Letter to the President

To:  The President of the United States of America
CC:  Mr. Rutte, Mr. Samsom

Dear Mr. Obama,
Congratulations! You now have another four years to try and make this world a better place.
Because, as you undoubtedly know, as the President of the United States of America, what you do and say has a lot of influence in the rest of the world.
Since that is where I happen to live, I would like to give you my point of view on some matters.
And because I know your time is precious, I will keep it short.

1. Connecting people.
Ofcourse, you will have your own people, so heavily divided (as we could see during the election race), but there is more of us!
One of the greatest lessons I have learned during my travels (and one of the most pleasant!) is that, no matter where, people are primarily friendly and relaxed (unless in war, disaster or with a tourism overkill).

Now, this is no small point! Please, remember it when you deal with other countries: what we see on television, what we hear from politicians, is not always as it is in the streets and on the markets!
One of my loveliest experiences was in Teheran, Iran, where I (discretely veiled, without, however, being able to hide my Dutchness) met a lot of people, eager for contact, open to discussion and very, very hospitable.

2. Durability.
One of my pet topics, I'm afraid.
You said it so nicely: "let us try to be less dependant of foreign oil deliverance".
I would like you to delete the word "foreign".
Let us simply try to find more ways (and develop the known ways) of clean and durable energy.  For our economy, but ofcourse even more so for the future of our children.

And let us try to teach those same children to value what material goodness they have, since it took energy, time and money to produce it.

3. Health Care.
You did a great job here, transforming the American Health System into a more righteous one!
Just a few tips to keep it financially stable too:
- Stop that dreadful tobacco-lobby, at once!
- Show people how they can influence their own health in the way they eat and live.
- Tell them to eat more vegetables, fruits, wholegrain cereals and nuts. And far less meat!!
- Let people walk or bicycle to their work, take stairs when possible and start a (vegetable) garden (promote collective gardens in the city!).
In short: eat naturally, move naturally!

4. Rich vs. Poor.
I think I can see the positive points of your American Dream (everyone should be able to achieve things in life no matter who, where and when).
But let us be honest, in a complete free world (with a free market, that is) most people will always let their actions be ruled by what is good for themselves, and rather now than in a distant future.
So, for the time being, we will all need an honest government to make rules and laws for the good of as many people as possible and to take care of the long term planning of those.

Dear Mr. President, truly it is no more difficult than this, but I am afraid the simple truths tend to be overshouted by all the different voices that surround you.
Or any person in power, for that matter.

Therefore, Mr. Obama, Mr. Rutte, Mr. Samsom, and all other Leaders of the World, let me invite you for a cup of tea (however dangerous it may sound, after the introduction of the Tea Party - one of their nastiests effects).

Let us meet occasionally, to be able to discuss the world with a mouth full of chocolate.
I assure you that this is the best way to solve the world problems.


Yours very sincerely,
Kyroushka