Donald Trump should be removed from office immediately.

This missive is not meant to convince you of Mr. Trump’s incompetency in his role as President of the United States.  Your own eyes and ears have informed you of his instability, narcissism, paranoia and lack of a normal moral compass.  You have no doubt felt waves of disbelief, disgust, and fear in your heart and gut as you witnessed his behavior, listened to his words, and read his “tweets.”  Your internal body wisdom has been flashing a neon warning sign! Yet you have a job to do, a career to pursue.  And so you have attempted to accommodate him and “give him a chance,” because after all, some of his beliefs mirror your own.  And of course what can you accomplish for your constituents if you are not re-elected?   But being co-opted into Mr. Trump’s mindset and allowing him to set normalcy standards of behavior and belief are not conducive to fulfilling your duties as our representatives.  Neither will it be possible to try to work around him.  He is a dangerous and unpredictable man.   [Please read The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, October 2017, ed. Bandy Lee, MD.  Contributors are 27 mental health experts who felt it was their civic and moral “duty to warn” us of the danger Mr. Trump presents to the USA in his presidential role.]  Therefore it is incumbent upon each of you to ask yourself some difficult questions:  Who am I?  What do I believe?  What are my most cherished goals?  Each must be answered honestly (if only to yourself!) without prejudice or rationalization.  Then remind yourself there is strength in numbers!

We, the people of the United States, have elected a group of wise, moral and powerful women and men to help us maintain and improve upon the nation our forefathers created for us.  To do so, you must reclaim your power and become a united front!  Together, your primary responsibility must be to help heal the divisiveness in our country.  All other agendas must wait.   A gentle, non-judgmental hand will be needed to accomplish so noble a goal.  Keep in mind Mr. Trump won the presidency by acknowledging and validating the concerns and fears of some among us.  That in itself is commendable for all who aspire to leadership, as the knowledge may be used to realistically address common concerns.   But such was not Mr. Trump’s goal.  He inflamed fear and anger while emboldening incivility toward one another.  He encouraged scapegoating- blaming the “OTHER” for our problems.  Then he decreed only he could help.  Mr. Trump appeared to be understanding, empathetic.  But his goal was to create an image that would buy him a win, the power of the presidency.  The image is a sham.

By reclaiming your power and leadership, you who represent us in Congress can stand united and reject the “malignant normality” presented by Mr. Trump. [Terminology used by Robert Lifton, MD, in the aforementioned book. It refers to creating a culture in which abhorrent practices are deemed “normal.”]  Using either impeachment proceedings or the 25^th Amendment to the Constitution, you can reveal the sham Mr. Trump has engendered.  By being truthful and sincerely empathetic yourself and by avoiding making Mr. Trump himself a scapegoat, you can remove him from office and prevent further damage to your integrity and the integrity of our country.  Then through legislation and public discussions, you can encourage us to reaffirm that all human beings deserve dignity, respect and kindness.  You have the power to empower, to remind us we are each in control of our own destiny; blame and shame have no useful place in our lives.

I beseech each of you to do your part as an elected and trusted leader of our country.  Thank you for choosing to serve us.

Most Sincerely,

Sue Valk

[Sent to Virginia Representatives.]