Family Values

I simply cannot help myself sometimes. Here is a copy of my most recent letter to the President.


Dear Mr. President:

It has recently occurred to me that you are to some degree responsible for the break-up of my marriage. I will grant that your portion isn’t even remotely close to a majority percentage, but, no matter how tiny the role, it has to be acknowledged. My partner and I will shoulder the bulk of the blame. We are adults. We make choices. Sometimes they are mistakes. Sometimes what seems like a tiny mistake can snowball into something much, much bigger. That’s why I think it is important to point out your role in the break-up of my marriage.

When people today argue about whether you are the greatest President ever or the Worst that will ever be, one thing stands out that differs from similar debates about other leaders: The fights are fiercer now. It used to be when two people had political differences, they argued their cases and agreed to disagree. Their acquaintance or friendship usually continued unscathed. Today, “you are either with us or against us.” Are we so certain of our morality, our rightness, that we cannot even entertain other viewpoints? What does that make us? We are simply Democracy Fanatics. Everyone must have it and anyone who doesn’t is wrong and should be subdued.

Your responsibility in this matter lies in the fact that you are a very powerful man. You set the tone of the country by how you act, what you say, and how you appear. You created this anger amongst us. You shut part of us down so we stopped believing in the fundamental principle of this country: freedom. You have made it almost an act of treason to speak out against you while at the same time you welcome “debate.” I have the image of a Caesar welcoming his detractors to “debate” him if they are able to pass through the labyrinth filled with vicious creatures. It feels like “I dare you” when you say it.

Because your followers want to shun all non-followers; and because most non-followers want to convert the followers; and mostly because of who each of us was at the time; a situation was created between my partner and me that could not be remedied. I, obviously, was not one of your followers, and my speaking out against you was so hateful in my partner’s eyes, that it constituted a form of treason. I still wonder whether that story was all made up, simply as an excuse. I wish for that option Mr. President. Why? Because it means that this country isn’t as divided as I think it is. It would mean that we CAN have debates and not be traitors. It would mean you are only someone to be used as an excuse rather than someone shaping how we think and how we act.

So that is why, Mr. President, I believe you are at least partly to blame for my divorce. At this point I think it’s important to point out that I never specified whether my partner was a man or a woman. I live in Massachusetts where I can marry and divorce both. I’ll let the religious fundamentalists have fun with that one since it doesn’t really matter either way.

Peace,