Dear Mr. Trump,

 

My name is Thomas Harrigan, I am a 23 year old American from New Jersey. A little over a year ago, I converted to Islam. Believe it or not, my father, may God rest his soul, worked in the World Trade Center, but by the grace of God, was not there on 9/11. On September 11th of 2015, my school, New Jersey Institute of Technology, was doing a memorial service for the day, and there were little American flags lining the campus green. The patriotic scene inspired me to say my own prayer, that Americans would come back to God, learn the truth about how our leaders have led us astray, and come together as Americans to deal with the tough issues our nation is facing. As I was saying this prayer, a Muslim girl in a headscarf came up right beside me, and lifted up one of the flags right next to me that was on the ground. As an Eagle Scout, I know that our flag is not supposed to touch the ground, but had not noticed this one fallen. When I saw this young woman raise this flag, as I was saying this prayer, I took it as a sign from God that I should investigate Islam. I have to say after having converted and learning a lot over the past year,  that I have not once met any Muslim who wants to harm our country, who  or who does not believe in our American Democracy, and who doesn't hold the American Dream dearly. I know that there are however millions thousands of people in this world who do believe in doing despicable violent acts in the name of Islam. I share your view that we cannot let these people who hate our country and our people into the United States, and applaud you for boldly declaring this policy that to me seems like nothing more than common sense. Rest assured, if I ever meet a fellow Muslim who wants to harm our country, I will either deal with him myself or report him to the FBI. As both an American and a Muslim I would be proud to do so. 

 

I also know that Muslims, just like Christians, Jews, Hindus, and every other faith, will have much more religious freedom under you. Freedom for our leaders to engage in political discussion when you repeal the Johnson Amendment. Freedom to choose healthcare plans that fit with our beliefs when you repeal and replace Obamacare. Freedom to invoke God in our schools, at our sporting events, in our military and in so many other places. Having laws like these would make me proud to be an American, and would make our country so much better and stronger.

 

Mr. Trump, I'm not writing to you just to let you know that you have at least one Muslim American supporting you. I'm writing to you because as a young person, I see that much of my generation does not understand the way I do what you stand for, and what that means for our country, compared with the vision Hillary Clinton has. In the primary elections, I supported Bernie Sanders for many of the same reasons I support you. He was honest with us, he cared about issues affecting working and middle class Americans, and he wasn't part of the establishment. The difference between him and you is that he had the support of young people, engaging in a type of activism that bridged racial, religious, and gender barriers the way no other movement in American history has. I believe that if you took some time from your busy schedule of campaign rallies to meet with young people of all walks of life before election day, a lot of Americans who you might not otherwise reach will take notice. We need your common sense approach to issues in order to fix what is broken in this country. You know as well as I do that my generation hasn't been taught to think properly. Unfortunately, too many of us believe the government should be helping us, not the other way around. Too many of us believe in the division along race, religion, and gender lines that the Democratic party pushes on us. But more than anything, we are scared that we won't be able to achieve the American Dream the way our parents and grandparents did. What you will do in 4 or 8 years will be so my generation can inherit an America where people don't feel this way anymore. An America where hard work is celebrated and rewarded once again, and where we can achieve our dreams if we set our minds to it. So Mr. Trump, I urge you to make it a priority to meet with the young people who will shape this country after you've corrected our path. Let us share with you the issues as we see them, and offer you the solutions we believe will work for the future and a changing world. Ultimately, it will be up to you to make the decisions, and decide the course for our country, but the most important voices you need to hear, and who need to hear your voice, are the young. If you don't have the support of the young, even if you become President and achieve all of your goals, it will turn to dust once you leave office. If you can get my generation to work with you, we can forge a powerful new path forward for our country, safeguarding freedom and the American Dream for all future Americans.

 

I wish you nothing but success in the upcoming election, may God bless you, your family, and the United States of America.,

 

Sincerely,

 

Thomas Harrigan