HERMAN: Mr. President, welcome to Austin

Dear Mr. President,

Welcome to Austin. Although the last thing we need is something or someone that further gums up traffic, we’re honored that you’re coming to our town.

First, something about those neighborly “Hate has no home here” yard signs you might see should you happen to motorcade through one of our neighborhoods.

It’s a noble notion. But please know that there is something that’s hated in the homes and hearts of many of the people who post those signs.

You, sir.

RELATED: Trump visit will shut down traffic on major Austin highways, but where?

(FYI, many of these same locals also have signs that read, “All are welcome here.” Despite that, they lock their doors. Go figure. Sometimes we don’t live up to our yard signs.)

Though we think we’re different and better, Austin is like the rest of America. We have some people who have much, and we have some people who have far too little. You might see some of the former if you have any private meetings here with supporters.

I’m guessing your route will be cleared of any of the latter. (And please, as you zip through town, don’t get a false impression of the state of transportation around here.)

We’ve had presidents from around here. One was a temporary resident who lived downtown while he was our governor. Another was of here. Both were controversial leaders who, like all presidents before them and since them, did the best they could and left it to be judged by history.

Both are remembered for war. Lyndon B. Johnson didn’t start the one that marred his legacy and killed more than 58,000 Americans. One of George W. Bush’s wars still lingers, and the death toll tally is not over; neither is its lasting impact on the world.

Both men were reviled by many, mostly because of Vietnam and Iraq. LBJ and Bush did what they thought was right for our nation and our planet. Both were very aware of their own fallibility. And both endeavored to perform the duties to which they were elected with the respect and dignity that the office deserves.

So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly......

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019

At times, they weren’t the most eloquent of men. LBJ could be Hill Country direct. Bush’s most memorable, unifying speech very well might have been a few impromptu words uttered through a bullhorn at the horrific scene of one of America’s worst moments.

Like all presidents, you, sir, make decisions that are controversial and difficult. It’s what we elect presidents to do. It’s impossible for a president to please all the people all the time. But we do have some baseline expectations.

Perhaps paramount among those is our need for a president who sets a respectful tone, one that lifts and one that’s better than what the citizenry often slumps into.

You, sir, operate differently. You belittle. You berate. You behave in a way that makes it clear you believe you are something we don’t expect from our presidents: infallible.

Perhaps worst of all, and independent from any specific decision on any specific policy, you behave in a way that makes it difficult to respect the presidency at this crucial moment in American history.

You make it challenging for a city to be honored by a visit from a commander in chief.

RELATED; Analysts say Austin visit two birds with one stone for Trump

It doesn’t take much professional training in the sciences of the mind to see how yours works. In your mirror, you see a successful man who’s made a lot of money — please, let us read the tax returns — a man who’s led a gilded, opulent life you too often seem to think is the ultimate measure of a person’s worth.

There is more to life and leadership than crowd size, TV ratings and net worth.

Nevertheless, and shocking to all (including you?), how you’ve led your life has led you to be president of the United States. It all adds up to why it’s easy to see why you think so highly of yourself.

We want and need presidents with confidence. But nobody is as great and perfect and infallible as you think you are. Through words that tumble from your mouth and get tweeted by your fingers (please God, stop!), you’ve made it easy for some people to hate you, even in the homes of Austinites with yard signs that read, “Hate has no home here.”

Welcome to Austin, sir, a place that yearns for a day when we again can have a president with whom we disagree without hating.

We’re like the rest of America. We have great respect for the presidency. Sometimes we wonder whether you do.

Sincerely,

Ken Herman, Austinite