Dear Mr. President,
I was looking at the news this morning after church services and an idea came to me which is the inspiration for this letter.
A second person has been shot and killed in Minneapolis and it appears that two sides have entrenched themselves even deeper. Protesters and Law Enforcement are stressed and it feels like there’s no end in sight. This seems to becoming more than just about protest or enforcing the laws. It seems things have become personal, political, and somehow like the situation has become a prop for larger agendas on both sides.
You’ve traveled the world to make diplomatic forays and solve conflicts. Consider, perhaps, sitting down not with leaders of hostile nations but with the Governor of Minnesota and finding a way to make the peace not in some distant land but here at home. You both have interests, of course. You were opponents in the recent election. Hard words have been said yet if you can find ways to communicate with leaders of nuclear powers surely there’s a chance to speak with a state official?
Beyond the activists and the officers there are people struggling to make sense of the current events, people of good will wondering “Why?” and looking at the situation and thinking “This isn’t right.” They belong to neither camp but are deeply concerned. Who speaks for them? Who listens to their quiet discomfort about these things even as they look for leaders not to join the combatants but to find a way out. Consider being that kind of leader.
As always, we Orthodox Christians pray for our country, its civil authorities, and all of our Armed Forces. This will continue even as we search for some ray of hope, of softening egos, and consideration for all the rest of us who’ll have to live with the consequences of these days long after the TV cameras leave.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Fr John Chagnon
The Beautiful Path 