A Loss of Civility & the Abduction of the Truth: Letters to the President

By Brad Zervas

Letter after letter to President Trump, day after day, and with the weeks and months to follow over the course of an entire year, this effort represents a groundbreaking endeavor that is anchored in the belief of the American people. The author contends with often heartfelt conviction, that citizens from all walks of life and from every corner of the globe, have the capacity for forgiveness, grace, and a sense of their own history - a history juxtaposed with the politics of a nation whose interests have not always been rooted in the liberty it portends to promote. While at times a grim portrait of a year like no other, its basic premise remains the same throughout and that the founders of the United States, often flawed and imperfect, presented to its citizens a Constitution that continues to be the country's most enduring moral compass and bellwether - a bellwether into its future, a window into its past and a reminder that the present is ever fleeting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Apr 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781489734396

Brad Zervas

Brad Zervas will tell his readers that he has been blessed – blessed with a family, a career and with the unyielding belief that we can be better. After graduating The University of Massachusetts with degrees in Education and Latin American Studies, he went on to lead some of this nation’s most storied social service organizations – and did this after leading a literary program at a maximum-security facility. He would respectfully remind his supporters that he followed a path with the conviction that intervention, kindness and empathy at their core, represent a pathway to a better life and to the fulfillment of the potential that is far too often ignored among legions of our children – children mired as such in trajectories of dysfunction, neglect and in the very premise that they remain invisible and somehow not worthy of our political will. Zervas’ three previous works: “They Are All Our Sons : Principles to Ignite Our Boys”; A Father’s Job Is Never Done: The Work, The Worry and the Wonder of it All”; and “The Loss of Civility and The Abduction of The Truth: Letters to the President”; have each received high praise – praise not sought, and praise better extended to those most in need. He would go on to maintain that to be truly and consciously humbled is a luxury afforded only to those with the means to do so. To those among us who are impacted and impaired by a global dynamic that threatens us all, Zervas would suggest that we consider something that transcends boarders, our religious differences, histories, and those elements of our traditions and backgrounds that should unite us rather than divide us. In weakness there does exist strength and he would ask that we weigh our individual capacities to make a difference and to shape a way forward that might allow us to reach greater clarity, community and commitment.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-3438-9 (sc)

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LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 04/08/2021

High praise to those essential workers who have cared for us, fed us, transported us, comforted us and protected us. Your bravery and unyielding commitment serve us all as a reminder that our true greatness lies within. To you we owe a fair and working wage, access to affordable healthcare and housing and the dignity that an honest day’s work should provide.

ENDORSEMENTS

In the summer of 1990 and at the age of nine, I had the opportunity to meet Brad Zervas. Since this time period of over thirty years, Brad has been a major inspiration and game changer in my life. He helped enlighten my mother and I during what would prove to be some of my most formative years. Brad always went above and beyond in assisting me and other young people in whatever way possible. For this I am indebted to him. He has been a visionary, friend, mentor and father figure throughout. His most recent work, A Loss of Civility and the Abduction of the Truth is unwavering in its belief in the same American Dream that propelled my own family on its journey from Haiti to the United States, and like for so many others, it has been a dream come true, the American dream that is still in reach for others who dare.

Wilky Colin

President, Breakaway Hoops

New York, NY

Brad Zervas has a gift wherein he can transform the most complex, emotional, and unjust situations into easily digestible, thought-provoking and rational concepts. A Loss of Civility and the Abduction of the Truth memorializes the reality, perspectives, and efforts of Mr. Zervas and many Americans alike, as they relate to Donald J. Trump during his final year as the 45th President of the United States. At a time when racial discord, economic challenges, and a global pandemic plagued our country, Mr. Zervas documented daily letters to the President, all while he, and the rest of the world wished for brighter days. Each letter is powerful and deeply authentic. This book serves as an emotional, yet necessary, historical fixture that will allow Americans to relive and learn from the impact of one man’s actions during his presidency.

Canika Shepherd

Associate

Morgan Stanley

New York, NY

In a country where economic inequality is on the rise, where opportunities are shrinking and where people have been betrayed by deteriorating schools and the creation of environments that are unsafe and unhealthy, President Trump’s campaign landed on fertile soil. In his work, A Loss of Civility and the Abduction of the Truth, Brad Zervas examines the state of political discourse in the United States and determines it, as such, a poor example of how productive dialogue has been trumped and vicious acts became the modus operandi. Lest I be misunderstood. We are not celebrating this development in South Africa. My own country is degenerating into expressions of xenophobia much like America’s rising tide of white supremacy. Zervas reminds us that we need to develop the empathy so critical to allowing us to listen, feel and stand in solidarity with one another.

Thebe Morake

Director, Mindburst Workshop

Johannweburg, South Africa

The journey of Brad’s heart, mind and soul takes us deeply into rooted places within ourselves marked by disbelief and discontent yet hopeful and prayerful. Through his metaphorical game of basketball, he brings us to the edge of our seats, pushing us to lean into conscious awareness while engaging in crucial conversations about our human shared experiences. The inherently divisive systems and structures that allow for social injustices, inequities and inequalities still prevail, but the obstacles and triumphs of our ancestors carry us towards We the people…. Free will comes laden with responsibility and charged with a call to action. Our jars of clay – our children and grandchildren – hunger expectedly to be molded by us, through us and around us. We are in overtime and the ball is in our court. How do we respond? With love and forgiveness…just as Brad reminds us throughout his many letters to the President.

Sacha Garcia-Mailloux

School Principal

Holyoke, Massachusetts

Less an indictment and more a statement from a true friend of the American people, Brad Zervas attempts to advise President Trump and encourage him to understand that hope, regardless of how evasive it may be for some, is our most common denominator – a denominator we should all share regardless of our individual stations in life. If accountability were a course, this would be its study guide for all those serious about holding themselves and their loved ones responsible for their actions and words. In his letters to the President, we see the efforts of a hard-working, God-fearing, family-oriented man who believes in our country’s notion of exceptionalism and particularly when born out of tolerance. I would not want to relive 2020 in any other way than through this series of letters. What a story and what a ride.

Lawrence Rayzor

Co-Host/Co-Creator, Beyond the Journal

Chief Writer/Editor, Ballers Journal

Middle Division History Instructor, Horace Mann School

New York, New York

Brad’s commentary and observations throughout his Letters to the President reflect a broad and deep understanding of many of the barriers that have impacted disenfranchised communities across the country – communities that need, deserve and demand better. His call for social justice and the unhindered access to the structures that should help to advance each of us is rooted in his unyielding belief that true equality is still within our reach.

Derrick and Desmon Lewis

Co-Founders, The Bronx Community Foundation

New York, New NY

I often reflect on the journey and path that I have taken as an individual and often through the advantages of my career as a documentary film maker and producer. Years ago, and as a result of the guidance my family and I received from Brad Zervas, I would leave the confines of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to attend two of the nation’s most prestigious independent boarding schools. With little in the way of financial means and with a rather mediocre academic record, I am not sure why Brad took a chance on me; however, he has taken many other chances in life and there have been scores of young people who have benefitted from his support. To suggest that there exists a measure of symmetry with his most recent efforts to write our 45th President and his work as an educator and activist, is wholly consistent with the man he is and has been. It has been now over three decades since I first met Brad and as a graduate of Williams College and film maker with ESPN, I remain grateful for our chance encounter and continue to support his work with genuine enthusiasm. His letters provide important lessons and reminders for each of us.

Marquis Daisy

Documentary Films, ESPN

Bristol, Connecticut

CONTENTS

Tip Off

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Half-Time & the Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Overtime

Acknowledgments

TIP OFF

I suspect that most literary efforts are forged in similar ways. Some may be the result of a very simple consideration – a consideration born of free will and without any specific restraints. Others may be the result of days or even months and years of reflection. Either way, an author eventually submits to the unknown and trusts the instincts that will serve as the bedrock of whatever results may surface. I am not too sure how I would describe my present effort here. It has, however, occupied a great deal of my time – time that I have spent wondering how one individual has been able to engage in the deconstruction of the truth and offer what has now become a celebrated and accepted narrative – a narrative fashioned in a framework of lies, exaggerations, insults and a shameful disregard for civility.

Given the title that I have arrived at, of course, I am speaking about President Donald J. Trump. In my nearly seventy years on this earth, I’ve not witnessed or known anyone quite like him. I am not sure any of us really has. His will to forward an agenda is unparalleled. His understanding of fear as an asset to promote division has no equal. His use of social media as the principle means by which to foster suspicion is yielding new constructs that have yet to be defined or understood. In short, he has seized the moment; capitalized on confusion; and now seeks a new world order – a world order steeped in nationalism, a longing for the past and the belief that every treaty agreed to, every hard-fought war won or lost, every geopolitical alliance forged are now all somehow flawed and failing. So, how do we respond?

It is important that I point out, that until President Obama’s second term, I had never voted for a major party candidate. The system as I know it has failed many and my prior work with urban boys, families in crisis and with fathers who have abandoned their wives, partners and children, certainly suggests to me that we need to engage in a period of social sector entrepreneurship unlike anything we have ever experienced before. We need this effort to be steeped in empathy. We need this effort to be global and expansive. We need this effort to avoid the vicious calls for us against them. We need this effort to acknowledge that we have done great harm to our environment. In so doing, we can find renewal and a way forward that will reflect the kinds of global alliances that our respective futures are rooted in.

I generally try and avoid the descriptors that so many of us use to achieve political identity. To survive, we will have to achieve greater balance. The perceived burden of high taxes can have merit. Soaring deficits pose serious risks to our future. Corporate stimulus has its place as does regulation. Equal access to justice, fair housing, medical care and education are rights that we should all share. Compromise and open debate free of acrimony and name-calling should be considered paramount at all levels of government – how else can the truth prevail?

Clearly, I am not a skilled researcher or historian. My two previous works focused on the state of urban boys and the importance of engaged and present fathers. I have tried to avoid the constant reminders that we have fallen into an abyss of hatred and tribalism. I have tried to limit my exposure to those who attack our Constitution with impunity and ignore the lessons of previous generations. I have tried to muster the courage to find good in every quarter of our national experiment – an experiment that has and should continue to rely on contributions from every corner of the globe. As a previous President noted, unlike most other countries, one does not need to be born here in order to become an American.

It’s not too much of a stretch to suggest that our entire electoral process is a bit cumbersome and easily manipulated and compromised. President Trump’s election defied all the odds. His focus ignited a base of support that his opponents were entirely unprepared to address. He laid waste to every poll, pundit and prediction imaginable and did so with a measure of ruthlessness that he brandished without any regard for convention or the existing body politic. Now, nearly three years into his administration we find ourselves confronted by rhetoric that seems to harken back to the 1950’s. His vilification of the other and his disdain for the very institutions that have helped us combat and defeat our worst instincts have somehow blinded us and produced a renewed sentiment that our inherent diversity is a weakness rather than our greatest strength. I will leave it to others to try and explain how this could have possibly happened and believe we will need some distance before we can achieve any measure of clarity. In the meantime, I truly do believe that we stand at the threshold of real danger, along with the possibility that we could be drawn into genuine civil strife and disorder.

As I write this, our President has suggested that it would be best that four elected women of color and members of Congress consider leaving the country as a result of their respective political views, further dividing our nation – a nation now being torn apart and subjected to levels of authoritarianism not seen since the end of the Second World War. Some commentators are beginning to harken back to Hitler’s Germany of the late 1930’s. President Trump’s emphasis on America first seems to have struck a dangerous chord. While this is an extreme correlation to make, there is good reason for us to fear the demons he is conjuring up – demons many of us mistakenly thought were put to rest during the civil rights movement – demons being fed by a rising tide of hatred and nativism.

Much will be written about our collective response to the turmoil now being fomented in every quarter of our country. Social media is replete with extremists from all sides of the debate, and say what you will, it is this writer’s opinion that President Trump is a master at controlling the narrative and twisting the truth in ways that render us incapable of recognizing our shared humanity. Some are suggesting that he is simply a symptom of a divide that has been roiling for generations. I would suggest that our very system of government and our founding father’s vision are being called into question. How will we answer ? Where will we find inspiration? Who will lead us not into temptation?

In framing my own response to some of the questions raised here, I have decided on a project that has my wife of nearly 45 years questioning. While she remains the love of my life, she is also the single most pragmatic and protective person I have ever known. In many ways she fears my work will surface some form of a reprisal that could threaten and possibly hurt us. While I do not take her concerns lightly, there does exist very real reasons behind her fears. Allow me to explain.

I met my wife when she was just nineteen years old. We found ourselves engaged in a conversation on a park bench in the colonial city of Guanajuato in central Mexico. She spoke little to no English and my Spanish was not much better. Subsequently we created a world together. She was the youngest of six and her father had passed away when she was just nine. Her story is one steeped in courage, resolve, compassion and triumph. As a twenty-year old, she immigrated to the United States on a fiancé visa. We were married after just nine months of courtship. She went on to earn her Doctorate’s Degree in Contemporary Spanish American Literature and has enjoyed a long and successful career as an educator and school administrator. Affectionally known now to her five grandsons as Abuela, she has a profound love of this country. She regularly points to the many opportunities she has been afforded – opportunities that she has fought hard for and opportunities that she has embraced fully. When she became a citizen, there were genuine tears of joy and while she is fiercely proud of her Mexican heritage, she is by all accounts a proud American who stands on the shoulders of generations of immigrants who came before her. Along the way, she was confronted by ignorance and disdain for what she had accomplished. She has never wavered and while some suggest that the dream so many have pursued here has become ephemeral and fleeting, she would vehemently contest that notion. In fact, it was her response to President Trump’s election that has inspired this exercise.

As suggested earlier, I have been a devout independent when it has come to my politics and have only voted once for a major party candidate. When President Trump won the election in 2016, I was deeply disappointed; however, I was equally thrilled that Hillary Clinton had lost. Either way, I was destined for regret, regardless of the outcome. My wife saw things quite differently as evidenced by an early morning question she had posed to me. Honey, where is my passport?, she asked with an alarming sense of urgency. I told her that it was in a file where we kept some of our other important papers and documents. Why do you need it?, I asked. Well, she simply stated that she would never again risk leaving the house without it fearing she might be stopped, detained and possibly deported. But you are a citizen, I declared. And why should this matter?, she responded…have you forgotten the color of my skin?

My initial response to such an inquiry was to suggest that she might be overreacting to the election’s outcome. She dismissed my assurances believing that our newly elected president was about to unleash a level of vitriol and hatred that would divide the country unlike any previous president had ever done. Well, we are now over three years removed from this unlikely electoral outcome and my wife was entirely correct.

The next presidential election has been scheduled for November 3, 2020. It is now early August 2019, and we are still several months out from what will be an historic occasion regardless of the outcome. As I continue to weigh my own options and determine how best to express my objections and fears relative to what our national debate has been reduced to, I realize just how hypnotic a spell President Trump has been able to cast over his base of supporters. While mobilizing a deep reservoir of hatred and resentment for the differences that should be uniting us, he has harnessed a toxic and powerful fuel source – a fuel source he is using to ignite our most base intentions. For the next few months, I will continue to try and make sense of how he has managed to exploit our weaknesses, extinguish our thirst for the truth and engage in a level of discourse that threatens our very way of life.

On November 3, 2019, I will commence with a 365-day project. Each day when I rise, I will take a moment to write to the President. I will post each letter accordingly and my commentary, my inquiries and observations will reflect one man’s view among many and comprise a body of work which I hope will bring some sense of order to the chaos the President has been able to rain down upon us with such unbridled ferocity. Again, my wife worries about the attention this may bring to us. Assuredly, I do not pose a threat to the President’s safety and nor would I ever frame my concerns as such. I hold the rule of law as our highest calling. I consider fair, free and open elections to be the very bedrock from which we should quarry our social order and political stability. I do not expect that the President will ever respond to my correspondence and suspect the review of my letters will be left to a staff member of little importance and I accept fully this consequence. Silence is no longer an option.

In previous works, I have written about my journey as a person of faith. It is a very personal consideration and I do not judge others who have traveled a different road. In fact, I do my best to understand that the judgment we may try and apply to someone else is entirely beyond our calling – our work must first be done at home and leading by example is our best expression. Clearly, we all fail on occasion and while there is, I believe, a higher calling we should subscribe and submit to, there are certain and very real distractions that isolate us further from the humanity we share. To be certain, one of the greatest threats to our way of life now resides in the White House and in Congress. The vitriol and acrimony that accompany so much of our political discourse is painful and anchored by special interests that are more concerned with financial gains than by our need to address and relieve the suffering we now are surrounded by – suffering that does not quarter to borders, fences or walls.

I have long maintained that President Trump’s ability to control and shape the narrative germane to his leadership is beyond the pale. Some have chosen to vilify his base as evidenced by candidate Clinton’s suggestion that they somehow were deplorable. This only served to galvanize further Trump’s supporters. Like many of my readers, I am watching all this in real time and while I do try and measure my exposure to the related punditry, it is extremely hard to avoid. How does the evangelical right dismiss and ignore President Trump’s behavior and demonstrated history of bigotry and infidelity? His repeated name-calling, lying, distortions, treatment of women and bullying are behaviors we encourage our children to avoid. We have been reduced to a denominator that I am entirely unfamiliar with and one that may, in fact, take a generation for us to emerge from. This is a dark consequence whose shadows threaten to obscure our better angels and isolate us from the rest of the world – a world that once looked to us for hope, reason and security.

Before I embark on my letter-writing campaign and try and convince our President to look beyond his own rhetoric and understand that he represents a higher calling and that the mantle of leadership should never be about personal gain or profit, I thought it necessary to provide some context so that my commentary would not be reduced to pretext. While simple enough in theory, it is hardly so.

Mid-August 2019 is now upon us and the shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio are yielding the expected political posturing. Both sides of the gun control lobby are driven to their respective extremes. Let me be clear, I am not a gun owner. The Second Amendment was to ensure that individual states could assemble and be armed to protect their individual sovereignty. It was never intended to guarantee the rights of individual gun owners. Furthermore, the state of weaponry during this period did not avail itself to the rapid-fire instruments of destruction being employed under the banners of hatred that are now dismissed as psychological dysfunction – a premise President Trump maintains without ever owning the notion that the white sheets of supremacy are again descending over our collective consciousness. You see, none of this can be reduced to what side of the political aisle you may choose to sit on – none of us can take refuge in blaming the other – and none of us should accept the loss of civility being fomented by our President and the host of political leaders who remain silent and those who express their dismay in ways that only serve to divide us further. We need healing. We need reconciliation. We need to love one another unconditionally. We need to restore hope in our classrooms, dignity in our homes and the notion that we truly are in this all together. These are simple conditions to aspire to and ones that now seem so difficult to achieve.

Years ago, a favorite senior-year high school English teacher asked our class to consider two seemingly similar concepts. He asked, what would you prefer, a life well-lived or a life lived well? As a class, we agonized over this for weeks. What a paradox for a class of seventeen and eighteen-year-old students to consider. We never did reach a consensus. For me, it became a question of either living well or living a well-meaning life. I will choose here not to tip my hand but would ask my readers to consider just where they might stand. You see, if you can answer this question and sort through the implications of each specific notion, it is my belief that the honor, empathy, respect and care we should be extending to one another would be entirely forthcoming. Why can’t our leaders carry this mantle? Why can’t our leaders abide by their best instincts? Why can’t we avoid the trappings of personal gain, financial advantage and power over our neighbors and fellow citizens?

Again, this is the context I am offering as a prelude to my letters – context that I hope will define and address the associated perceived pretext that some might declare, assign and attach to my letters. We simply share far much more than we are currently allowing ourselves to believe and the divisions we are experiencing are being fueled and ignited by the loss of civility – a premise I will return to often.

For most of my career as a community activist, educator and leader in the not-for-profit sector, I have found myself working at the margins – margins defined by economic hardship, familial peril, social exclusion and the other that President Trump has suggested is some sort of a threat to our nation’s purity. It has simply been an honor that I have been humbled by repeatedly. Our country’s history is replete with reminders of our collective failures and the triumphs that have revealed our better angels. Making America Great Again was a brilliant campaign strategy. At its very core it seems to deny much of the progress we have made and appeals to a sentiment that is no longer simply a threat to our national identity, but a sentiment that has revealed a deep and disturbing reservoir of hatred and bigotry. Perhaps I was naïve to have thought that the election of our first African American president was a signal that we had moved into a new era of racial inclusion and acceptance. The pressures President Obama must have been under were, I suspect, quite staggering. I believe his efforts were laudable. I believe the example he set for our children was right-minded and sure-footed. I believe he tried to represent all of us. And while I may have disagreed with many of his policies, he elevated the debate and approached his duties with genuine dignity and a commitment to civil discourse. These will be claims that President Trump and his supporters will never be able to make. In fact, history will not be kind to this president. His tenure as the leader of the free world will reveal a regressive tide that has eroded our shores and darkened our spirit. I hope and pray that I am wrong.

I believe you find literary inspiration in the most unlikely places. With my five grandsons in tow during the weeks prior to the new school year, I have been finding myself considering the nature of our familial legacy. Two evenings ago, I was watching the news with my nine-year-old grandson and asked if he liked President Trump. of course not Pop Pop he responded. He expressed this with absolute conviction and when I asked him why, he simply stated, he is mean!. Well, I followed up with another simple question asking him if he had liked President Obama. His response, of course Pop Pop, he was nice. Well, I am not so sure that any of the pundits occupying their respective positions could clarify their positions any more succinctly. Yes, it really is about nice versus mean – where might you stand?

Some may suggest that I have the tendency to over-simplify matters and reduce and present our political discourse in ways that are far too elementary. We should all be worried that the very tenets of our Constitution are being challenged and manipulated by special interests and the prospects of personal gain. Frankly, this is nothing new; however, in the age of Trump, the dimensions have changed and been exasperated in ways that are entirely new. Our President’s overly autocratic posturing and his apparent attraction to many of the world’s most despotic leaders is causing genuine disruption and his use of deceit to bolster and reinforce his rhetoric has been entirely masterful. I expressed this view to a friend recently and he could not accept the notion that anything Trump had done could be considered masterful. While I can understand this sentiment, it does little to address just how effective the President has been at securing his base of support and dividing us.

With the Labor Day holiday now approaching and the new school year soon to begin for our children, how we respond to the present discord that they are witnessing will say much about our own commitment to civility. As I suggested earlier, if a nine-year-old can distill all this and offer his own opinion based on the premise that it is simply a conflict between nice versus mean, we too should be able to take careful stock of our own efforts and provide our young people with the kind of examples that will promote the truth as something singular and absolute. Instead, we are far more prone to consider the truth and its merits relative to how it might benefit us or negate our adversaries – positions often reserved for school-yard bullies.

I believe I have offered enough context to position this effort as an exercise to promote our better angels while recognizing that we share a planet whose natural resources are being threatened in ways that really do diminish the prospects for our children and grandchildren. Yes, I am not part of the legion who has embraced the notion that we can Make America Great Again without first recognizing the full totality of our history. I am also not part of the chorus of Never Trumpers. This is human drama of the highest order - drama that has unfolded since the very dawn of our recorded history. I hope the President, his supporters and my readers will recognize this for simply what it is – a call for greater civility.

Having started this exercise at the very beginning of the summer 2019, I had hoped that my prior comments would be able to serve as the introduction needed to frame the series of letters that I have proposed. Now that Congress has initiated its impeachment inquiry and the country has been drawn into what I can only surmise will be a period of further dysfunction and partisanship, I am compelled to suggest again that we are witnessing a period of unparalleled disdain for the truth and the collapse of the very ideals that the Framers of our Constitution had hoped would inspire and guide us – ideals that continue to escape us while yielding to new levels of social and political segregation.

In so many ways, I do wish that the President would simply resign and spare the nation from the ensuing rancor that now threatens our way of life. What is needed is a generational shift, and an entirely new paradigm. Our democracy is far more delicate than one might imagine and the rhetoric that punctuates much of the commentary emanating from Washington somehow now suggests that our position as a global super-power allows for abhorrent behavior and the freedom to pander to our lowest common denominators. In many ways, we are witnessing history in the making. For the past seventy-years our nation has played a central role on the world stage and while our influence has not always been tethered to the ideals of fellowship, equality and social justice, we have stood tall during some of the previous century’s darkest moments and been a beacon of hope to generations of immigrants who found their way to our shores.

President Trump’s inclination to have our country retreat from the world stage and abandon many of the alliances that served to shape our present geopolitical landscape have been punctuated further by his obsession with a border wall. Symbolically, his advocacy here represents shutting us in and others out from what has always been a fluid and dynamic exchange of ideas, cultures and socio-economic experimentation. Our national mosaic is comprised as such – splashes of color; literary trends started in the most unlikely places; scientific advancements; the exploration of both our souls and the universe beyond; regret, reconciliation and renewal; music and dance; kindness, peril and hardship; deficits and excesses; in short, because of our diversity and from where we have all come retreating from the world stage will yield a new kind of silence – one that will prove to be deafening while yielding the perfect petri dish to incubate a host of new dysfunctions.

I realize that much of this does represent a rather grim view of the world. I have always considered myself to be a glass-half-full kind of guy. Like most folks my age, I have witnessed a great deal and having been an ardent student of history, it’s not surprising that when one pauses long enough, certain patterns seem to emerge that might suggest that it will be difficult to escape some of the trends that now threaten much of the balance I have referred to earlier. My greatest fear, though, has more to do with the abduction and distortion of the truth – something our President has fueled and facilitated while a growing number of his combatants respond to his vitriol with their own versions --- versions that are equally harmful and deceptive. With November 3rd fast approaching, it is now time for me to find the discipline needed to begin my proposed letter writing campaign – a campaign that I suspect will yield more surprises than I could ever anticipate and one that I am embracing with genuine vigor and absolute resolve.

FIRST QUARTER

November 3, 2019

Dear Mr. President:

Allow me to introduce myself and alert you to a 365-day letter writing campaign which I am embarking upon today – a campaign that I hope will solicit greater expressions of civility from The White House and, in turn, a measure of healing that our nation is now in such desperate need of. It is a Sunday and a day of worship. I do pray for you, Mr. President. These letters will then comprise the contents of a book and commentary that I plan to complete on Election Day, November 3, 2020 and hope to bring to press in early in 2021 while commemorating your re-election or the installation of a newly elected leader. My two previous books, should you be interested in learning more about my work, They Are All Our Sons and A Father’s Job is Never Done are readily available.

As a life-long community leader, activist, educator and administrator in the not-for-profit sector, I have enjoyed a long career where service to others has been the very bedrock from which I have quarried much of my inspiration and purpose. In fact, it was in this capacity that I had the opportunity to meet you.

While serving The Boys’ Club of New York as its Executive Director, you attended a fundraiser we were hosting at Cipriani. You were certainly most gracious and equally generous. During this same period, the First Lady hosted our Women’s Board at Mar a Lago for its annual fashion show – an annual event that I attended on several occasions. The First Lady was quite thoughtful and kind and certainly helped our organization secure much-needed funding.

Today, I reside in South Carolina, where I am presently serving Lowcountry Legal Volunteers as its Executive Director. Much like other Legal Aid programs that you may be familiar with, our focus is on the restoration of families who are facing genuine economic and familial hardship and peril.

Clearly, your administration has been embroiled in one distraction after another and to be perfectly frank with you, your reactions have often been quite difficult to explain to many of the children with whom I work. Please understand that the truth is, in fact, singular and absolute and regardless of how we may want to offer our perspective. You have been masterful in fashioning alternate realities that have obscured the facts and clouded our judgment. Your adversaries have underestimated you, and in turn, offered their own versions of the dysfunction that now defines our political discourse. I am hopeful that the ensuing campaign somehow finds higher ground and that the differences we harbor will not be framed by insults, name-calling and expletives. The dignity of your office merits and deserves greater respect and the American people need to find in its President the humility, wisdom and courage that we can all point to with a sense of pride and national unity – particularly to our children.

Prior to initiating this project, I have spent several months researching your administration and both its domestic and international policies and procedures. This research will serve as the introduction to the letters I plan to pen daily and throughout the proposed period detailed. While I do not hold much confidence that any of these letters will ever reach you, I will persist regardless – one man’s efforts to celebrate our better angels.

With Wishes for a Brighter Day,

Brad Zervas

November 4, 2019

Dear Mr. President:

Recognizing that you are facing some rather dire consequences and that you are losing control of much of the narrative, I was hoping that you might be more predisposed to pausing for a moment to consider what kind of a legacy you would like to leave. I suspect we all find ourselves weighing our options while determining the impact of our decisions. Given the office that you occupy and the magnitude of your decisions, this must be quite daunting.

Two weeks ago, the untimely passing of Congressman Elijah Cummings saw members of both our major political parties suspend their vitriol to honor a man who exhibited the highest standards of civility and a man who sought and valued the truth above all other considerations. The words used to describe his work were at once simple and far-reaching. He was a man of faith and honor. Equality in all its social, political, economic and cultural manifestations defined his core and moved folks to action. He was steadfast in the application of those principles we are all taught to revere at such an early age – principles that are often abandoned because of the promotion of our own self-interests. I find it ironic and perhaps sad that you could not find it in yourself to pay tribute to Congressman Cummings and I can assure you that unless you seek forgiveness for your sins the words that will be used to describe you after your passing will be quite different.

President Trump, what would happen if you addressed the American people and apologized for all the insults you have levied against your opponents? What would happen if you asked the American people for forgiveness for the unending Twitter rampages that you have used to subvert and distort the truth? What would happen if you became our comforter-in-chief rather than our combatant-in-chief? I dare say that your legacy would be quite different. Is there a chance that you might consider such an approach? Is there a chance you might carefully consider the full scope and weight of the man you see in the mirror? I hope and pray that you find your softer side and embrace fully the strength and power that comes from being kind and thoughtful.

With Wishes for a Brighter Day,

Brad Zervas

November 5, 2019

Dear Mr. President:

If not for yourself then how about for our children…

In my previous letter, I encouraged you to consider your legacy and to weigh the prospects of offering the country a heartfelt apology for your school-yard rants and misbehaviors. Clearly, I do not want to overstep any existing preconceived notions as to how a common citizen such as myself should address your office --- an office that has witnessed our very best and our very worst. However, I am now old enough to have witnessed the entire spectrum and where you stand in this pantheon of elected leaders will be wholly determined by how you exit your office…you still have time for redemption.

Today’s letter will be reasonably short and quite simple. If one does truly believe that we are the stewards of our children’s and grandchildren’s future, should we not then demonstrate the kind of behavior that is rooted in mutual respect and the admiration of something far greater than ourselves? I am afraid that arrogance hangs around your neck like an anvil, and as such, your ensuing discourse has now stranded us in unchartered waters. You seem to relish combat, name-calling and scape-goating…all qualities that we encourage our children to avoid. The subjugation of the truth and of the free press will obscure further those rights and privileges that we all share under the Constitution – a Constitution that you have recently referred to as a phony document. Clearly, these are not the sentiments that our children should be exposed to and again, I would ask, if not for yourself then how about for our children?

In the days and weeks to come, I remain hopeful that you will begin to understand the sweeping powers and influence that your office holds. Mr. President, consider embracing your detractors and sit with them just as we would encourage our children to do the same.

With Wishes for a Brighter Day,

Brad Zervas

November 6, 2019

Dear Mr. President:

My message to you today is quite simple and represents the bedrock from which most Christians try to model their lives and conduct themselves. Allow me today to simply offer The Lord’s Prayer as a reference I would ask you to refer to prior to starting the beginning of your day. I believe it would be a practice that you would benefit from greatly.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

Hallowed by Thy Name

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory.

Forever and ever.

Amen

This simple refrain may just provide you with the guidance you now will need as legions of your detractors and pundits from across our entire political spectrum mount their case against you. How we confront our perceived enemies says a great deal about us. While some are calling for a new civil war, I cannot imagine that you would ever want our country to be drawn into such discord. I would remind you that E Pluribus Unum, out of many one was once our nation’s motto – an axiom that we should continue to stand by – particularly during a period of such divisiveness.

You hold in your hands the power to affect great change and guide our country into the 21st century with a renewed commitment to the principles that our Founders fought so hard to achieve. So, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

With Best Wishes for Brighter Day,

Brad Zervas

November 7, 2019

Dear Mr. President:

Good Morning, Mr. President. It occurred to me today that grace in all its manifestations abounds. If you pause long enough, if you submit to silence and trust your better instincts, this will all become quite clear to you. Can you allow yourself to do just that? Grace does define us. Grace allows us to rise-up – think of Rosa Parks and all those who came before and after her. Good people do not exist on both sides of the struggle for equality and social justice.

Think of the Central Park Five and your ensuing vilification of a crime never committed; think of their forgiveness; think of the heroes on the battlefields far and wide. Grace is everywhere…on street corners, on our borders; in shelters, parks and schoolyards; it is omnipresent and far too often ignored and dismissed as something not worth of our consideration. Mr. President get quiet today and find a measure of grace in your life. You will be a better man of it.

With Wishes for a Brighter Day,

Brad Zervas

November 8, 2019

Dear Mr. President:

As