3/17/2019

My dear Friend and President, DJT,

http://firstpaloalto.com/weddings/

            Did you miss our letter yesterday? I chose to go to a wedding. I think it was a good choice. The church was my kind of place - full of triangles and trapezoids. The unconventional service included a sand ceremony where the bride and groom took turns pouring sand into a jar to symbolize how they were joining together forever. It was a privilege to be part of the event - quite therapeutic to see the power of love, especially after the act of hate in New Zealand on Friday. 

            I hope you take the advice of the editors at the CSM and go to church today. They wrote, "For all religions, prayer is a spiritual resource to dispel fear and affirm love, which helps explain the interfaith response to the Christchurch killings. It is also a way to end the dualistic thinking that divides people into either good or evil." I encourage you to keep that last part in mind and please stop talking about how immigrants are killers and drug dealers. Just remember what I told you in the last letter, it's best not to label groups of people. You'll have less stress if you think of groups in a more positive light. For example, you might say "a few immigrants commit terrible crimes, but most spend their lives caring for their families and working hard." If you talked like that people might not be associating you with the shooter in NZ.

            The CSM editors remind us that "the greatest religious challenge is, ‘Can I see God’s image in someone who is not in my image? Whose color, culture, or class is not mine?’" You, my Friend, are not in my image, and yet I am doing my best to see God in you. I hope you will start trying to practice that yourself and acknowledge that there is that of God in everyone.

Best,