Dear Donald,

[deardonaldj-blog]

5.10.17 - Why did you do that?

Dear Donald, 

Why questions - they’re confrontational. I generally avoid them. However, in this case, I’m all for confrontation and I plan to use them liberally. So let’s call this the “why did you do that” series… Ready?

Why did you fire James Comey? This guy can basically be credited with getting you elected on some level. And now, that he’s looking into things you don’t like aka your weird romance with Russia, he’s out? Just want to be clear.

Why did it take you 18 days longer than it should have to fire Flynn? You had some pretty smart people telling he was vulnerable. You took less time considering how your conversation Taiwan first instead of China would affect international relations.

Why do you think it’s OK that taxpayers are covering the obscene security costs to keep your family in NYC and the boondoggles you take to Florida?

Why do you want to categorize rape, depression, bipolar disease just to name a few, as pre-existing conditions? See because what this leads me to believe is that when you said “make america great again” you just wanted to go back to a time when no one talked about these things. And, make no mistake about it - that wasn’t a better time

Why are you investigating Stephen Colbert’s jokes about you? A few things on this one: Don’t you have anything better to do? Isn’t your #1 job to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States? Isn’t the first amendment of that document - Freedom of speech? If you answered yes to any of these questions…. See original question.

Why did you give a laundry list of seemingly impossible tasks, like bring peace to the Middle East, to your son in law who has no experience in politics?

Why did you accuse Obama of wiretapping you? Assuming this one is just to distract from some other shenanigans you’re gonna pull.

Why did you have Sean Spicer lie about your inauguration? This one actually makes me feel sad for you. It must have been a bummer looking out there and not seeing a sea of people.

I guess that’ll do it for now, but I see us picking this series up in the future.

Brittany

[deardonaldj-blog]

2.24.17

Dear Donald,

Great news - I took the survey about how I think you’re doing. I hope other people take it too - see here.

Bad news - I did not submit a donation at the end because omg why would I do that?

Also, there was a comments section. Thanks for that!

I took that opportunity to list just a few thoughts on things I think you could be doing differently. Happy reading.

Brittany

I would love to be the person reading these responses.

In all seriousness can Donald just try to be a more reasonable person? To be more specific:

Instead of attacking the press why not have normal, adult conversations? By excluding press outlets from briefings and being rude time and time again he continues to look like he not only has something to hide, but is actually actively restricting the freedom of the press which - as it turns out - is a pretty important thing that this country stands behind. 

Instead of assuming that a black, female member of the press knows all of the black people in congress and would be happy to set up a meeting for him, because she is a woman, and that's what women are supposed to do - maybe hear her concerns and address her actual questions.

Pursuant to that point - there are a lot of Three Letter Acronyms or TLAs floating around government. I don't know them all but I probably don't need to. The president probably should know most of them. Maybe get on that.

Stop interrupting people. 

Stop leaving DC every weekend on the taxpayers dime.

Stop acting like he's not actually elected and still campaigning. He won. I can't believe it and apparently neither can he because he's still acting like he's trying to get votes.

Maybe don’t talk about terrorism in other countries that isn’t happening.

[deardonaldj-blog]

1.29.17

Dear Donald,

Have you noticed something, lately? People are so pissed off. They’re pissed at you, and your team and everything you all stand for. And, I hate that they have to be. I hate that hate prevailed last November. I hate that you’re actually making good on many of your campaign promises because they’re disgusting. They’re filled with xenophobia, lies, and deep, deep betrayal of the foundation of this country.

But out of all this anger is something so beautiful.

Action.

Participation.

Compassion.

People are standing up for people to degrees I’ve never seen in my lifetime.

We’re shouting it from the streets of every city in this country and the world. We’re at airports, refusing to back down. We’re writing letters. We’re calling our officials. We’re sending you videos and trying to call your home.

From as far back as I can remember, my generation has been pegged as apathetic, having never been through anything that called us to action like our parents are grandparents. That’s all changed now and I guess all I want to say to you is, open your eyes. Open your heart. Do the things you’ve asked all of us to do for you. Acknowledge what’s going on. Slow down and really consider your actions.

We are watching you and we’re not going anywhere.

Brittany

[deardonaldj-blog]

1.18.17

Dear Donald,

This will be brief. Are you familiar with the following saying?

“I disapprove of what you say but i will defend to the death your right to say it.”

There’s a bit of discussion around who can really be credited with this statement. Was it Voltaire? Was it Evelyn Beatrice Hall? For my purposes here today, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that it is a hallmark comment around defending free speech. And, if you recall, free speech is the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

If I’m not mistaken, perhaps the primary responsibility of the President of the United States is to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States.

If a = b and b = c ... see where I’m going with this. In light of your recent actions… can you say you’re ready to do this?

Again, please do the right thing.

Sincerely,

Brittany

[deardonaldj-blog]

1.8.17

Dear Donald,

It occurred to me that if I’m going to be writing you so frequently it might be nice for you to know a little bit about who I am, so allow me to formally introduce myself;

My name is Brittany Holt, I am originally from Carmel Valley, CA. I grew up in a very protected and privileged environment in so much that I have fabulous supportive parents, attended some of the best public schools in the country and was afforded the opportunity to do basically anything my heart desired. I also think it’s important to note that while there was very little ethnic diversity in my hometown there is incredible economic diversity. I say all this because I am both deeply aware of how lucky I am to have been raised in such a loving supportive environment but also because it colors the way I see the world… as does everyone’s upbringing.

I attended college at the University of Colorado, Boulder, (in case you weren’t sure about my liberal tendencies at this point, this ought to solidify it for you,) and I studied Political Science. I always had a big heart for advertising as well and that’s eventually where my career took me. To this day, I believe there is very little difference between politics and advertising, and I believe your campaign is perhaps the single most compelling example of that. As a marketer, the one thing we are always searching for is the human insight. The human truth to tap in to. Something you can’t, or rather something you don’t need to look up on the internet or in a book. Something you just know in your gut to be true to use as a jumping off point for communication. Once you find it, it is the most effective tool in your tool belt and boy, did you find it in your campaign. I’ve become very interested in the mechanics of your campaign and will probably write more about that at another time, but today I want to talk about one thing that has been troubling me, and many others this week.

Russia

And is are my chief concerns:

What does a world look like where the President of the United States doesn’t believe in the intelligence provided by the experts in his own country? Now, granted you’ve come around and in this instance there was time for that but I imagine, as President, you will not always have the leisure of taking time to be convinced that the intelligence you’ve been given in accurate.

On another note - Here’s the deal, your twitter has people really mad. I get it – it’s a little weird that a man who should be spending all of his time and energy ramping up for what is probably the biggest job in the world, has time time to take to twitter like a petulant child who has not gotten his way. And let me just say, for the record, if you hate SNL so much – stop watching it. Like seriously, turn off the TV because if you make one more comment about Alec Baldwins impression of you… I don’t know, Mr. Trump. You’re going to be the president of the United States. Get over it and stop giving him so much of your energy. Ok, now that that’s out of the way… I have a question.

Are you serious about this?

You do realize that a threat to the DNC is a threat to this country, right? The entire country. The one that  you are now the leader of. You no longer gain anything by separating it out and cheering on your team like a high school cheerleader on social media. The security of this nation and all of its people, with all of their beliefs is in your hands now.

This, I support, at least the ending:

But not taking a country to task for hacking into our democratic process is really lame and will not be the foundation to a productive, mutually respectful working relationship. It will signal to Russia that they are free to commit crimes against our country and still remain in your good graces. 

Please, do the right thing. Commit to holding Russia accountable.

Sincerely,

Brittany

[deardonaldj-blog]

1.1.17

Dear Donald,

It’s official. While many of us hoped that this year for Christmas we would get 37 faithless electors… we did not. Thus, officially making you the next President of the United States. Admittedly I was one of those people. I was also one of those people that cried on election night and wondered how I could have been so shocked. But more importantly, I was someone who immediately felt compelled to understand those who didn’t vote as I did and who was very clear that my love for democracy was stronger than ever.

I want to tell you a story about November 10th, 2016. A day that opened my eyes and has led me to today; the beginning of what I hope to be a fruitful expression of my ideas, thoughts, hopes and fears over the coming years. Here’s a peek into how I was feeling in the days leading up to the 10th:

Facebook. November 8th, 2016

I want to shout it from the rooftops! I LOVE VOTING!!!! Almost 100 years after women got the right to vote, we are now (finally) voting for a woman and it feels so right. Also, special shout out to all my amazing friends with kids who took the time to take their little ones to the polls, or opted to do a mail in ballot so you could talk to them about voting. Kids are the future of this country and our only hope that something as vicious and ugly as this past election cycle, doesn't become a never ending cycle. #imwithher

You know what happened next.

Facebook. November 9, 2016

I am heartbroken but I'll tell you what; I still love democracy and I still love this amazing country. And I feel deep in my aching heart, that breakdowns lead to breakthroughs and that is exactly what's going to happen here. I am fired up... and I am ready to go. Let's move past this ugly election and get to work.

Then, I signed an online petition - you know the one… where people were asking members of the electoral college to really consider their options on 12/19. I posted it to my facebook and it was immediately shared by someone who didn’t agree with me, something that rarely happens on that platform due to algorithms set to place us in a digital echo chamber of our own thoughts. And, the comment read:

“If this isn’t a threat to democracy, I don’t know what is.”

I stopped. I thought. I took down the post and I wrote this person, who I’ll call Jill (not her real name), the following message:

Hey Jill,

I wanted to reach out about the post I made this morning that you shared.  After I saw that you shared it, I actually took it down off my page and I want to tell you why. I know it might seem weird to reach out like this / out of the norm of typical social media behavior, but I'm not sure typical social media behavior is serving anyone that well at the moment. Also, I really believe that it's every persons responsibility to make an effort to come together after this election and I hope you receive this message knowing that's where my intentions are.

First, what's super ironic about the electoral college is that Trump thinks it's a bad system and I tend to agree with him! It's old and kind of bizarre the way it works but it's what we have.

Second, I took the post down because I realized on this matter of faithless electors, I am not totally educated. I think that in states where it is not illegal, electors are protected under the first amendment to vote the way they want even if it is not in accordance with how the state voted. But, I'm not sure about that and I plan to educate myself.

Finally, posting stuff like that on my page, at this time, is really unproductive. And for the record, I don't think the protests that are going on are productive either. I have been sick thinking about people that voted the way I did taking to the streets and getting violent. In fact it makes me want to cry just thinking about it now.

So, just to say, that on 12/19 when Trump will be officially elected I hope he's successful, I really do! I am so excited for the passion that this election, no matter how ugly it got, has ignited in people on both sides. I think it's a real sign that change is needed and it's coming.

Anyhow, I hope this note finds you well. From the looks of it on FB you have a beautiful family and you're married to a veterinarian and work in his hospital which is so cool! So much respect for people who work with animals. Not sure if you knew / remembered my dad is a vet, too!

All the best and thanks for opening my eyes this morning

Brittany

And here is how she replied…

You're so right :-) Thank you for your well spoken message and insight. If nothing else this election has generated a real discussion for the country on so many issues and it's messages like yours that create conversation that we all need to embrace on both sides. Yes there are crazy fans on both sides but for the majority of our citizens we're seeking understanding. One of the most helpless feelings is feeling like you've been misunderstood and worse, not heard at all. I think everyone in this country is feeling one or both of those things now. Our media feeds on fear and discord with our 24 hour news cycles. What we need is this...open honest discussion. So thank you!! I am sorry if I jumped to a conclusion about your post as well...It was most definitely not  my intent to personally attack you in any way. It's occurred to me that no one likes to be generalized yet we all generalize about each other. I voted trump because my family's health insurance just went up another 40% this year and our monthly premium is as much as our mortgage. But I'm not racist, anti-gay, or other horrible things because I live in small town america. Heck, we have democrats here too! Lol! And we're friends :-) Anyhow, I hope more people embrace your mindset and we can all be productive in our conversations about politics and our country, myself included :-) And thank you for your compliment on our family! My husband actually bought our vet clinic from his dad, a vet too! It's a rewarding career. Thank you for helping open eyes and I look forward to more conversation some time!! Cheers! Jill

This exchange gave me a tremendous amount of hope and it is what has compelled me to start writing to you, something I am resolved to do every week of your presidency from now until, well, however long it lasts. 

I wish you and your family a very happy new year.

Brittany