Saturday, March 26, 2011

Dear Mr. President,

 Imagine my surprise when a letter from The White House arrived in today’s mail. I admit, my first reaction was, it’s probably a warning that my letters are threatening and that I’m going on the No Fly list as a potential terrorist. But nothing so grandiose as that. Instead, a form letter thanking me for sharing my thoughts and how you appreciate hearing from me, blah blah blah. A full page without addressing a single issue I’ve written about over the past four months, nothing about Bradley Manning, the use of torture, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, renditions, the erosion of democracy here at home, the unconscionable tax cuts you rammed through Congress last year, nothing. Frankly, Mr. President, your letter was a distinct disappointment. I thought you’d at least have the courtesy to talk about one of those many issues, but no, instead you talk about all the reforms you’ve instituted, how you’ve called for more transparency in government and how you’ve imposed tougher ethics standards than any administration in history. Sounds more like a campaign letter than a response to a concerned citizen. I was neither impressed nor convinced by anything in the letter. Like I said, I was really disappointed: 71 letters to you and this is what I get back? My initial suspicion that no one pays attention to the contents of these letters has been confirmed. Now, however, I suspect that the only purpose they serve is to add a name to your campaign mailing list. Well, forget it, Mr. President, I’m not voting for you in 2012 no matter who’s running against you. And I’m not contributing to your re-election campaign either, neither with money or time. No way, no way, no way. You’ve broken every campaign promise that was important to me and made a mockery of every reason I voted for you in 2008. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I thought I’d learned my lesson years ago, but I got to admit, you’re a slick tongued politician and you conned me good the first time around. But Democrats and Republicans alike, you’re all Republicrats at heart. I’m back to voting for people with integrity and honesty even if they don’t have a hope in hell of winning. From now on it’s strictly the Green and the Peace and Freedom parties for me. So save your postage, save your phone calls. You’ve disappointed me in as many ways as you possibly can. The only communication I want to hear from you is the one saying you’ve freed Bradley Manning.