3/18/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            It looks like you had fun bonding with the Taaoseach yesterday over your common heritage. I was intrigued that you talked with him about mutual efforts to end cancer. What was that all about?

Did you read Matt Viser’s (MV) article in the WP about your strong Irish identity? Imagine my delight in finding out that your grandpa’s name was Ambrose! Do you really think that people who live in a certain place have a certain kind of personality?  According to MV you often attribute your mood to your Irish ancestry by saying stuff like, “my Irish is up” or “I’m in a Black Irish mood.” Don’t we all get mad or blue from time to time? Are the Irish the only people who believe “to live is to be hurt, but we’re not afraid to live?” That sounds like something a Buddhist would say. I worry that attributing your worldview to your nationality fuels stereotypes & stereotypes lead to prejudice & we certainly have too much of that in the world.

            If there is any truth to national stereotypes, then I take after my Dutch side as a reserved, penny pinching, egalitarian. Speaking of the Netherlands, I was excited to read in the G that Sigrid Kaag’s D66 party just won 24 seats in the Dutch Parliament. Isn’t it great that someone who advocates for small class sizes & teachers’ autonomy is gaining traction in the Hague. She speaks Arabic & is married to a Palestinian so she has an international perspective. Isn’t it reassuring to know that people like that can still get elected in Europe?

            Please join me in holding the people of Myanmar in the Light. Today’s WP includes a story about how the hip Sanchaung neighborhood of Yangon has become the “eye of the storm” & the NYT reports that the Generals are trying to impugn ASSK by claiming that she received bags of cash from a tycoon.

If stereotypes are true, according to Herbert Hoover the Burmese are "the only genuinely happy people in all of Asia," so let’s help restore peace to their country.

HYITL,