10/13/2025
My Dear Friend & POTUS, DJT,
I am happy for you! I am happy for the families of the hostages who have finally been released by Hamas. I am happy for the people of Israel. I am happy for the world.
I will not ruin this moment of joy with expressions of doubt about what might come next.
The next time a reporter asks you about next steps, you can just reference Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” If, like me, you can’t remember the exact reference, you can just say, the Bible reminds us not to worry about tomorrow.
You could follow that up with the idea that “you don’t have to see the whole staircase, just the next step.” BTW, people think MLK uttered those exact words but turns out that they come from Marian Wright Edelman (MWE) who met MLK when she was a student at Spelman & became one of the young leaders in his entourage. She says she repeatedly heard MLK say something about one step at a time in the 8 years she knew him.
Anyway, as I am writing this, you are celebrating the peace deal in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It must be affirming to be in the midst of all those leaders crediting you with advancing the situation in a positive direction.
You can use this moment to promote the incrementalist approach & say things like, “change starts with a first step.” Dr Margie Warrell could give you more great soundbites, among my favorites being “There’s no more powerful antidote to the inertia of fear than decisive action.”
As usual, I encourage you to call MAH & pressure him to stop bombing the children of Burma. You might also call Arakan Army Commander-in-Chief Tun Myat Naing to get his advice. He wants to take things one step at a time but is also mindful that he is fighting “a civil war, & those who are dead are our fellow citizens too” He thinks about “how many (people) will be left after the war, & how to rebuild the country.”
In appreciation of your many efforts to bring peace to world,
BYBS,
