It takes a lot of nerve to be a letter writer. Most people won’t do it.
When you a write a letter you are giving someone hard copy, something they can hold on to and show around. They can prove to others that you said this and you said that. They have documented proof of your feelings and your thoughts.
They might be able to use that against you at a later date. It is a risk to write down your concerns and send them off in a letter. Why take that risk? Why even bother?
It is easier to telephone someone and tell them what you think. Then you can just hang up and there is no record of what you conveyed to that person. If a person confronts you later and tells you that you were wrong about something, you can simply say you did not exactly say that and they misunderstood you. Or you can deny that you said that all together. There is no proof.
Even more importantly, if you don’t write a letter, no one can make fun of your point of view or what you were thinking.
It seems that today the risks associated with writing letters are greater than they ever were. Proportionately it seems that less people than ever before are writing letters. It’s just easier not to get involved in issues at all. It is ironic that here we are today with the most efficient tools ever for written communication and many choose not to use them.
Maybe that’s why people are so quick to pass along stories, articles and yes, letters, found on the Internet or purchased in a greeting card at the Shopper’s Drug Mart.
The thing is, passing on a good or important story is one thing, choosing to pass something off instead of writing out your own feelings is another. It just seems to me that too many people today don’t want to get involved in writing down their feelings.
The risk of later humiliation, and possibly even legal evidence, is too great in the minds of too many people. Paranoia wins out over emotion.
Well, here’s why you should write letters.
First of all, a letter is a declaration that “these are my feelings and I have the character and the self confidence to believe in what I am writing.”
A letter conveys, I am concerned about this issue. It is important enough to me to express my concerns in writing, not just ranting to others over coffee or in a bar. I am actually doing something, I am not just complaining.
Third, a letter is a powerful tool. It is especially powerful if it is written to a public employee or a customer service department. It has to be answered and the answer has to consider the problem and address it.
Fourth, a letter combined with other letters makes for a consensus that demands that action is taken. A letter writing campaign can make governments pay attention and do something.
The problem is that few people today actually write letters. And I mean letters, not emails. A letter must be dealt with. It is received, it is on a desk, it has to be opened and read and then it calls for action. A letter is a glaring statement that someone has made a real effort to write this out, address it, put a stamp on it and then physically take it to a mail box. This is something serious. An email is partially read, assumed to be a rant of some kind and then deleted with the other junk mail. Out of sight. Out of mind.
Property rights are an important issue in Canada, especially in the real estate community. Organized real estate associations and boards have done an excellent job of outlining the concerns and the importance of property rights and why they should be included in our constitution. But despite this effort, successive governments have failed to address the issue. Indeed few parties, if any, even include the issue on their websites.
I understand that there are over 100,000 Realtors today in Canada. If just one per cent of them were to write a letter to their government, we would have property rights in our constitution following the next election.
I guarantee it. That is the potential power of letters.
Heino Molls is the publisher of REM. Email [email protected].
