Dear Rest of the World,

You have undoubtedly noticed that America now has, ensconced in the White House (when he’s not on the golf course) a less-than-sane individual. To make matters worse, he is shadowed by a rumpled man who is chillingly sane but thoroughly evil, a man who whispers in the ear of our elected leader while steering him toward the dark side. He is the puppet-master. On the end of his strings is a president who seems to vacillate between a mad King Lear raging at the storm, and Narcissus falling madly in love with his own image.

We appear to be a country that has lost its grip on reality, that is careening toward chaos. As an American citizen I would like to say that the majority of us do have a grip on reality, do not engage in “alternative facts,” and do not want to alienate the countries with whom we have had historically strong relationships. Speaking for millions of Americans, I sincerely apologize to Germany, England, Mexico, Australia, Sweden and anyone else who has been treated rudely in the past two months. No apologies are due to Russia, since our elected leader blushes with infatuation every time Russia, and more specifically, Putin, are mentioned. Or is that blush partly from fear? I believe that we will unmask what the relationship is between Donald Trump and Russia. I believe that our system of government, our system of checks and balances, is resilient enough that we will rise above these frightening times and remember who we are.

To the rest of the world, the face of America is changing. We are trying to ban refugees from our shores, in particular Muslims. Groups of Americans are chanting, “America First!” without having any real knowledge of the horrifying origins of that phrase. Legislation is moving through Congress which will allow the widespread and brutal slaughter of hibernating bears and wolves with pups on wildlife refuges in Alaska. We seem to be morphing into a country known for discrimination and savagery.

Please know that the majority of Americans do not fit this profile. We are not savages and we do not believe in shutting our borders to those escaping tyranny and war. We are finding our voice. We are marching, and writing, and protesting. We were asleep for too long, that’s how this happened. But we’re awake now and we need the countries who have always trusted us to keep trusting that ‘We the People’ is not just an idle phrase. It is what informs our life in America. It’s our identity. Those currently in the White House have forgotten that. We the people have not.