Dear Mr. President. I’m writing to you on the eve of your second inauguration to encourage you to govern during the next four years using your better nature. We all have “worse” and “better” natures. Most of us, though, don’t have to endure the kind of scrutiny you regularly endure, which cannot help but highlight your not-so-virtuous qualities.
Fear not. This letter is not intended to underscore your flaws or to criticize you. Rather, my intent is to motivate you to spend your second term focusing on the wellbeing of all the people who rely on your leadership.
Think About Your Legacy
Our country just witnessed near-universal acclaim for our 39th president, Jimmy Carter, on the occasion of his passing. That outpouring of love and respect has been unlike anything I’ve witnessed for any other president during my long lifetime (almost as long as yours). Why do you think that is? Carter was no saint. None of us is. So why the extraordinary admiration?
I have a theory. I believe that all that acclaim was based on Carter’s consistent focus on the average citizen – his persistent quest to make life a little easier for those who struggle most. He wasn’t always successful – he was clearly over his head in dealing with inflation and with the chaos in the middle east during his presidency. Yet the country remembers him with reverence and love.
I encourage you to ground your decisions going forward in a quest for that kind of legacy – a legacy of kindness and support for the average citizen – rather than one based on seeking acclaim from those who would flatter you for no other reason than personal or financial profit. I understand that such flattery can be pleasurable and even addictive. But please remember that it is always insincere. Always. Whereas the gratitude expressed by those you help is rarely contrived.
Think About Kindness Versus Power
I don’t know you. But based on all I’ve seen and read, I suspect you find power – seeking it and acquiring it – quite agreeable. I urge you to remember that the historical leaders most loved and respected were not those with the most power, but those who showed the most kindness to their subjects. Nero was hated. Marcus Aurelius was loved. Hitler was hated. Gandhi was loved.
I encourage you, therefore, to focus on kindness in your every decision and in your every executive action. Resist the impulse to gain or display power. You are already deemed the “most powerful person in the world.” No need to continue proving your worthiness for that title. Now’s the time to use that power for good. Be kind.
Think About the Important Stuff
When most pundits talk about the most pressing issues you face, they mention things like the “immigration crisis,” or reproductive rights, or Ukraine. I have what I believe to be cogent arguments in support of my relatively liberal opinions concerning each of those topics – opinions that generally support equality, peace, and our right to privacy. But none of those issues belongs in the category I call “the important stuff.” I contend that the important stuff includes the following: food, housing, employment, and health care.
Regular folks need healthy food and water, a clean place to live, a job that pays a living wage, and affordable health care. Yes, regular folks also need safe neighborhoods, good phone service, and dependable trash pick-up. But without food, housing, employment, and health care, none of those other issues rises to the level of urgent.
The only thing more important than the “important stuff” is a government focused on protecting and serving its citizenry, rather than one seeking to control people. Therefore, when you focus on acting from kindness rather than for power, please direct that kindness to the important stuff and reign in your urge to control or shape lives. Your legacy will thank you.
Think About Who Gets Your Ear
I can’t begin to imagine the cacophony of “advice” you receive each day. Please remember, though, that most of that advice is not borne of kindness or caring, but rather of a selfish seeking of profit or notoriety (or both). I realize it isn’t easy for any of us to hear criticism or disagreement from our “subordinates.” Still, I urge you to seek out those advisors who will tell you the truth, even at the risk of hurting your feelings. Those will be your most valuable counselors in the long run.
Think About Inclusion, Not Division
The country seems more divided today than I have ever experienced. You too? Part of that division is a result of our election process, which benefits candidates who demonize their opponents (and by extension, those opponents’ supporters), thereby scaring their own supporters, which increases the likelihood of obtaining votes. I get it.
But now that you’ve won, I contend that maintaining that division is no longer useful or necessary. Please, sir, work during your second term to mend fences. The fear that many are experiencing, whether they identify as blue or red, creates anxiety, tension, and acts of cruelty. You have the power to ease much of that fear and bring us back to a unified bunch of Americans working toward a mutually beneficial future.
Finally, Think About the Power of Humility
Humans love flattery. Admiration and applause are addictive. Again, I get it. And what I’m about to suggest may contradict your upbringing and your experience to date. But here it is: humility is not weakness. In fact, being humble – admitting when you don’t know something or admiring someone else’s performance – is the most powerful, most confident thing you can do, especially in a position of leadership.
I realize it’s fairly late in the game for you to change your character or adopt new attitudes or beliefs. But – and I speak from experience here – it’s never too late. You have earned the right to pull back a bit on your striving for notoriety or status and to enjoy the fruits of your lifetime of effort. You no longer need anyone’s approval. Nor do you need anyone else’s confirmation of your worth. You are finally free. You did it.
Best of luck during your second term. I wish you well.
-Geoffrey Geddes