taking that time to make sure we get it right seems far better to me. But, ...I also don't have kids; so, I can't speak from that perspective on things. The few teachers I know, though, would prefer to make sure everyone is vaccinated, and that seems like a wise idea to me, too.
I feel like there is a lot less news coverage regarding you and your administration than that of the past administration, which I honestly think sucks. Sure, there were reasons for the news to be constantly speaking about your predecessor, but wouldn't it be nice if the news were covering all the little goings-on in your own administration with as much interest and zeal? I feel like the previous administration's agenda got far more air time than your own, and to me that's really frustrating.
As always, I'd like to see more talk about infrastructure and inequality, and I understand you're trying to address many of the root causes of the latter. But again, it would be nice to see more coverage about the groups you're meeting with and what kind of projects you have in store that they're going to be helping with. I understand we still have a major problem with white supremacy, neo-nazism, and anti-semitism, but there are also concerns regarding women's rights to abortions, too.
I was glad to see that you rolled back the exclusion for trans people to serve in the military. If only we could get rid of bigotry and hate, but I guess people are people; so, the best we can do is work to restrain its power in the world. The only thing that should matter about serving in the military is whether or not you're capable of doing so. So I'm glad to see that we're finally getting back to that. Still, if the attempted coup taught us anything, it's that our institutions need to be monitored, too. There were so many stories I read last year about the murders of service members by their fellows. And I think that bears looking into. You are the Commander in Chief; so, I hope you'll do your best to ensure that those who look to you for leadership aren't being harmed by those who serve you and the American people.
How do you even begin to address all the troubles that are facing this world? I know you have your cabinet and advisors, but I can't imagine what it would be like to have to juggle all the necessities of a country--to weigh in your heart the choices that must be made to ensure its peoples' safety and contentment. And then to contend with those who simply are greedy or power-hungry. And the worry that would fill me that I wasn't humble enough in the face of the enormous power and responsibility I had--the temptation to look down on others like many other foreign leaders seem to do.
I think some people were disappointed that you didn't offer more regarding nuclear policy for our country, and again, I suspect that has more to do with getting your cabinet set up and the like, but I hope we'll hear more about it soon-- even if you're only going to keep things as they are, though I feel that's probably a mistake. We need to tell the world that we're not going to ever use nuclear weapons first--that they are only going to be used as a defensive measure. And maybe the President shouldn't be the only one holding the keys? I don't know much about that last, but I feel like making the burden rest on the shoulders of one person probably isn't in the best interests of anyone--including that one person.
Also, ...we really need prison reform, sir. I want to say so much more on that, but I think I'll leave it there for now.
I feel like you've been really clear about what's important to you, and I'm glad that we're going to get this pandemic under control. More messaging would help, and asking corporations and businesses to contribute to your own message--much as I hate a corporate-government partnership idea, I think it's still a good one. With the Super Bowl coming up, that's a great opportunity to reach a lot of people across both aisles. I hope that happens.
I also keep thinking that peoples' attitudes toward wearing masks is getting better, but I suppose it might well be my own relief at work there--that someone leading our country believes in science and is willing to listen to experts, even when they start talking about double-masking, which sounds silly at first, but really can save lives. I know it isn't easy, but hopefully the time for wearing masks and social distancing will come to end sooner because of you and your team(s).
One last thing on that. I noticed that you have a LOT of different teams to tackle different things, and I have to say trying to follow it all is a little dizzying. Please do your best to ensure there's an easy way to get information--that your people aren't always referring people somewhere else, or if they are, get them out there talking during press briefings too. The only way for people to know who to talk to is by seeing them and getting to know them better, and as much as I hate to say it, your predecessor, in that regard, knew how to make sure we knew who his people were. It is one of the few pages from his book I might actually bother taking a look at.
With that, I will simply thank you for your good work this past week. I look forward to speaking with you again next Sunday, and I hope your ideas and especially your relief bill gain some traction next week. I hear you're going to talk with some Republican senators next week, and I urge you to hear them out. Even if you can only find one point of common ground with them, it's far better that than nothing at all. But also, don't give up on your own ideas. The legislative process is going to play out either way, and better the fights are there than in your White House.
Until next time, then, I remain a devoted citizen and a hopeful American.
~~ Jennifer
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