Sunday, February 28, 2010

Day 59

Dear Mr. President,

Tonight on the TV at my gym I noticed that the reporter was talking about the results of your physical. It must be incredibly surreal having to have your cholesterol numbers reported in the press. Anyway, I've been trying to make it to the gym more often lately, a new years resolution that I haven't kept as well as I'd hoped. I'm not sure what my cholesterol levels are, but, good or bad, I definitely wouldn't want to hear about them in the news. I'm sorry our culture is so strange.

When I got home, I was still thinking about health, so I decided to check out the First Lady's "Let's Move!" site. I thought most of the information seemed to be very common-sense, but I probably wouldn't have felt that way before I'd been exposed to Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman's books about food politics. The Healthy Food Financing Initiative seems like a great idea. The convenience store in my neighborhood is one of the few that carries fresh produce and a variety of cooking staples, and I've often wished that more convenience stores could be this way. But I don't think this initiative is going to go far enough to make healthy food affordable and convenient.

Mr. President, I love eggs. Eggs are a major obstacle between me and an entirely vegan diet. I was very strict about only buying the eggs from a local farm that my co-op carries. They were pretty expensive- $6+ a dozen- but I knew the chickens that produced them were not abused or mistreated, were fed organic feed, and had the freedom to run around and act like chickens, and that my money was supporting local farmers, so it was worth it. These eggs had different colored shells, bright orange yolks, and were easily the best-tasting eggs I'd ever had. I think that, when eating food that comes from animals, it is always healthier and tastier if the animals got to live happily, like animals, not like commodities in a factory. Unfortunately, last week the co-op had a sign up saying the eggs will no longer be for sale, because the farm has had to shut down, due, in part, to the rising costs of organic feed.

Wouldn't it make more sense to have a system that subsidized farms like this one? That made it easier for every one to have access to the healthiest and freshest food, with the least environmental impact? I think that more people would buy organic food if it were less expensive, and I think the farm subsidies would be better spent encouraging organic farming practices, which would lower prices. Instead of paying for large farms to grow tons of corn and soy that end up as cheap chemical additives in processed food, shouldn't our tax dollars go toward making the healthiest foods also the cheapest and most widely available? I think that convenience is paramount to so many families that all the education in the world isn't going to change some people's dietary choices so long as eating healthy is still time and cost-prohibitive.

It appears to me, anyway, as though we're paying to create the problem and then paying more to try to solve it. I think the steps you're taking in the 2011 budget are commendable, I just don't know if it will be enough to reverse the effects of so many years of bad policy.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Day 58

Dear Mr. President,

I think it is better, even if it is more frightening, to know that the tsunami is coming. To know that the shudder of tectonic plates half a world away is sending danger to your shore. The silent swell of water that does not rumble, like in the movies, but rushes in and out, consuming without motive or malice. I was up late, again, last night, and saw the headlines about an earthquake in Chile. When I woke up it seemed like I might have dreamed the whole thing, but it is too true. One coworker's family is convinced that this is another sign of the end times. Another has family in Hawaii, though mercifully not in the affected areas. We are all just waiting to see what will happen, what can be done to help.

It was reassuring to see you respond so quickly, so assuredly, to remind us that even what we cannot predict, we can respond to. It is humbling, how quickly my own priorities can seem so absurd. For now I will hope that the worst is over, and that the people of Chile are able to rescue and rebuild quickly.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Friday, February 26, 2010

Day 57- A response

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for your response to my letter. In it, you declare that "the Israeli-Palestinian conflict demands our immediate and continued attention." I appreciate this, sir, and while I have no doubt that the issue receives your continued, even constant attention, I feel that you do not often reflect this in your public statements. Every time I have heard you speak publicly about Israel and Palestine, you have spoken with the same platitudes you include in this letter. This is not normally your style, which is why it bothers me so much. You've often been willing to engage in sustained conversations about your positions on issues, explaining your reasoning and exploring the nuances and complexities. I've seen you discuss health care, immigration, abortion, gay rights, the economy- I've seen you engage with your political opponents and dare them to leave behind the talking points to have a real conversation. I have never see you do this for Palestine and Israel.

Your letter suggests I visit the White house site http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy to read more on your administration's approach to what you call a "critical issue". The section of the site that deals with Palestine says;

The President believes that we cannot afford to wait to work for peace in the region, so he appointed a Special Envoy for Middle East peace on his second day in office. In the Middle East, we share the goal of a lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors. The United States strongly supports the goal of two states, Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security. The President has committed himself and his Administration to actively pursuing this goal.

This is lovely, but in no way informative or illuminating. It does not explain, for example, how you can be in support of Democracy but not the democratically elected leaders of Palestine. It does not explain how you can oppose the needless suffering of civilians and remain silent about the blockade of Gaza. It does not explain how you can defy the wishes of China with regards to human rights in Taiwan and Tibet, while never daring to challenge Israel with regards to its expansion of illegal settlements, or its secret assassinations, its mass arrests of peaceful protesters, or the continuing barrage of bombs being dropped on the Gaza strip. If this issue is really so critical to the regional stability and to America's long-term security, as you acknowledge in your letter, than why are you not publicly addressing it, publicly condemning Israel's inhuman and reckless behavior, publicly assuring the Palestinian people that we don't want to see their state won't be eaten up by illegal settlements, isolated by a wall, and deprived of all its natural resources?

I appreciate your response, Mr. President, and I want to emphasize that I am happy to accept you having a different perspective on this issue than I do. I just wish you'd explain your position, engage in a real discussion of the complexities of the issue, and not just hide behind the same polished platitudes. Now, in a period of relative calm, is the time to be talking about this issue. Now is the time for real progress, and the same old speeches will simply not suffice any longer.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Day 56- high-five for health care!

Dear Mr. President,

I think the bipartisan summit went amazingly well. I hope that you are able to get enough votes to pass the reform, but if you can't, I think using reconciliation is a necessary and acceptable step. Republicans will cry that you're circumventing the appropriate process, using the majority rule to deprive them of their voice- but too bad for them. There is no reason they should need 41 votes for their legislative method (do nothing) and we should need 60 for ours. I'm sorry that their refusal to participate in governing has rendered them irrelevant, but the American people can't afford to wait any longer. If they wanted to participate in shaping the substance of the bill, they should have done so by today. That clearly hasn't happened, and so it's time to push the reform through by whatever means necessary.

I thought your manner today was entirely appropriate and effective. I am so proud to have voted for you, and I thank you for all of your service to the American people. Today's letter is short because I feel you said exactly what I wanted you to, exactly what the situation called for.

Way to go, sir, way to go.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Day 55- National Heritage

Dear Mr. President,

Sunday's announcement by the Israeli government to include the Ibrahimi mosque on a list of heritage should be strongly condemned by your administration. The city of Al-Khalil, or Hebron, is already suffering because of the 500 illegal settlers and their armed, government-sponsored military escorts who hold the city hostage. I have been to Al-Khalil, Mr. President, and until you can say the same, you cannot imagine the infuriating stranglehold that the settlers have on this city. The roads have endless checkpoints, making driving in the old city almost impossible. The marketplace has to be covered with a net, to catch the garbage thrown down by the settlers. Certain areas are entirely off limits to the Palestinians who have lived there for generations.

The old woman who hosted our group in her home lived on the boundary between H1 and H2, the city, and the settler-only area. She could no longer use her front door to come and go, because it opened on to a settler road. From her home we watched settlers pass along the road, some boys carrying Uzis, along with their books, to school. We could see the IDF camps on the rooftops of shorter buildings, they pointed their guns at us and ordered us off of her roof, where she was showing us the view of the cemetery where her ancestors were buried, not one block from her home, but off-limits to her now, because she is Palestinian.

Mr. President, I understand the contentious nature of Jerusalem, of parts of Israel, of settlements close to the 1967 borders. But Al-Khalil is the largest city in the West Bank and it is no where near the green line. The settler presence there is entirely composed of the most radical elements; the site itself remains scarred by the legacy of a 1996 massacre of 29 innocent Muslims- the killer lies enshrined in a settlement nearby, his headstone praising him for "giving his life for Israel." This is not a gray area. This is a clear violation of law and common decency; an occupation tantamount to apartheid and a city of almost 200,000 terrorized by 500 criminals and the military sent to protect them.

I am certain that the language I use in this letter will be dismissed as hysterical. But let me say very plainly that I am, if anything, understating the disgusting conditions for the residents of Al-Khalil. And stepping in to condemn the Israeli's move to claim an even greater hold on a city that, under any reasonable two-state solution will have to be entirely Palestinian, would only help the US appear reasonable. This is the kind of injustice that we cannot accept, that must be remedied, if peace is ever to exist between the two nations.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Day 54- We missed you on whitehouse.gov last week

Damn, that's right, you wasn't there.


Dear Mr. President,

Every time I see that Dan Pfeiffer has posted another entry on the White House blog, my day gets better. Your Communications Director is hilarious. I've never read a government official who uses sarcasm so effectively. Rahm Emanuel may have inspired some pretty hilarious SNL skits, but I think Mr. Pfeiffer is truly the master of writing press releases that make me go "oh, snap!" Today was no exception. In a blog entry that's almost as pithy as a Timbaland song, Mr. Pfeiffer called out congressional Republicans for failing to propose an alternate plan.

This is exactly what we should be hearing. Republicans have had months to propose solutions and they have yet to post alternative legislation. I fear Thursday will be another round of sound-bite attacks without any substance to back them up, and I hope that you and the congressional Democrats don't allow them to get away with it. For the first time in the long history of the health care debate, I feel that we are close to getting reform passed, and I don't care how snarky we have to be to get it done- we're right, they're empty-handed with alternatives, and the status quo is unacceptable.

I've been trying to imagine if I can fairly compare your staff with that of President Bush's White House. None of them struck me as particularly funny. Maybe President Bush took care of the levity himself, with the nick names and the casual rejection of proper grammar? I'm not sure. I'm way too partisan to be an honest judge, anyway. That being said, I think the perception that your staff seems to do what they do so effectively, and with even a bit of fun, reflects well on your administration.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Monday, February 22, 2010

Day 53

Dear Mr. President,

Today you released the health care compromise intended to reconcile the bills proposed by the House & the Senate. I'm writing today to bring to your attention the suffering caused by this issue, as so many reporters have bravely tried to mention to Mr. Gibbs, and so many courageous every day men and women with their own opinion shows on news networks bring up every time they talk about health care. Will our pleas fall on deaf ears, Mr. President, or will you finally bring the full weight of your office to free America from health care fatigue once and for all?

After all, every time you wake up one morning and decide to score easy political points by talking about health care, millions of Americans must suffer through tedious, often repetitious debates whenever they accidentally flip to news program between episodes of the The Bachelor. They have to hear the same sob stories of people they've never met, who suffer, go bankrupt and die because of our health care system. Innocent Americans have to know that this goes on, and quite frankly, Mr. President, they don't deserve to. Don't you see what you're doing to them, forcing them to have a vague sense that health care is being discussed again? Assaulting them 24 hours a day with bi-partisan meetings, press conferences, talking heads on TV insisting that we need reform.

I'm pretty tired of it, as well, to be honest, but I'm even more tired of not having access to health care. I'm way more tired of watching my friends and family struggle with medical bills. I'm downright exhausted with the rising number of Americans dying or suffering because they don't have access to affordable health care. I am SO tired of all of this, not because it's taking to long, (though it is,) but because we're still talking about this like it is an issue we can afford to pay less attention to. Anyway, Mr. President, I just wanted to say that those of us who need this reform bill to pass are not getting tired of the debate, we're not expecting things to change over night, and we really don't care how much we have to hear about it, so long as it gets done.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Day 52- Assassins

Dear Mr. President,

You are surely in a position to know more about the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh than I, or any of those speculating in the media. I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I find this completely reprehensible. Assassinations like this one are, for me, in the same category as torture. The asymmetry of power- in this case a man held down, electrocuted, suffocated with a pillow- in each situation is stomach turning. I believe there are individuals who, even after they pose no physical threat, continue to be dangerous because they are symbolic, or because they can incite others to violence. I do not believe this is cause for murdering these individuals, once they are helpless.

I confess, I have long held this unpopular opinion. In High School, as a member of the school newspaper staff, I wrote an editorial condemning what I believed to be unseemly crowing over the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein by the media. This upset several of the paper's readers. I cried the day they killed him, not because Hussein was a good man, or because I thought his life had been worth saving, but because, in the end, no matter how many terrible things he had done, he was just a broken old man with two recently dead sons, who had lived long enough to lose everything. He owed this, of course, to his own abuses of power, but we made a spectacle of his execution as though we'd slain a dragon. Maybe I am just too much of a bleeding heart, but it sickens me when the powerful put the powerless to death. And, when in comes to murders we call the death penalty, or these murders we call extrajudicial executions, or the murders we call assassinations; they are all powerless, in the end. There is no deed that can be undone by killing the perpetrator, no wound healed by hanging or lethal injection.

This man, Al-Mabhouh, whatever he was, whatever he had done, he was still a man. He had a family. Murdering him in a hotel room proved only that the Israeli system of justice cannot be conducted in the light of day. That vengeance is more important than justice. Mr. President, we ought to strongly condemn this and all assassinations on the part of Mossad or any other government agency. What safety is worth our humanity?

This isn't just morally wrong, it is also a poor strategy. Israel cannot spin its way into the hearts of its enemies, not with this kind of behavior. Israel would be a safer nation if it acted according to international law, if it suffered the inconvenience and delay of an effective justice system. How many dead will it take to satisfy them of their security? Surely, it is clear by now that they cannot simply kill their way to safety. Even if it is behind closed doors, with fake passports, and no sign of forced entry, these secrets do not keep.

What would you say to the Palestinians, Mr. President? What would you say to his family? How, when they saw him killed, no lawyer, no trial, no burden of proof, how can they keep from being consumed by hatred? International law is designed to codify the principle that the powerful should not prey upon the powerless. That principle need not be written for all of us to feel the truth of it. It is reflected in the tenants of every major faith, and is the basis for the societal practices that have allowed humanity to overcome our dark history and move towards a better and more just future. You ought to condemn this murder, Mr. President, and remind the international community that this kind of behavior has no place in the kind of world we seek to create.


Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Day 51- Filibusted

Dear Mr. President,

Senator Evan Bayh's op-ed this morning makes several excellent points. Many of his complaints about the frustration process of getting anything done in the Senate echo sentiments from The Audacity of Hope, which, to me, indicates strongly that the Senate is a dysfunctional institution, as you and Senator Bayh wrote from positions the minority and majority, while reaching the same conclusions.

Especially with regards to re-thinking the rules surrounding the filibuster, I think Senator Bayh's ideas have a lot of merit and should be implemented. It is sad, really, that he had to retire, to go out without worrying about re-election and to cause enough of a media uproar to be heard. He seems like an honorable, well-intentioned individual, and the Senate would be better off with more like him.

As a former Senator, you understand the frustration of the institution first hand. You did not spare the Senate any of your disapproval during the State of The Union, and I would have liked to believe that might have generated more progress than it has. I don't think it is unreasonably partisan of me to say that the right benefits most from this. On principle, be they in the minority or the majority, the GOP wins elections by campaigning against the federal government, against "big" government. Holding up the progress in the Senate supports their narrative that federal powers are slow, clumsy and ineffective.

In his 1996 State of the Union address, President Clinton famously declared "the era of big government is over." I think this may have pleased a number of people, but it helped few. Perhaps if the era of the self-serving government, the ego-boosting, money-raising, hyper-partisan government, if the era of bad government could be drawn to a close, real progress could finally be made.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Friday, February 19, 2010

Day 50- Why I write

Dear Mr. President,

This is the fiftieth letter I've sent you. I've written you every day this year, and have every intention of continuing to do so for the duration of 2010. This daily ritual has become a grounding, calming constant. I read the news, or your books, or the political blogs, and I try to think of something relevant to say. Often it comes out less eloquent than I wish, often I struggle, wondering what a person like I could possibly have to say to a person like you. Generally I am comforted by the thought that, for all of your wisdom and experts and resources, one thing you can not do is lead an average life. You cannot know how an average person lives and how your policies relate to them, unless we tell you. I understand that you get about 40,000 letters a day, so I suppose lending my voice and my narrative to those of the masses can't hurt, and might even give you a clearer picture. Most certainly, I gain more from the writing than you would from the reading of these letters.

Today the White House blog posted about the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, warning consumers to prepare for a better relationship with their credit card companies, starting Monday. Just last night I was struggling with my own card, so this caught my attention. After receiving my tax return, I paid off the entire balance on my card- not an insignificant amount- and I cannot convey what an incredible feeling this was. I was so proud, so happy to finally be done with all of that debt. Then, last night, I noticed it had a balance, once again, despite never having used it. My bank had levied more than $30 in fees, because of a $.27 cent charge! I paid the card off, again, called the company and angrily demanded that they close the account entirely. I now have no credit card.

Reading through the proposals in the CARD act, I have to say I may consider signing up for one, from a different company, after the law goes into effect. My parents would argue that they are good to have in emergencies, and now, at least, I feel the new regulations will protect me from deceptive terms and unfair fees. I think this new law will do a lot of good, and will help many members of my generation avoid ending up, as our parents have, drowning in debt they can't hope to repay. Thank you for your efforts in passing it.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Day 49

Dear Mr. President,

I was sorry to hear about the disturbed man in Texas today. While I often find myself reacting emotionally to such stories, I try to separate myself from the coverage of the story and put myself in the individual's shoes. One thing I never can reconcile is the degree of anger one must feel in order to commit such a violent act. I get angry, I get emotional, I get enraged at the decisions made by this government, and I often feel that I have no means of redressing these mistakes. Voting sometimes feels like an exercise in futility, and certainly running for office myself is not a viable option (nor, as Senator Bayh so eloquently illustrated, always an effective means of changing the system.) I have joined demonstrations against war and occupation; in my indignation at the suppression of basic human rights, I have even wished to march on Washington. I'll admit I admire the nerve and strength of character of Rachel Corrie, the young Washington girl who died at the hands of the IDF defending a home set for demolition in Gaza. I could devote my life, even perhaps my death, to a political cause.

But I could not kill for it.

I could not pick up a weapon, or launch a missile or crash a vehicle into a building. I cannot find the empathy to understand why some one would do this. I understand desperation and I understand self-defense, but I do not understand this kind of attack. Clearly, to some extent, it is by nature incomprehensible. The madness of the perpetrator makes rationalizing his behavior near impossible. But I know that I cannot comfort myself with the simple answer that this man was ill, end of story. This man did not think himself irrational. This clearly took planning and preparation, this clearly took a degree of reasoning. I had never even heard of the tax law that this man found so upsetting it drove him to violence. I'm reluctant to even follow the path of searching for justification too far, because the man may have had some very legitimate points about the problematic nature of this law, but any validity to his arguments is lost, forever, in the burning wreckage of that plane.

I don't know what to think. I don't know what to say. Today, we have no simple answer.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Day 48- Regrets

Dear Mr. President,

Tonight I was in a relatively empty bar in downtown with five of my female friends. An older gentleman came over to our table and offered to buy us a round of drinks. He said this was because he'd been listening to a speech earlier that declared women, especially young women, to be responsible for the coming ascendancy of American global influence. This man, who identified himself as the former Mayor of Burbank, California, began telling us about his life; growing up in California, going to Vietnam in the 60's, meeting President Reagan, even a little about his college-age children. He said that he can't stand talking to white men, anymore, because minorities and women are the future.

A google search confirmed his identity, but what struck me most about this man was not his former job, but the sound of relief in his voice. He, at several points during his story, apologized for the baby boomers "messing everything up." He seemed eager to pass the baton of responsibility for society to women, as though the millennium of male dominance was a burden he had been carrying his whole life. At several points, I actually felt pity for this man. It is one thing to be disenfranchised, to feel powerless and unrepresented and unable to change the world when you feel it's going the wrong way. But to have power; to be a rich, white, politically active man with education and connections; to have all of this and wake up one morning 68 and appalled at the state of the world must be an entirely different form of frustration. Who can this man blame, if not himself? He has had his time, his chance at creating the world he'd want his children to inherit, and he feels he has failed. It's a new generation's turn, and all he can do is sit back and buy us drinks, hope that we can listen past his slurred references to Casablanca and take to heart what he is saying.

I don't know. Maybe he's just a creepy old man who saw six women his daughter's age and thought he'd impress us with stories of movie stars and his encounters with the Joint Chiefs. But I think that, in his own clumsy way, he was asking for something more than just our attention. He wanted to explain himself, to justify a life even he wasn't sure had been lived as well as it could have been; to ask that we, and those with whom we would inherit the future, not judge him too harshly. I couldn't help, as I was listening to this man, to think of my own father, or even President Bush. Men who could not hide behind the excuse of powerlessness, but who lacked the courage to use their power to the right ends. Do they, too, feel guilty about their legacies? Do they look ahead, hoping that redemption will somehow be found in the lives of their children?

As we left the bar, wise enough to know that nothing is given freely, we each wondered what those drinks had really cost, and what, exactly, he thought he was buying. What will we be like, at 68? How many disappointed hopes will we try to explain away to strangers? While I still believe that I'd rather govern myself than be governed by some one like this man, listening to him made me hesitate, for a moment, and wonder if I'm ready for the responsibility of that kind of burden.

I suppose I don't ask many direct questions in these letters, Mr. President, which is in part due to the plethora of information about you readily available, but mostly because I know I have little right to expect a response. So forgive the personal nature of this inquiry, but the events of tonight make me wonder, what are the things you regret, Mr. President? Perhaps more importantly, what are the things you fear you'll regret at the end of your Presidency?

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Day 47

Dear Mr. President,

*insert poorly-reasoned joke about global warming here* Thomas Friedman writes in today's NY times about the disappointing lack of understanding, and the inevitable bad jokes that result, with regards to the nature of climate change. Friedman proposes that the experts release "a simple 50-page report. They could call it “What We Know,” summarizing everything we already know about climate change in language that a sixth grader could understand, with unimpeachable peer-reviewed footnotes." While former Vice-President Gore has gone a long way towards making climate change data simple and accessible to the larger public, he is too contentious a political figure to ever convince the people who don't already agree with him. Friedman may be on to a reasonable alternative.

You've made clean energy a clear priority for your administration. The concessions you've made with regards to nuclear energy, which I personally find concerning, should be enough for those still drinking the Lyndon LaRouche kool-aid to take down the pictures of you with a Hitler mustache. Nuclear energy, like some areas of foreign policy, is an area where I am willing to defer my judgment to your own, if only because I have faith in your administration's superior access to experts and information. That being said, I know that nuclear energy has its limitations, and I hope that your administration continues to push for the safer, more sustainable sources of energy.

Sadly, until then, you, Thomas Friedman and the rest of us who recognize that the decades of research backing up climate change will not be undone by one snowstorm, will probably have to put up with a number of jokes, tweets, and other self-congratulation from climate change-deniers. I think that it would ultimately be in our interest if something like the report Mr. Friedman proposes were funded and published in a thoroughly non-partisan way. As much as I'd like to pretend the deniers are irrelevant, we're still Democrats, and persuading those who disagree with us, rather than just legislating around them, is really more our style.

Anyway, enjoy the "snow-ver kill" or whatever they're calling it these days.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Monday, February 15, 2010

Day 46

Dear Mr. President,

Happy Presidents' day. I read somewhere that your favorite President was Lincoln. I suppose he was all right. I'll admit that my fascination with the presidency comes in no small part from my love of The West Wing and, while watching an episode recently that discusses the difficulty being President in the shadow of men like Lincoln, I considered how you must feel about this. Every man who has served in your office has done so, I'm convinced, with the intention to Do Right by the people. Some certainly succeed more than others, but those that we remember best generally do so in the face of the greatest challenges. I have no illusions about the work that must be done for this country, or the glory in succeeding in health care reform or economic recovery, but there is nothing in this day and age that could compare to abolishing slavery. How fitting that Lincoln has been immortalized as he has, the larger-than life memorial looming over the mall in all of its glory, a monument not to his humanity, but to the huge burden of his legacy. I admire you, for daring to follow in such immense footsteps, in times that are perhaps even more challenging.

When I lived in DC I generally visited the memorials only when showing visiting friends around the city. I lived out in the east side of the city, and worked on L street. When I was transferred to a bookstore on F street, which required me to walk past The White House each day, I was elated. I'd start my day getting coffee spun to me through bullet-proof glass, get on the metro, and suddenly be walking in front of the President's home. DC is so surreal like that, the humblest of us passing so near to those in power. I never saw President Bush while I lived there, and I don't know that I would have cared to, much. I'll admit this was a time when my disappointment in my country was its strongest, and President Bush was a frequent reminder that I was living in a nation that did not seem to share my moral views. Since your election, I've often wondered how I'd feel if I still lived in DC, still worked down the street from the White House. I don't regret leaving, but I do miss it, sometimes.

I think for me, men like President Lincoln seem to be more fiction than fact. I'm sure that Lincoln was every bit as heroic as legend paints him, but I have a difficult time calling him my favorite. It honestly seems a bit like saying my favorite animal is a Triceratops. They may have been real, but I'm never going to know what they were really like. And so, while it may be hollow praise from a person who has lived under only 4 different Presidents, I think I can say, confidently, that you're my favorite, or at least the one I'll be thinking the most of this President's Day. You may never be President Lincoln, but I think our day demands a different kind of President, and I hope very much that you live up to that demand without wondering if it will always be overshadowed by the legends of your own heroes. I don't feel alienated by my government, these days, and, to me, that is its own kind of heroic.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Day 45

Dear Mr. President,

When I was a senior in high school, my AP English teacher assigned an essay on the nature of marriage. It was a challenging assignment for many of us with divorced families. Growing up, it often seemed that marriages would either end up bitterly broken, as my parents' had, or long slow, decays into mutual unhappiness or secret infidelity, as with most of the married couples I'd encountered. Marriage seemed like a prescription for disappointed hopes and heartbreak. As I've matured, I've witnessed maybe three truly happy marriages, and each one makes me hold my breath, terrified of the crash and burn I see as inevitable.

Back in high school I knew that looking for evidence that I was wrong about love would consume me in a way I'd never be comfortable with. It feels almost shameful, devoting so much of my energy to seeking out the validation from another person. I should be more self-reliant. I should have greater, grander plans. But I had to know, if only by constant trial, if it were possible that I was wrong. I've had my share of heartache in the process. I've seen my friends and family, men and women who I admire, brought down, broken by this feeling. We always bounce back. We always move on. People are practical, if not particularly romantic.

When I lived in DC I worked with a man who became my mentor, and his devotion to his wife, their loving union that seemed so natural and easy, challenged my preconceptions about marriage. What was most amazing to me was the nonchalance with which they viewed their happiness, as though married people who like each other were the most normal things in the world. Since then, I've seen a few more stereotype-defying couples. A monk in Jerusalem who left his whole life behind for the woman he loved. Childhood sweethearts who still glow at the sight of one another after 50 years. Even, or maybe, in light of your career, I should say especially, you and the First Lady. You two seem to be genuinely happy and in love, in a way that seems too real to conceivably be for the public's benefit. None of this, of course, is as simple and perfect as fictional romantic love, but still, it gives me hope. In a simple, silly way, I think I just need to be shown that love does last for those willing to work for it. I might never believe it, all the way. I might never feel secure in love. But I like the anomalies that keep the certainty of absolute cynicism at bay.

It's Valentine's Day, and I suppose I don't have anything better to say than thank you for being a role model in more ways than just your professional success. It means a lot, even to those of us who should be old enough, and experienced enough, to know better.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Day 44

Dear Mr. President,

I watched your speech to the US-Islamic world forum. I thought it was very good, maybe even better than the one you gave in Cairo. I still think that you lose any credibility you might have had declaring our steadfastness with regards to "human rights and human dignity" when you have so effectively looked the other way with regards to Gaza. I've said this before, but I imagine it will need saying many times in the future; I respect that we disagree on this, at this point I would just like to hear you talk about it. Talk about the reality in Gaza and explain to me, and to the millions of others who think that it is an appalling violation of international law and common decency, why we support the status quo. I honestly don't know how you can give a speech like this, touching upon US-Islamic relations, the 2-state solution and the defense of human rights, and not even say the word "Gaza." Does this glaring hypocrisy strike you, as well?

Palestine hasn't been in the news much lately. There have been the usual small-scale injustices; non-violent demonstrations being tear gassed, mass arrests, home demolitions, bombs dropped over areas of southern Gaza. It's disheartening that these are routine. The region is simmering, for now. But you know, and I know, and most every one in the region knows, it is a matter of time. The pot will boil over, once again. The violence will escalate, the suffering of the innocent will worsen. It will be a rocket attack by Hamas or Islamic Jihad, or a suicide bomber, or another contentious election, or maybe none of these things, but every one knows that something will set off more conflict. Israel will overreact in the name of its own security. The US will caution both sides to act with respect to civilian life. The UN will see resolution after resolution vetoed for daring to criticize the Israeli response. Civilians will die. Homes will be destroyed. The footage will all look the same, played on TV in a continuous loop while flak-jacketed correspondents report with the Dome of the Rock looming behind them.

We know this is coming. We know the situation is a waiting game with lives on the line. Mr. President, the only question I have, the only question I can think to ask to make sense of any of this is what are we waiting for?

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Friday, February 12, 2010

Day 43- Aloo Gobi Masala

Dear Mr. President,

Tonight my best friend and I are making an Indian dish that is a favorite of ours, aloo gobi masala. Tomorrow night I'll be making another vegetable curry for a date. Indian food is comfort food, to me. When I lived in Boise, I worked as a waitress at an Indian restaurant, owned by a classmate of mine, and lived in the apartments over the restaurant. The smell of the spices, the simple comforts of good chai and naan still feel like home to me, despite having been raised on nothing more exotic than the occasional stir-fry. I was a terribly picky eater before working at the restaurant. While the kitchen staff, unlike much of my family, took my vegetarianism with a grain of salt, they would not abide my other dietary quirks. The restaurant closed each night at 10, and the waitstaff, the owners, and often the chefs, would sit together in the closed dining room to eat supper. I quickly got over my fear of strange-looking food and learned to appreciate the new flavors.

I had moved to Boise believing I could repair a long-distance relationship that was already far too broken to bring back. By the time I'd arrived, I was more alone than I'd ever been, cut off from family, forced to make completely new friends, and still grieving over recent loss. The owner of my restaurant sat next to me in Engineering and in Arabic class. We became fast friends, and he hired me on before the restaurant opened. His family, boisterous and kind, adopted me as their own, and his father often introduced me to friends as his adopted daughter. For a girl with a willfully absent father, this was no small matter. I learned more at this job than at any other, and I never would have survived my time in Boise without the love and support of this family. We've all moved on and now live on opposite coasts, but I miss them terribly.

I suppose these culinary experiments of mine are a seance, of sorts, crafting a potion to recall the warmth and comfort of those happy times. It's a strange sort of magic, nostalgia. I suppose I could pivot this personal story to a broader statement about the importance of immigrants to the American character, or about the difficulty of defining "family," or even another comment about the virtue of small businesses, but I'd rather just bask in the memories tonight, savor the smell of the spices and the images they recall. It is nights like tonight that I appreciate how lucky I am to have been born in America, and to have had the experiences I've had. I hope that, despite the demanding nature of your job, you managed moments of this same relaxation. Have a lovely weekend.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Aloo Gobi Masala

1 tbsp oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced ginger or ginger paste
2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
2-3 potatoes, cubed
1 lb cauliflower
1 diced tomato
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and saute garlic, ginger and chili. When the garlic begins to brown, add potatoes, 1/3 cup water, and all the spices. Cover, simmer and stir occasionally for 7-10 minutes. Add Cauliflower, more water (if needed) and tomato. Cook 10 minutes, covered, until tender.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Day 42- Form letters and recess appointments

I received my first letter from The White House today! It is a form letter, one which is neither surprising nor particularly interesting. Still, it was lovely hearing from the office of the President.

Dear Mr. President,

Today I write to express my support of your threat to use recess appointments to fill the critical positions still waiting on Senate confirmation. I think that, should the Senate continue to demonstrate such enthusiasm for holding up the business of the government by blocking your perfectly qualified nominees, you should continue to publicly redress their behavior by any means necessary.

I appreciate the history and the tradition of Senate rules, but this is absurd. To hold up the appointments of qualified individuals for critical positions in government for legislative pork is truly an example of the worst kind of partisan politics. I'm all for respecting the separation of powers, but there is a point where the majority has to be allowed to govern.

Anyway, Mr. President, since the State of the Union it seems as though the administration is doing a much better job of communicating to the public, especially when it comes to pointing out just who is holding up the agenda. I'll admit this may be a matter of perception- certainly my decision to write to you every day has required me to pay attention to the daily communication from the White House- but even among my peers there seems to be a general consensus that your administration has had a new surge of energy and focus in the last few weeks.

I'd like to applaud the political maneuvering that today got 27 nominees confirmed. I think that, in the event the others continue to be held up, the public would recognize recess appointments as the right thing to do.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Day 41- Small businesses

Dear Mr. President,

I'm not an economist. I don't know how small businesses are defined, or how they affect the economy or anything like that. I don't know what taxes hurt them or which policies help them. Today, I went to the cafe down the street from my house, which is owned by 3 sisters. They've been open for a year, but they've been making coffee in Seattle since before I was born. They love their customers, good beer, and loud music. The cafe has a bar, a ping-pong table, and video games; it's a local haunt for university kids and a friendly space for LGBTQ gatherings. It's one of my favorite places to go. One of the owners and I got into a conversation about the difference between working for yourself, as she does, and working for a large corporation, like I do. My job might be considered "safer" than hers, or at least, I have much less to lose than she does, but we agreed that her interactions with people are more genuine and more meaningful because of the sense of community created by a small business.

I know small business are important to you, and I'm grateful for that. I may not work for one, but when I shop, I always try to shop local, or to support small business, when I can. My favorite coffee shops, my grocery store, the best restaurants and bars are all small, locally-owned institutions. They are a source of pride. I'm glad you're willing to advocate for small business, to defend these last vestiges of local color in a world increasingly smeared with strip malls full of the the same corporate logos. I know you'll do your part, legislatively. I think people need to be reminded of their own responsibility, their own power as consumers. If we don't want every one in our community to work at Wal-Mart, then we shouldn't shop there just because it's more convenient than making many stops. We must sometimes be willing to forgo the cold efficiency and lower costs of the corporate model.

As the cafe owner and I were talking, she began to talk about the obstacles faced by small business owners. Her greatest concern wasn't the government, it wasn't taxes, it wasn't even corporations. It was consumers. People who would rather have the consistency of corporate coffee served by clean-cut youth in collard shirts. She may have found her niche, may have enough customers who love the informality, the out-of-this-world espresso and the smart-mouthed bar tenders, but she knows she's one of the lucky ones. It is, once again, proof that the quest for the cheapest, most convenient things in life has a hidden cost, a toll taken on all who forgo complexity and contradiction for thoughtless repetition. Thank you for advocating for small businesses, Mr. President, and I hope that you keep reminding Americans how important they are.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Day 40- The snow

Dear Mr. President,

My condolences for the extreme weather in DC. Seeing the reports online, and hearing from my friends who still live in the city, it sounds slightly magical, almost as though the Senate leadership really could be making snow angels out on the mall. Two years ago we had our own Snow-pocalypse in Seattle, and I remember it being anything but magical, so I'll try to reign in my whimsical envy of your real winter and appreciate the mild mid-50's and sunny that Seattle has been graced with.

During that unreasonable cold winter, I was reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road, not a book I'd recommend during weather that inspires comparison to the end times. That being said, McCarthy's writing is some of the most beautiful I've ever experienced. Working at a bookstore, I'm lucky to be constantly exposed to great writing, new and old, and the people who love it. Your own reading tastes often influence what people are buying- Team of Rivals, The Post-American World and Netherland all became very difficult to keep in stock after you were spotted reading them.

Having a President who regularly reads and engages the public in what he is reading is a nice change, after 8 years under President Bush. I'm sure President Bush did read books. Dick Cheney used to shop at the Book store I started at, on L street. The books I saw him buy were almost always by Tom Clancy or aspiring Tom Clancy-types. Thrilling books, with good guys and bad guys. Books that assured the reader of the righteousness of the protagonists and the absolute evil of the villains. I'm not saying that this makes you better or smarter than the former VP, but I do believe that what we read informs our worldview, and, in my mind, Vice-President Cheney did little to disprove this.

Just because it is my job, (and it may not be, forever,) and probably the thing I do best, in the world, I'd like to suggest a few books.

For First Lady Michelle, I'd suggest a memoir, The Bread of Angels by Stephanie Saldana. It is a beautiful book by a remarkable woman, and a really enjoyable read.

For Malia and Sasha, as I know they, like me, appreciate Harry Potter, I suggest UnLunDun, by China Mieville and Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. They are two of my favorite books for young readers, and both feature strong, original female characters.

If you, Mr. President, came to my bookstore looking for something to read, (this is assuming I regained my ability to speak long enough to put forth a suggestion,) I'd offer Aravind Adiga's White Tiger for enjoyment, Daniyal Mueenuddin's In Other Rooms, Other Wonders for beauty, and, because walking a mile in the shoes of another isn't always possible, I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti.

And that is absolutely the most presumptuous I'm prepared to be, at least for now. Thank you, for humoring me. Happy reading. Enjoy the snow.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Monday, February 8, 2010

Day 39- Iran

Dear Mr. President,

I'm not a fan of President Ahmadinejad. I find his policies infuriating and his rhetoric dangerous. I have strong doubts, if not outright disbelief, in the legitimacy of the election that empowered him. I'm also not a fan of nuclear weapons. I think it's probably a good idea to try to prevent, whenever possible, their creation and use. So, while I clearly agree that it is essential to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear power, I don't think you're going about it the right way.

I'll admit straightaway that my foreign policy knowledge doesn't live in the same galaxy as your own. You probably know better. But from the perspective of one who doesn't get daily intelligence briefings, let me just say that I think we could get more success with a different approach. For one thing, it's foolish to pretend that Israel isn't already or at least very close to being a nuclear power itself. Not only does this make our anti-proliferation stand sort of a joke, it overlooks a very real threat to Iran. Israel may be our ally, but they demonstrate, year after year, their willingness to fight threats, real and otherwise, by punishing civilian populations. The people of Gaza, Al-Khalil, and Beirut have experienced this first-hand. The people of Iran may wonder if they are next.

Also, the more we isolate Iran, the more popular support Ahmadinejad will have to go nuclear. For one thing, The Bomb can be seen as the only defense against an alliance of so many other nuclear powers. Wouldn't it make more sense to bring Iran to the table? To work with them directly instead of reinforcing the idea that the whole world opposes them? If Ahmadinejad and his ilk didn't have America and Israel to vilify, where would they generate the fear they need to stay in power?

Maybe it's hopelessly naive, but I honestly think that we'll make more progress by treating Iran as an ally- and expecting the Iranian government to behave accordingly, both with regards to nuclear power and human rights- than by more sanctions and isolation.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Day 38

Dear Mr. President,

The bipartisan summit on health care is a significant risk. While I feel that you did very well in your open q & a with the republicans, there's no telling how the other democrats will come across. That being said, I'm glad you're doing it. I'm hopeful that it will be politically beneficial, and that it will move the health care debate forward. The other night, while discussing health care policy with one of my like-minded friends, she expressed concern that the passage of the current bill, which we both see as no solution but rather a step in the right direction, would breed complacency on the issue. I may have disagreed with her, but part of me fears she is right. I believe that the reform bill is important enough to pass now, but I also believe that, no matter how tired people are of the health care debate, the bill will not go far enough to help the people who need it the most. My hope is that, once the bill is passed and the whole system doesn't collapse, people will allow more aggressive reform.

I don't have health insurance, Mr. President. My employer offers it, but I've only recently become eligible for it. To make matters worse, recent years have seen premiums more than double, while co-pays increase and benefits decrease. None of the girls I live with are able to afford health insurance. Luckily for me, the last time I got sick, I was on vacation in Canada. The doctor I saw explained that, in his country, they tax things that make you sick, like cigarettes, alcohol, soda and fast food. He called this a "sin tax" and suggested, rather smugly, "Maybe if you did this in America, you could afford to give every one health insurance." I don't know if he was under the impression that a 23-year old bookstore employee had much say in national health care policy, or if he was just being condescending, but I was too grateful for the care I received to really mind the lecture.

I know proposing something like "sin tax" would be horribly unpopular here. While I may find it perfectly logical to increase the tax burden of those who themselves become burdens on the system through unhealthy behavior, I understand enough about human nature to know how difficult it would be to pass a tax on soda, for example. What about ending the government subsidies of corn and soy? Instead of punishing the taxpayer, we ought to end our outdated agricultural policies that discourage the small farmer and crop-diversity. This would help reduce the surplus of corn and soy derivatives that make processed food so cheap, discouraging consumption without actually taxing the least healthy foods.

But not all health care is about lifestyle choice. People get sick, people get injured, people have to have access to medical services, without the fear of financial ruin. I hope the summit helps pass the reform bill, and that it changes the way we approach health care. But I hope that those of us still waiting for real health care solutions won't be forgotten. It's more than politics, or even the long-term financial interest of our country. It is a matter of national pride. No one in America should suffer or die because they don't have enough money for treatment. No one in America should be bankrupt because they are sick. I hope one day we have a system our doctors can be smug about, even to Canadian tourists.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Day 37 Demon Sheep

Dear Mr. President,

Do you think Carly Fiorina's Demon Sheep ad was only approved for the attention it would generate? I truly hope it does not succeed in actually electing her. This reminds me of the ads Senator McCain ran against you in 2008- the Paris Hilton ad, and, (my personal favorite,) the "Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ" ad that featured your campaign's winged logo rising from the red sea.

Television has taken political sensationalism to a whole new level. In my own state of Washington, groups opposing Christine Gregoire ran an ad featuring a man with a can of gasoline igniting a pile of money. This ad continued to run, even after an employee at my college, the University of Washington, doused himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire in front of hundreds of students in the middle of campus.

What is the acceptable threshold? I understand that political ads are the unfortunate by-product of the first amendment, and that the people running the ads have every right to be as distasteful as they wish. Neither John McCain nor Governor Gregoire's opponent, Dino Rossi, were successful in their campaigns. Their ads may or may not have been a factor in their defeat, but I doubt very much that architects of political ads to come will see these failures as a reason for caution or even dignity. Fiorina's campaign certainly didn't. Maybe Television isn't the place to look for an increase in the level of political discourse in this country, but, as it is where most campaign money is spent and, supposedly, most voters are reached, maybe it isn't an unreasonable place to start.

I hope that, in the midterms this fall and in campaigns to come, Democrats air ads that are reasonable, measured, and respectful in tone. I hope that, as the leader of the Democratic Party, you encourage them to follow your campaign's example. This isn't to say I think all campaigns should be exclusively positive, or that attack ads don't have their place, but insulting the intelligence of one's audience with frightening music or demon sheep is probably something both parties should be above. (I'll probably need to be reminded of this if Sarah Palin succeeds in securing the GOP nomination.)

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Friday, February 5, 2010

Day 36-"The thinnest kid at fat camp"

Dear Mr. President,

I watched Jon Stewart on the O'Reilly factor today. I really hate venturing into FOX news territory, even if it is to watch Mr. Stewart. I'm glad that, under your administration, a spade has been called a spade, and we no longer have to play along with the idea that FOX is somehow an objective news organization. I'm sure that offends a great number of FOX's viewers, but I have little patience for any one who can take Glenn Beck seriously. The man is a cartoon.

FOX news is one of the larger problems your administration faces. In my opinion, having the most popular "news" outlet working 24 hours a day to oppose you and your agenda, is almost as bad as having no majorities in the legislative branch. And since Congressional Democrats seem determined to make both a reality, I hope you're up for a challenging 3rd year. Once again, this is a failure of the American people. Too many of us are content to have news shouted at us, to absorb only what comes at us the loudest, the fastest and the easiest to digest. Too few are willing to seek out information, to verify claims even when we agree with them, to educate ourselves instead of allowing ourselves to be indoctrinated. And this applies to many on the left, as well. I have no illusions about the nobility of those who agree with me- many are just as willing to brush aside the complications to the narrative that they embrace.

Why is it that we crave simplicity? The world is complicated! Morally, socially, economically, spiritually complicated. We cannot be dumbed down, simplified to the lowest common denominator and then expect to be governed accordingly. Why resist the complexity of reality? The morally ambiguous, the simultaneous acceptance of contradictory ideas and their constant struggle which we all know, on our most basic level, in our heart of hearts, is the only way to make sense out of it all. Our natural desire to be comfortable and protected even as we are independent, our founding principles, our religious faiths- nothing about America, or humanity, is simple.

I don't understand the desire to have everything fit perfectly into the way I see the world. I can't pretend that all liberals are good, or that all conservative are evil. As passionate as I am about the peace process in Palestine, I can't pretend I'm not horrified by the cartoons of Hamas, or insensitive to the need for Israelis to feel secure. Everything is a balancing act. Presenting the world to us in black and white, or red and blue, is something we should all be resisting with all of our might. But, for reasons surpassing my understanding, Fox wins the ratings games. James Patterson tops the best seller list. Sarah Palin may be the GOP's nominee for the 2012 presidential race. All around me, people reject the complexity of making decisions for themselves based on their own labors of discovery, to surrender their judgment to Oprah or Dr. Phil or Glenn Beck.

Anyway, Mr. President, I know Jon Stewart can be tough on you, but I don't think you'd respect him if he wasn't. He's not your man, any more than you are his, but I think both of you share an enthusiasm for the idiosyncratic, that makes me feel as though, at least in the fight against FOX, we're all on the same team.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Day 35

Dear Mr. President,

Today I'm watching my nephew, Asher, who will be two years old in May. He saw my copy of The Audacity of Hope and pointed to your face on the cover. I tried to teach him how to say "President Obama", but so far all he's got is "bama." I try to think about the America that Asher will know, if he'll come of age just as lost and disillusioned as my generation has, or if he will face an entirely new set of challenges. I appreciate the discussion of what we're leaving for the next generation- the deficit, clean energy, new industry, and the environmental impact. I know you have young children, yourself, and will therefor need no personal face to remind you of how important your legacy will be. Just know that there's a little boy in Seattle trying to master his ABC's, refine his utensil-wielding skills, and say his President's name. He's not worried about having clean water, or job security, living in a safer, more peaceful world, but his aunt is.

The problem with me is that I may have gotten the hang of my ABC's, but I still don't know what I'm supposed to be doing to improve things. I work for a corporate bookstore. I enjoy the work immensely, I love reading and recommending books, and the community of knowledge that my coworkers and customers create when we talk about reading. That being said, I'm not wild about many of the business practices of my company, and our future prospects aren't great, as more of the market is being taken over by online retailers and e-books. I've tentatively started to look for new jobs, sent in a few resumes, but wasn't generally troubled by the lack of response. Until this week. I've gotten a couple of solid prospects, positions with better salaries, better benefits, and better long-term opportunities. Unfortunately, none of them are with bookstores. I'm torn between doing work I love for a company I don't, or working for better pay & better conditions, doing something I'm less than passionate about.

I think, whichever job I take, I'm only treading water, so to speak, while I continue my education. Once I finish school, I'll have to push myself to discover my potential; find my purpose, define my goals. Right now it's OK to be a sales girl or a receptionist or a barista, because later I'll find a "real job." Or so I tell myself. The trouble is, i don't have the answers, or even a clear idea of the right questions, about my future. For now, I get by, reminding myself to be content that I have a job, at all. Still, sometimes I wish my ambitions were easier to quantify.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Day 34

Dear Mr. President,

Repealing 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' is the right thing to do, and I'm glad you've made it a clear priority. Legalizing gay marriage is also the right thing to do; I hope in the coming months we hear more about it from your administration. I don't think marriage is an institution that exists between more than two people. That is to say, I don't think including other types of partnerships in the definition of marriage affects me & my hypothetical marriage. Otherwise, I'd argue that arranged marriages, or marriages that take place on reality shows, or pretty much anything that happens in Las Vegas, are all threats to the Institution itself.

Any one citing their religious traditions as the basis for their opposition to same-sex marriage, (and I am sorry to have to include you in this, Mr. President,) should, by their own logic, be equally opposed to any marriages outside of their religious tradition, which would seem to include, in your case, marriages between non-Christians. Since you don't seem to be calling for a ban on non-Christian marriages, I can only assume that your real reasons for your opposition to same-sex marriage are more complicated than you claim. I have a difficult time understanding this position on the issue, but I do appreciate that you, at least, don't seek to impose your religious views on the entire country. I still think you've got it wrong. I'm sorry, Mr. President, but I just don't see the same god that values love, and kindness, and consideration for others supporting the oppression of people because of who they love.

I hope that your administration continues to seek justice and equal rights for the gay community. I applaud your aggressive approach to repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and I'm gratified to see it sparking a national discussion on the issue. I know many of my letters so far have been complaints about what you're doing wrong or not doing enough of, and I'm sure many of the letters to follow will be the same, but, for today, I just want you to know I think you're doing a good job.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Day 33

Dear Mr. President,

It seems as though your administration is going out of its way to upset China this week. Selling arms to Taiwan? Announcing plans to meet with the Dalai Lama? I think these actions are admirable, they demonstrate mature wisdom and the courage of your convictions about human rights. You say that, because our relationship with China is an adult relationship, we can disagree publicly without jeopardizing diplomatic relations. Our disagreements do not demonstrate a lack of respect.

Why is this not true of the US and Israel? Why can we not demonstrate the same maturity, the same courage, with regards to one of our supposedly staunches allies? Why can we not speak to Hamas, or provide the necessary political support to Palestine to secure its independence? How can we justify defying the status quo for the Taiwanese and Tibetans, but not the Palestinians? What strategic considerations come into play when determining whose rights are worth fighting for?

In our history we have often compromised the freedom of one group for the progress of another. Subjects of King George were freed while their slaves were not. Black men were given the vote, while women were told to wait their turn. Feminists marched to equal rights, while the gay community must wait for the decriminalization of their love. In all of these cases the powerful masses- be they actively participating in the oppression or merely turning a blind eye for the sake of their own struggle- were either forced by conscience to share power, or threatened with the loss of this power all together. And progress was slow in coming, but progress came. The slaves were freed, women voted, and, I believe, one day, gay couples will be allowed to marry. These equalities were hard-won, but they were also the inevitable product of an enlightened, free society, a society mature enough and courageous enough to embrace change. How does history treat the oppressors, the detractors, those who defended slavery and opposed suffrage?

I feel certain that history will judge the disenfranchisement of the Palestinians just as harshly. It seems inevitable that Israel will either share power or risk losing it. We can respect Israel as an ally, call out their shortcomings in the name of doing the right thing, or we can be painted alongside them, oppressors in kind. I don't want my citizenship to be a source of shame. I want to be proud of my country, I want to believe that we defend human rights, wherever they are threatened, regardless of political expediency.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Monday, February 1, 2010

Day 32-

Dear Mr. President,

The news of your cuts to NASA's moon program has me oddly sad. I agree with the decision, the program sounded as though it had serious flaws and your budget increases NASA funding as a whole. Still, the child in me who always wanted to see outer space is a little sad that a moon colony won't be happening any time in the near future.

I'm thinking back to middle school, debating with a friend over the morality of funding space exploration, at all. She asserted that, so long as there were earthly needs to be tended to- hunger, literacy, health care, medical research- spending billions to travel through space was near-criminal. I may have conceded the logic of this argument, but my sentimental side would insist that people need inspiration, as well. That we learn about our world through direct observation, and always need a new frontier to explore.

Has my thinking matured much since then? It's difficult to say. But in this day and age, when the number of unemployed, the number of uninsured, the number of uneducated are overwhelming, it is difficult to argue for the perpetuation of a project with few quantifiable benefits. I hope that, if the economy improves, we'll find money again to return to the moon. I don't know if a society's strength indicates the quality of its artistic and scientific achievement, or if it is the opposite, or some of both, but it would be a shame to win the space race only to spend the future observing the heavens from afar.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey