Dear Mr. President:
To be polite within the constraints of correspondence formalities, I really ought to introduce myself here. Tell you my name, and where I live, and why I’m writing. It’s a way of easing into deeper topics, a form of small talk, exchanged pleasantries, even foreplay.
But doing that would be a waste of time, because you still wouldn’t know me. And frankly, I don’t know you either, so let’s just stay on that equal footing.
This is not an angry letter, though I imagine you get many of those these days. This is also not a fan letter, meant to tell you how much I love you and why I think you’re great, though I’m sure you get your fair share of those as well. It’s not a letter of ideas, or requests, or complaints. It’s just a letter of thoughts.
There are many things happening in this world that make me sad – many in my very own country. I could hate you for that, shoving the blame over the line into the box you inhabit as our leader. But I can’t quite make myself do that – not completely, at any rate – because I’m left wondering how many of those things are really your fault. Yours, and yours alone, as a man, a single human being on a planet of billions.
I wonder about that man sometimes. I wonder who you are when you’re a father, or a husband. Who you are as a son, or a brother, or a friend. I have to believe that you’re all those things too, and not just a President, because how can you lead without humanity? I wonder what you think about – what makes you hurt, or brings you joy, or calms you when you are afraid. Do you feel afraid? I think maybe you do.
There are a lot of people who would love to have your ear for a moment or two, and I can’t say I’m not one of them. But I think many of those others would have political agendas, and policies or legislature or structural changes to discuss. I’ve never pretended to understand the world of politics – the issues and ideas behind the governing of a nation – but I can’t honestly believe that they matter more than who you are. There is a man somewhere in that big house on Pennsylvania Avenue, behind the image and the power and the decisions, both bad and good. And while I may not think often about politics, I do think about him.
I wish you could read this letter, but I know all too well that it would fall on deaf ears. I could stuff it in an envelope with a stamp and send it to you personally, but it would be read – if at all – by an entry-level staffer, someone who has no reason to care about one woman’s wish to know her leader. And so I’ll leave it here, largely silent, and continue wondering about a man I can only imagine exists behind stone walls and marble columns and millions of other lost souls.
Sincerely,
One American Girl
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This post was written by an American girl named Lara David as a part of the September Blog Exchange. Lara is just another twenty-something writing and photographing her way through life one day at a time, constantly discovering that the more she learns, the less she really knows. She loves new friends, so follow along with the ups and downs of her life lessons at Life: The Ongoing Education. Plus, Laura is writing over there today, so pop on over to say hello!
Saturday, September 1st, 2007 at
9:00 pm Filed under: Guest Blogger by Laura
All About Me
Wow, what an eloquently written letter. I bet if the President received it you might actually elicit a response. It certainly speaks for many. Well done!
Wonderful letter. It’s brilliant!
That was wonderful. I want to meet you and I am not the president. LOL…
I do often wonder what political leaders are really like. If they really believe what they are saying. Also, what TV shows they watch and whether or not they do it eating a bag of chips.
Very well done letter
It would be nice to get to know our leaders more up front and personal.
Wow. I hope I got the math problem right. I’m dumb like that I guess!
What a heart-felt letter. And a human letter. Many don’t take the time to think of the president as a man.
I don’t agree with him, but I wonder about him as a person as well. I mean, he has to have a brain to have gotten where he is, right?
thanks, all, for the support. i wanted to write a letter to the person, not the position. i don’t often agree with him either, but i still wonder who he is in other areas of his life. i had a blast participating in this month’s exchange, so thanks to laura for being such a great partner!