This is a letter I wrote to Kristi Noem that received no response. She has been a US Congress Woman of South Dakota since 2010.
Dear Representative Noem,
We have met before in the few years that I have lived in South Dakota. You came to my American Government class when I attended high school in Sisseton, South Dakota. Now I am a junior at Northern State University Majoring in Communication and Political Science, and am ranked #2 in the United States in Collegiate Debate. I hope this doesn't sound too arrogant, but I wanted you to know that through my studies at Northern and my experience on the debate team I have become very well versed in Policy, Economics, and American Government.
That being said, I have no where near amount of knowledge gained from actual experience and being a representative of this great state of South Dakota. I have tremendous respect for you and all that you fight for and I can only imagine the great stress it brings to hold all of that responsibility. I am writing you in concern of your recent endorsement of Donald Trump. Donald Trump stands for so much, as I am sure you know and have made clear that you do not stand by all of his decisions and viewpoints. He stands for values I don't believe to be representative of South Dakota values. He claims to say it like it is, but has been shown to be lying on most of his statements according to many research studies. He claims to be ready to run this country, but his foreign policy plans, and economic plans seems to be lacking in actual knowledge and experience. When I came to South Dakota with my family years ago, I did not see a state that resembled Trump’s values. I saw people that worked hard, who waved to the cars when they passed by, who supported our troops, and most importantly understood the toil of hard work on the farm.
When you came to Sisseton and talked to my class, you talked about growing up here in South Dakota and living on the farm. What has Donald Trump done that has been anywhere near representative of what you stand for? He has always been a man from the city. He promotes unfair business practices and metropolitan values. New York City and South Dakota are so vastly different. I do not know about you, but even in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, I have never gotten the feeling that those are the values and practices are what South Dakota stands for. When you made this announcement you said, "I don't always agree with Mr. Trump, but he is the presumptive nominee of our party and I will support him." But as our Representative of South Dakota you are not asked to just follow what the party does, but instead stand up for what is right, and more importantly stand up for what South Dakota stands for. I am asking you to reconsider your endorsement of Donald Trump, because, endorsing him solely because he is the republican nominee is not a good enough reason.
Endorsing a candidate can be important, and I understand that, but it is not mandatory. Representatives of every state must always be thinking in interest of their state and Nation, and when representatives are endorsing based on the sole fact that someone aligns with their party, they have failed both. This is something I hold close to my heart, in hope for a better future for the United States of America. Donald Trump has time and time again proven to lie, call names, and blame others during the course of the election. The President of the United States of America should represent the integrity of our Nation, and when we endorse Trump we say the integrity of our nation is to blame party officials when losing, create a foreign policy nightmare, and that a person that represents the country should be a man that doesn’t understand most of its citizens.
When I think America I do not see Donald Trump, and when I think South Dakota, I definitely do not see Donald Trump. Do you think he has ever worked on a farm? Has he ever been driving on the road and waved and smiled at the complete stranger passing by? Has he ever understood what life is like without butlers, mansions, and his name on everything? I know you do. I know you worked on a farm. I know you went to Northern. I know you were elected because you stood by South Dakota values and represented the people of South Dakota. Now I must ask, do you still stand by those values? Because endorsing a man that represents all of this, is saying I want a man that doesn’t understand any of that to run our Nation and make decisions that impact South Dakota. I will always respect you for your hard work, but I have to question whether or not I can stand by you in this decision. Please consider what is best for our Nation, please consider what is best for your values, and lastly, please consider South Dakota. Thank you for all the hard work you continually do for the people of the great state of South Dakota.
Sincerely,
Joshua Hinkemeyer
