5/19/2022

My Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            As usual, you are having a busy day. As I write the press corps at the WH is out in the Rose Garden, eagerly awaiting your remarks as you welcome Sweden’s PM, Magdalena Andersson & Finland’s Pres, Sauli Niinistö. I wish they didn’t feel that they had to join NATO. I wish that they could remain neutral countries & did not have to worry about the threat of Russia. The world would be a better place if military alliances were unnecessary & we could all agree to decide things diplomatically.

            My grandpa was in the Finnish army for a time. He fled there as a teen, as the Russian Revolution unfolded. His dad had the wisdom to get him a Finnish passport when he was born so after his harrowing trip over the border riding on the underside of a train, he signed up to serve. I suspect it was the only way he could get fed & have a bed. Finland was having its own internal conflict at that time, so I’m not sure how that played out for my grandpa. He was a charming, clever man, adept at reading situations so my guess is he sided with the winners & came out fine.

            As I alluded to at the start of today’s letter, I wish we didn’t have to take sides. I wish we could get past the naïve idea that the world is full of binaries – good/bad, right/wrong, black/white. As you & I well know, this is not the case.

            So, as you visit Japan & South Korea this week, please do not force them to take sides. Do not perpetuate the idea that we you are either with us or against us. Instead, cultivate a relationship of respect & acceptance to determine how we can work together to make the world a better place for everyone. That includes the people of Myanmar, North Korea & China. I hope that Jill will do the same as she visits Costa Rica, Ecuador & Panama.

            BYBS,