Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Dear Mr. President:

RE your recent note to me concerning the Drone issue.

I think it is probably pretty easy for some individuals to sit in the chair that you are presently occupying. Narrow minded individuals who are driven by illusions of personal greatness and the seduction of  power can easily make the kinds of decisions with which you are confronted on a daily basis. Also, some of our idealistic friends who can see the future of a just and equal society, and demand it right now...regardless, are pretty good at advising others to "just Do It" and criticizing as weak and timid those who, perhaps, see more clearly.

Truthfully, I would like it if you were a bit more forceful on some issues. And yet,  when I get into it, I try to think of how I would deal with your situation. I can only imagine the kinds of pressures you are constantly under and I know how concerned I become when I think about how the unemployment thing is affecting my children, or how a friend had to die because she could not afford some drug, and some kids I know who could not finish their degrees because they were already 40 or $50,000 in debt and had to go to work... if they could find jobs.

I can read between the lines of your message re the Drone Policy. I sense that you realize that is not Barack Obama but the United States of America that is taking these actions and will bear the responsibility for them in the future. I sense that you see the often relative goods that decisions must in reality weigh and choose between. More often than some would like, the good is the lesser of two evils. One thinks of the choice confronting President Truman and the atom bomb.

So, I support your choices in this matter.

When I was thinking about it I wondered if  we could not employ some form of a Court of Law, subpoena these individuals and give them a public trial even in absenta. Then pronounce a sentence, putting the individual on notice. This may, at least, make it more difficult for one to hide out among others who know that if he is found it could be rather terminal.

lots of love

-tom