An Open Letter to Donald Trump–10/6/20
- Phoenix Congress 2020 represents members of the American Union, who are willing to vote for both Republicans and Democrats in the 471 federal races who will meet our terms, including Donald Trump. This is part of a series of open letters explaining our demands.
October 6th, 2020
Dear President Trump,
In many of the open letters published so far, the Phoenix Congress has outlined the need for the United States to restore its standing as a moral country. We have described the major societal shifts that have happened every four generations, going back to the founding of the country, the Phoenix Cycle.
We have also shown how 2020 is a pivotal point in American politics that can set the tone for the coming generations, and define a new social contract that Americans prosper under, one that addresses MLK’s three evils: poverty, racism, and militarism. Our legislative package, the Blueprint for a Better America, will address these issues at home with universal basic income and and major reforms to policing and prisons.
However, America also has moral sins abroad, and the Phoenix Congress believes these unjust policies and practices need to be addressed for the country to enter a brighter future. These policies includes the use of economic sanctions against civilian populations, policies which have led to tens of thousands of deaths.
It has been close to a decade since the United States government began imposing sanctions against Venezuela. Mr. President, who do these sanctions truly hurt? Nicolas Maduro is still the President of Venezuela. The citizens of Venezuela are the ones who have suffered as a result of these economic sanctions. Oil production is down significantly, exports are becoming increasingly rare, and the inflation has spiraled upward. Government mismanagement is also a factor in these issues, but the economic sanctions exacerbate the problems.
It is immoral to allow the civilian population of Venezuela to suffer for the actions of their government officials, who are recognized as authoritarian regimes in the sanctions themselves. The Blueprint for a Better America places no restrictions on sanctioning individuals in the government, only on unilateral economic sanctions. Lift the sanctions on Venezuela.
The Cuban embargo established over 50 years is a textbook example of the devastation our economic force can inflict. While this embargo does not prohibit the trade of food or humanitarian supplies, economic trade between the U.S. and Cuba has been virtually non-existent for generations. Although the sanctions have been eased in recent years, the economic prospects of Cuban families have been decimated by a dispute that happened in their grandparent’s generation. Lift the sanctions against Cuba.
Mr. President, the United States imposed sanctions against North Korea in 1950, and those sanctions were not eased until 2008. That is 58 years of economic destruction wrought on civilians. You have made efforts to re-establish diplomatic relations with the country (and we commend you for those efforts), but the North Korean civilians have suffered enough, so much so that their growth is stunted. End the sanctions against North Korea.
The sanctions against Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea are not unique. Currently, the United States government has embargoes or other economic sanctions in 30 countries. Mr. President, the practice of imposing economic sanctions on civilian populations is harmful to those populations and must end. Studies show that unilateral sanctions are not only ineffective, they create a greater burden for American enterprise.
The Blueprint for a Better America prohibits unilateral sanctions against a civilian population with two exceptions: if the US is involved in military hostilities with a country, or the US is part of a larger group of countries imposing sanctions (like the UN). Under the legislation, sanctions against individuals are still permitted. The United States can and should lead the way into a new era of moral behavior on the international stage.
To show your support for the legislation, the Phoenix Congress invites you and all Americans to join a fast for peace on October 15th. With this legislation, you can provide the future Americans deserve. Will you join us?
Respectfully yours,
Other articles on Medium:
Series of open letters to Trump: Listed on our website
A call to action around Martin Luther King, Jr.’s triple evils: The Marginalized Must Unionize in 2020
A look at our duties as Americans and the legislation they inspire; The Blueprint for a Better America
