1/16/2024

Jan 16, 2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Did you enjoy Philabundance? I was surprised to see that they have a conveyor belt to make filling their food boxes more efficient. In addition to having an abundance of food, it looked like they had an abundance of volunteers. It’s too bad that all those young folks were so intent on their work that they didn’t chat you up. You might try a different opening question to strike up a conversation – instead of “how old are you,” try, “if you had one wish, what would it be?”

            My wish would be that we devote our energies to improving one another’s lives rather than destroying one another. If we could stop manufacturing guns, missiles, nuclear warheads, etc, we could devote our attention to educating our young ones, feeding & housing everyone, ameliorating climate change, & curing cancer.

            I would love to see a world where we can all heed MLK’s warning, “we must learn to live as brothers & sisters, or we will perish together as fools” & all embrace Thich Naht Hanh’s observation that “the rhythm of my heart is the birth & death of all that are alive.”

            Please continue to monitor the situation in Burma as things continue to change rapidly there. I’m sure you saw the news that the Arakan Army has claimed control of the port of Paletwa on the Kaladan River near the Indian & Bangladesh border. While the city’s population is under 100,000, it’s a key road & river junction on the India-financed Kaladan Multimodal Transport so it’s a big deal. Folks in India are calling for a “a Gandhi Peace Mission to mediate a more a comprehensive peace deal with all stakeholders on a national scale.” Please call Modi & see how you can help. 

            BYBS,