Q Report: Mr. President

Mr. President, 

Let’s begin by saying thanks for what you do. It can’t be easy at the top, with the expectations, schedules, and uncertainty. To sugar coat some of what could be considered sour news, in discussions on the subject, there are certainly things people agree you do well. You remain positive and enthusiastic about your role, you’re the smiling face of the institution, and many appreciate the support that you provide. With that thanks front loaded, let’s separate and clarify some key elements. 

This is not a wholesale indictment of you. You are working within a fundamentally dysfunctional and thus difficult set of circumstances. It's not easy to focus wholly on the job, when the world around us is itself an unpredictable and chaotic factor set amidst the churning calculus of projection and actual. You do not exist in a void, but are rather dependent on the resources provided to you, to do your job. At a time and in a place where those resources are diminishing even as the circumstances become more difficult. With that said, please separate what could be perceived as a personal attack from a well intentioned communication. This is not an indictment claiming your exclusive failure, but the failure of a great many things, working together to subvert our often best intentions. 

The whole point of all of this, why we are here, explaining all of this, is because people are angry, scared, and hurt out there, all day every day. Every day someone is being demeaned, intimidated, or coerced. Every day someone is endangered, hurt, or worse. Everyday we have people waking up with dread in the pit of their stomachs as they instantly start worrying about what abuse or violence the day might hold. I know this happens, because I’ve been told it is happening, and when I offer to intervene they say no, because they think it will get worse. That reporting the abuse would lead to no meaningful action or change. We have been trying to work within the system to help, but the system is indifferent.

It has to stop. It has to end. We have to end it, like polio, and disco, and buggy whips. We have to stand up and stand together with one another and figure it out. We can’t say it isn’t my problem. We can’t say it isn’t our job. If we don’t communicate and work together to set and maintain a functional baseline for a responsible society here and now, and pledge to maintain it, how much worse will it get? It’s awful for many now, what kind of decline will we be handing down to our children? Along this descent into dishonesty, intolerance, and malfeasance we must arrest our fall, and then look for a way out of this miserable hole. This is a bad time and place to be for almost everyone. There are probably a few people who manage to dodge the worst of it, but we’re all human. We’re all aging and dying while trying to hold everything together until an affordable flying car. We all watch the news and count the fatalities.

Let’s work together to fix this. Let’s pledge to set aside our prejudices, intolerances, and fear, and reset our unified expectations. Let's turn the page, here and now, and work together in crafting a fairer, kinder, better story for all people. Let’s not allow miscommunication, neglect, or bureaucracy to prevent that noble work. With liberty and justice for all. Amen. 

Q