Dear Mr. or Madame President-Elect,
I want to congratulate you on your hard won victory. It has been a long election cycle, fraught with many scandals, accusations, rhetoric and name-calling. Yet, against all the pessimism offered in the Election of 2016, you and your team have risen above all the rhetoric and pundits, all of the attacks on both your character and your person.
I know you’ll be looking toward re-election in the next four years, and that is why I write this letter. I write not just to congratulate you on your victory, but also to remind you about those who elected you to the highest office in the land. The people voted for you for a specific reason, each reason diverse and unique as each voter that cast their ballot in your name.
What is also unique is the bond that unifies each and every voter, the same bond that connects you and me. We are creatures of the same spirit that possesses the ability to feel great emotion and are capable of thinking boldly. We are human. We all want one thing in this life, and that is to be happy. It is written in our Constitution, right there in the Declaration of Independence, the document that freed us from tyranny over 230 years ago.
Mr. or Madame President, your office is one of the safeguards to our freedom. In recent decades, more and more people who live in the United States have succumbed to poverty and misery, not because of any abilities they lack, but the institutional structures in place that keep them there. As president, you must remember these forgotten people in our society and those who flee tyranny abroad to come to the United States with the same hope as our Founding Fathers established long ago.
In addition, the bombastic rhetoric said on the campaign trail must be forgotten. We were not a nation that was founded on hate, nor should we act such as one. Yes, we are a nation that has overcome hate and we are still striving for greater tolerance and inclusion in the web of American society. The proposed wall on our border would only be another wall built in the hearts of American who fear outsiders that only wish to begin anew. Your office has the power to heal the wounds left by such scarring rhetoric. Be as the stoic and just leaders in the Chivalric mindset and be humble and caring towards all.
Most of all, the powers of your office are not only a safeguard to democracy but also to keep at bay the things that plague our society: greed, hate and intolerance. Many of the candidates on the campaign trail can clearly be classified as narcissists, whose only aim was to seek office for their own personal benefit. Their desire for personal power, alongside with their allegiance of the wealthiest of Americans with their own self interests, have the capability of unhinging democracy and the values of our Republic.
The president role, as George Washington put it, is to be the servant of the people. Washington would sign each letter with the signoff, “your most humble servant.” The next president should not be above the common man, nay, they are the common man. Their duty is to seek the common good for all by working with Congress and the Supreme Court in perfect harmony, not always at constant odds with each other. That is the difference between a boss and a leader. Be a leader, an inspiration for men, not a driver of men.
I may sound idealistic with this letter, but I hope this letter serves as a way to build your presidential legacy. Lead and inspire men and women across this country to think loudly and independently. Seek out to solve society’s problems and not succumb to hate.
If my pleas have fallen on deaf ears, then maybe Charlie Chaplin can emphasize my points and warn you of the threats of tyranny and hate.
You have the power to alter the course of Humanity for the better. May God watch over you and help guide you with your future decisions.
Good luck, and may your presidency be filled with success.
Best Regards,
An American Citizen
