Letter to Trump

(written April 29, 2018)

Dear President Trump, It is my pleasure to write this letter directly to you. I am a 7th grade student from Washington state, and I have big dreams for making America great again. I have recently watched your rally at Michigan and I am impressed by your way of bringing the people of America together and keeping your promises for the country. Now I am excited about the peace in Korean Peninsula.

You have demonstrated how to fight against all odds by becoming the President of this great nation when no one expected you to do so. And I am pretty sure that you are trying to find ways to leave your mark as the U.S.A.’s greatest president. We see everywhere bitter conflict and vitriolic political discourse. The ideal of a peaceful nation whose citizens work cooperatively for the general welfare and prosperity requires more than economic development. The greatest leaders of the past have skillfully elevated the consciousness of the people by the cultivation of spiritual qualities of self-control, regulated habits of a healthy lifestyle, and the practice of the four fundamental principles of civilized people which are mercy, truthfulness, cleanliness, and austerity. I have learned that the root causes that makesmake people fight and quarrel are the influence of the three modes of material nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance), irrespective of the color, creed, race, or religion of the people. The modes of passion and ignorance especially force people to act out of lust, greed, and anger, which are the three main gateways to hell. When people act under the spell of the modes of passion and ignorance, their only intent is to be selfish and acquire things for their sense gratification. Due to the influence of these two these two modes, people are constantly fighting and quarreling with each other. Violence and war never abatesabate. They increase, the more that people surrender to these modes. Take the gun violence issues as an example. David Hogg, a student from Parkland thinks that the solution to ending violence is radical gun control. I do believe we should make it hard for younger kids to get guns but the gun alone is not the killer, it is the person’s mind. The cause of using a gun irresponsibly is the mental instability of the person using them. Nicholas Cruz, the student who killed 17 children could have found another lethal weapon to kill. It was his perverted mentality whichthat made him perform such a horrible action. He was clearly in the mode of ignorance. No amount of gun laws could alone have solved this problem. The idea is simple; to create peace in the world and elevate human consciousness, the leaders of society can encourage people to rise above the modes of passion and ignorance to goodness by practicing the four principles of civilized life: mercy, cleanliness, truthfulness and austerity. These principles can be followed without the violation of anyone’s beliefs. Can you still be a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Sikh, agnostic, atheist if you don’t drink alcoholic beverages, eat meat, gamble, etc.? Yes you can while maintaining a healthy, wholesome, and productive life. The result will be an American population whose lifestyles encourage others into regulated habits and good character development. For those people who insist on eating meat, cattle that die naturally and without disease can be provided for meat consumption. There is no necessity for the massive industry of abattoirs wherein animals experience anxiety and death. Such massive killing of animals leaves a karmic debt that is a contributing factor to violence and war. There is no possibility of peace when there is the wholesale slaughter of billions of animals and fish. If a significant number of Americans strictly adhere to the four fundamental principles of civilized life, then peace, prosperity, and happiness will prevail. We need to understand what causes people to disregard these principles, when endeavoring to follow. 1. Both intoxication and meat eating, which require the killing of animals, will destroy the quality of mercy. Gambling and philosophical speculation destroys truthfulness. 2. Illicit sex, extramarital affairs, and other forms of lusty sexual activity undermines internal and external cleanliness. False pride that evolves from accumulating more money, power, fame, and assets than required will thwart austerity for maintaining a life of simple living and high thinking. In my tradition of Southeast Asian Indian culture there are many stellar gems of wisdom. One that I meditate on is the following: “Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow, and whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world follows.” The moral and ethical qualifications exemplified by a great and respected leader of society are necessary for the common people to observe and eventually accept as appropriate for their own life. In the Indian epic literature the Ramayana, Lord Ramachandra, who was the king of the entire earth planet in ancient times, demonstrated the ideal qualities of a great leader: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Fearlessness; purification of one’s existence; cultivation of spiritual knowledge; charity; self-control; performance of sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity; simplicity; nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger; renunciation; tranquillity; aversion to faultfinding; compassion for all living entities; freedom from covetousness; gentleness; modesty; steady determination; vigor; forgiveness; fortitude; cleanliness; and freedom from envy and from the passion for honor – these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.” (Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 16 Verses 1-3) When the leaders of society, (which includes parents, teachers, business owners, politicians and any person who has dependents), exemplify as much as possible of these qualities in word and deed, then people of good will also follow. Laws alone do not change people, but living examples of competent and compassionate people do. This is trickle downtrickle-down goodness and character development. Mr. Trump, you have a unique opportunity to be an influence for generations to come if you are able to make these changes in a systematic way for all subjects to follow and demonstrate them personally. To summarize, the fate of the nation heavily rests on your shoulders. Please make both public and personal decisions with much care, using your conscience, as a parent and God’s grace. We will be supporting you every step of the way, as you endeavor to follow the principles. May God bless America.

Sincerely,

Sreshta Appalabattula

7th Grader