Open Letter to Donald Trump

Dear Mr. Trump,

I love you. I find those words—to my shame—difficult to say to you. Yet they are perhaps the most important statement I can make to you. As one who strives to follow the teaching and example of Jesus, loving others comes, for me, second only to loving God. So, I love you, and I pray for you. As a human being who bears the image of God, you deserve my love and respect for your humanity. That said, I cannot sit idly by while every day you move a little closer to possibly leading perhaps the most influential country on this planet.

Nor will I rant here about the troubling rhetoric you have used on the campaign trail. Enough animosity has already spewed forth from all sides with regards to your comments, and it saddens me as much to see people say loathsome things about you and your followers as it does to see you and your supporters espouse animosity towards others. Looking at your campaign—and, sadly, at many who react against you—I see a glut of hatred, insecurity, fear, and ignorance. Such qualities define the conversation around you. Hatred laces your words, and comes flying back at you from all sides in a vicious cycle, leaving no room for grace or constructive dialogue. Enough is enough.

While I find your ideas repellent, and while the sexist, racist, xenophobic, and generally abhorrent language you have used offends me deeply, I will as best I can resist the temptation to stoop to the depths of hatred where most conversations about you lurk. Instead, I want only to share with you a simple example provided by your home town, New York City. I have seen the best of humanity this last year as I slogged through grueling cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. I ask that, next time you find yourself in NYC, you go to the pediatric ward at MSKCC, where I spent much of the past year.

There you will find families from across the globe whose dress, language, and religion brings a wondrous bouquet of diversity to a tremendously bleak situation. All of the families you will find there stand united in a single desire; to have their children happy and healthy again. If you forget, as it seems you may have, that we are all simply people, all of us very much the same where it really matters, then please, go back to your home town, and remember that this country, and all of humanity, is made stronger by diversity. I pray that you come to see with horror that the discord you have stirred up on the campaign trail stands in stark contrast to the peace and unity of humanity at its best. Please remember, if ever you once knew, the most important lesson a place like New York City can teach.

All the best,

 - Morgan Bolt