Little noted in the news about President Trump’s meeting with Russia’s President Putin last Friday was the letter from First Lady Melania Trump, hand delivered by her husband to Putin as they met in Alaska.
The letter was a plea to remember the children who have been impacted by the war in Ukraine imploring Putin to take steps to end the tragic suffering. You can read the letter here. One line gives a touching summary:
we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.
The letter shows a sensitivity to the humanitarian side of the conflict. I thought it a remarkable effort, done with a hope of finding a common point of feeling within a leader whose actions are wrecking the lives of so many.
Such gestures are little noticed within the big events of war, meetings of world leaders and the clash of power on the world stage. Melania Trump no doubt hopes to make a contact with a man whose actions show little regard for the value and dignity of human life.
Ant then in yesterday’s White House summit with European leaders we saw smiles, thank you’s and gestures of appreciation for the efforts done to bring peace to Ukraine. European leaders were restrained in their differences with America and President Trump and kept a focus on what was being done to bring about a peace. Nothing fundamental has changed, but you could see they were all making nice to get the immediate job done.
In contrast to the previous Oval Office meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky there were smiles and compliments about the Ukrainian president’s suit of clothes, a noticeable change from his normal army fatigue dress of the past. Little things make a difference.
My takeaway from the high stakes effort? A smile, a “thank you”, a “please” can rachet down the emotion and anger. In the search for peace and reconciliation, even at our level of human relationships, can be helpful.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1)