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Letter to the Editor: Much absent from Trump’s speech

Trump stayed on script. The Republicans had a good night and were mighty proud of themselves. Pelosi looked a bit lost. She really ought to move on. Pence looked like a nine-year-old who had just gotten a brand new baseball glove. Trump did a good job and it was great seeing him without his red tie around his neck and Bannon at his ear. Trump kept it positive and he worked to unite the assembled. Good for him. We needed a break from his overt angst.
Recommitting to NATO and working with our friends was good and getting others to pick up more of the tab was probably good too. Fixing potholes and buying American steel is great. Celebrating the sacrifices of the military and also committing to taking care of them after the war glory buzz is gone is a step in the right direction. Praising police officers as members of our community is good. Good for Donald Trump for rising to the occasion.
That said, it is important, without being too picky or snarffy, to remember what was not said. Things like not taking more than our fair share. We did not hear about being grateful or compassionate or even prudent. We did not hear anything about taking care of what remains of our damaged, precious earth — the once-blue waters, the once-clear skies and the once-diverse wildlife. We did not hear much about having fair opportunities for high quality education and health care and keeping church and state separate.
Nothing about women’s rights to care for their own bodies. Or about the importance of a free press. Or about leaving things better (as opposed to shinier!) for our children and their children or in realizing the importance of interdependence as opposed to competition and the stupid bottom line.
We heard that we all have the same God though we did not learn much about life beyond consumption. We did not hear much about treating our neighbors as we would like them to treat us. But perhaps Donald Trump is growing up and perhaps he is a little better for all of the push back that Trump-Bannon has received. Better partly because the press has finally stepped up to do their work well. That said, Trump remains a small man with an oversized ego.
But then again the world is full and empty. Light and dark. Time passes but the present is still full of opportunity far beyond the limited world of Trump-Bannon. Both Trump and Bannon will be compost soon enough and their core values and towers and walls will not stand the test of time.
Stay engaged. Seize the moment. Stay true to your values. Focus on what really matters. Do good. Renounce and enjoy as Ghandi said. Fall in love again and again and again with this remarkable and still changing cosmos we get to call home.
I bet the sap ran last night!
David Brynn
Bristol

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