Open Letters: Pres. Trump, The Trump Supporters, and the Trump Haters

Well, folks. That time is now. President Obama left the White House for the last time today, and President Donald Trump and his family entered it. With that, I have a few things I want to say to some people.

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Dear President Trump,
I know, I wrote an open letter to you in the wee hours of the morning after you won the election. But here I sit, doing it again.

Congrats, Mr. President. I wish you and Vice President Pence all the luck in the world. You have my country in your hands right now, and as you know… I love my country something fierce. My readers love our country something fierce. And the people who voted for you love their country something fierce. Just because we voted for you – some of us, like myself, somewhat begrudgingly – doesn’t mean we’re going to give you a pass. Just because you have an R after your name doesn’t mean we won’t be watching.

If you can accomplish 1/3 of what you promised, I will consider that a success. But I love my freedom, so if I see you starting to encroach on it, I will call you out. We will hold you accountable. But I want to see you succeed to all reachable heights, not because of your party or who you are or because of the nay sayers, but because if you succeed my country and countrymen succeed as well. And if you fail… well, we all fail. And, sir, this is America… failure isn’t what we do.

Don’t get too comfortable. As I said, we’re watching. I plan to scrutinize you as hard as I did Obama. If you screw up, I won’t hesitate to point it out. Remember, you are not our ruler. As the President of this great nation, you work for us. You are our employee, not our boss. Never forget that.

Sir, I look forward to cheering you on when you succeed and calling you out when you fail. We don’t expect you to save the planet in four years. But we do expect you to do the right thing for this country above all else. We demand it. And we demand our freedoms. Do not go against the Constitution. Do not restrict the freedoms of the people any further then they already are, and if you can, get us some of those lost freedoms back. Do your best. We’re counting on you. And we’re watching you.

P.S. Let your staffers take over Twitter, and let Pence help you out.

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Dear Trump Haters,

I get it. Believe me, I get it. I remember how I felt when Barack Obama won the election in 2008. And I remember the people yelling that he wasn’t their president back then, too, so I’ve pretty much let you off the hook for that.

But now it is time to grow up and move on with your lives. We survived Obama, you will survive Trump. I promise. Protest. Please, protest. You have that right, use it. But stay peaceful. There is no reason to burn down towns, beat up people who don’t agree with you 100% on everything, or name call. Stop taking the seriousness of racism away by calling everything racist. Find ways of making things better if you don’t like them instead of just screaming and crying at everyone. Take some of that energy and do good. Don’t like the way life is in the inner city? Do something about it. You can do something about a lot of injustices out there. It takes work. But not everything has to be approved by or done by the government. Get off your duff and do the work. Make it better yourself.

Back when Obama was elected, a bumper sticker began appearing that said, “Be the change you wish to see.” I thought that was actually a great message. Lead by example. Start programs yourself. Feed the hungry. Support people. Help people. Spend less time crying and screaming and burning down towns. Be productive. Fix things. Make things better.

And accept that not everyone is going to agree with you ever, and that’s OK! That’s what makes America great. We all have different ideas and thoughts and opinions, and the American way allows for that. It doesn’t allow for freedom from thoughts and opinions you don’t like. We all share that freedom and have that right. Respect that. If you don’t like a speaker at your school, you don’t have to shut them down… just don’t go. It’s that simple, really it is. If you don’t like a media outlet, don’t give them your ratings. Don’t like talk radio? Don’t listen. Want talk radio to express your opinions? How about you work to get your own show? Imagine that!

Be the change you wish to see. Don’t fight perceived hate with hate. Don’t be a part of or cause violence. Don’t destroy the property and businesses of others. Don’t scream people down. Don’t accuse people of being or doing something, and then be or do that same thing. Now is the time to be adults. Now is the time to stop being snowflakes. One day, you are going to be in charge. A lot of us are very nervous about that day. You don’t get participation trophies in real life, and when things don’t go your way there is no play dough and coloring books. This is called being an adult and being a functional member of society. You cannot spend the country into oblivion to get everything you want paid for with tax payer money. The government is 100% funded by tax payer money, so all that free stuff you want is being paid for by your neighbor… and by you. You cannot punish 98% of the people to make 2% of the people feel better. The country cannot run on feelings. And sometimes your feelings are going to get hurt. That, too, is part of being an adult.

Let’s come together. We can agree to disagree, and we can be friends. Yes, you can be friends with people who don’t agree with your politics. Happens everyday. That’s the unity you claim to want. Either way, let’s get this country moving again. Study history. Find out what we’ve tried already and what other countries have already tried, and let’s stop pushing to retry failed policy and call it progress. It isn’t. That’s why so many call you regressives. Learn from those mistakes in history. And let’s actually move forward.

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Dear Trump Supporters,

In 2008, Barack Obama was hailed as the Lord and Savior. He wasn’t. He was one man who was hired by the people and the states to do a job. Some people thought he succeeded at that job. We didn’t think so.

Donald Trump, likewise, is also not the Lord and Savior. He is one man who was hired by the people and the states to do a job. It will not do him nor us any good to blindly go along with anything he says or does. I urge you to watch him and hold him accountable. When he screws up, recognize it and hold his feet to the fire, just like you did with Obama.

Protest. The left is doing it, so should we. Make your voices heard. “We have jobs” isn’t an excuse. Instead of cruising Facebook and Twitter while you are supposed to be doing your work, write your reps. Write to Trump. Write to Pence. Hell, write to Melania. Write to your local newspapers. Call in to radio programs. And not just to the ones who agree with you. Call in to TV programs that allow it. Have meetings with your elected officials. If you can, create YouTube channels or write a blog. You don’t have to march on the street with badly spelled signs to protest.

Join groups that support your political views and fight for them. It’s as easy as joining something like the NRA. And don’t stop joining and supporting those groups because your candidate got into office. We need them just as much now as ever.

Never, ever trust a politician. That includes Trump. “He’s not a politician!” Hate to tell you, folks… he is now! Don’t give him your undying trust. No one in elected positions ever deserves or is owed your undying trust. And the less you trust them, the better you are at holding them accountable.

Don’t lose your way. Don’t accept a wrong as right because this is your president. Your country is first before any politician or political party.

Make friends with a liberal. Why? Unity. Let’s work at getting this country back to being the melting pot it is. Let’s unite. Agree to disagree. Liberals love the USA, too, whether you believe it or not. They just have a completely different idea of how it should work than we do. Make friends. Discuss. Great ideas can come from those discussions. And fun can be had!

Stay vigilant. Be a patriot. Wave that flag. Salute those troops. Encourage the good cops. Shake a fireman’s hand. Shake an EMT’s hand. Give back to your country. Help each other. Love each other. Work together. Lift each other up.