Dear Mr. President,
My name is Robert People and I am a 20-year (as of July 11) veteran of the U.S. Army. I will get right to the point.
Many would likely see this letter as a gross waste of time. In some ways, I feel it may be as well. Some will support it and others will laugh. It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. I feel that this is something few people have tried, so whether it works or not remains to be seen. I will write it anyway.
The United States is a mess right now, to say the least. I could list everything here, but we’re all well-aware. My purpose of this letter is to make a plea to you.
That plea is that you reconsider how you address matters you do not agree with or take issue to.
As an almost 38-year-old black man, I’m intelligent enough to know that I am among the last you would ever listen to or even accept any form of a suggestion from. Again, that doesn’t matter. This letter will likely be met with an enormous amount of social media bots, trolls, those who want to bombard me with racial stereotypes, or anyone else who will not say anything I haven’t I already heard. I’ve been there and done all that, so it’s nothing new.
I don’t discuss politics with people much, because it often gets nowhere. I assume that at one point in history, politics truly meant something in this country. Now, it has become a joke. A laughing stock. And it doesn’t matter which side of politics you are on or which parties you support. Raw meat is thrown into a ring and many of the American people just fight over it like dogs. I choose not to engage in that behavior. Cordiality may not be the “strong” or popular way to go, but all the other ways have proven ineffective.
First of all, while you have said and done MANY things I do not agree with, as I stated in the beginning, I am a Soldier. You are our commander-in-chief. That means that when you say “Go,” then we go. It’s that simple. I’ve chosen to continue serving for another two years, so I’m well-aware of what that means and I respect it.
However, here is my concern.
I do not feel you are running the United States in an appropriate manner. This actually has nothing to do with whether or not I agree with your policies. I am NEVER going to agree with ALL the policies of ANY president. But as I learned a long time ago, there is always a right way and a wrong way to do business. There are ways to go about addressing issues and I feel you are doing so inappropriately.
As a Soldier, I fight for the American people. Another concern I have is that you are not.
I am no expert and nothing is absolute. However, this latest deal, the video of you and CNN in a World Wrestling Entertainment setting, continues to prove this more than anything else to me. Not only are you not fighting for the American people, but you are preying on us. And that includes your own supporters. The way this video shows this is that you are not looking to make significant change or to appeal to the American people. You are behaving and speaking as though you are appealing to a mindless audience.
A mindless audience.
I chose to write that again, because it has become evident that this is how you feel about many of the American people, again, to include many of your own supporters. That we are mindless. That we are truly nothing more than some viewers who are tuning in to a television program every week. Just as with television ratings, all that is needed is to tune in. It doesn’t matter what viewers are saying. You’ve accomplished what you were looking for by them watching.
I am not going to say that anyone is perfect. No one is. I don’t agree with the media all the time, either. But again, Mr. President…there is a proper way to express this and I feel it a gross disservice and completely disrespectful to us as the American people, especially to those who are your faithful supporters, that you choose to express your displeasure in this manner, along with the others whenever you do not agree with someone.
You hold the office of the highest position in the country. With that comes not only an immense influence on much of the population, but also a GREAT deal of responsibility.
Mr. Obama is not in the picture anymore. Mrs. Clinton is not, either. We say to our children, all the time, “If _________ jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” only to have our country’s president, who is 71 years old, along with his supporters, resort to the very same thing whenever someone disagrees with an action or something that was said. If this is not acceptable from my 12 and 9-year-old children, then it is most certainly not acceptable from you, as someone nearly four generations removed from them and as the President of the United States.
This is not about political correctness. This is another way I feel you insult the intelligence of the American people. You inaccurately throw this term around because much of society does the same, and I feel you’re aware that many will mindlessly agree with you upon the use of this term, whether it applies or not. That would be like me going into a predominately black neighborhood. I know exactly what I could say to appeal to many who are there, whether or not I believe in it, agree, or support it.
I don’t care about Republicans. I don’t care about Democrats. I care about this country. I would not have spent the last 20 years, along with another two, fighting for her if I did not. So this is much bigger than politics. This isn’t a game or some business you can just write off when it is unsuccessful. PEOPLE AND LIVES are at stake.
Again, Mr. President…this isn’t someone telling you to what to do and what not to do. This is a fellow American, a Soldier, who is simply asking you to reconsider the manner in which you address issues or concerns. If you feel your ways are not effective, this could be a good reason.
My father told me a very long time ago that if a person said “Good morning” with a smile on his or her face, the reaction from another is much different than if coming from a person saying “Good morning” with a frown. What you say could very well be correct or accurate. But when you express it in certain manners, it could totally destroy the effectiveness.
If I say to a woman “I think you are beautiful,” I’m sure she would appreciate it much more than if I just grabbed her by something. Yes, I could be doing so because I find her attractive in that instance as well, but she would react in two totally different ways and I’m certain one way would be much more pleasant than the other.
This is not me saying that you’re wrong about all you say and do. Whether I agree with them or not is irrelevant at this point. You will be the president for at least another 3 1/2 years. I know what my role is and I embrace it. I am ready if I am called upon. All I’m asking is that you think carefully about what you say and do and give the American people a little more credit and respect. Many look up to you and/or the position you hold, and your words and actions hold tremendous weight, even more than I believe you or I will ever realize.
Why am I treating this as a matter of life and death?
Because in many ways, Mr. President…it is.
Thank you for your time.
Robert People
Published in pplescrt79.wordpress.com
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