The world is a dark and challenging place right now, and one thing that helps me get through February is LetterMo. LetterMo is a challenge where you write and mail a letter every day (or at least on the days when the post office is running in your country). As a snailmail lover, this is like crack for me. I love finally using the cute stationery/postcards, writing with cute pens, using cute stickers. It's a nice way to reach out to friends during what can be a very lonely time of year. And while doing that does help make the world a better place, I also use LetterMo as a chance to write people I don't particularly like: politicians. "Writing an angry letter" is a lib punchline at this point, I know. But writing a letter to a politician does effect the world. People who work for politicians (aka the people actually opening the mail) take note of what people write in to complain about--they take extra note if it is a physical letter rather than an email. And while your letter might just be one note from one person, it can simultaneously be one more message in a mountain of messages all stating the same concerns, letting people in power know that the world is watching.
If you're not sure of where to get started, you can check out Amnesty International's Urgent Action page. There you will find a list of current serious humanitarian crisis, an overview of what's going on, and whom to write to and what to say. My request would be that you write a letter supporting the protestors in Iran, who are being killed and imprisoned as they go up against a hard line regime. The other thing I think is great about letter writing is that it helps you sort out your own thoughts. Putting into words your anger and concern helps you know better what the problems are, and gets us closer to solving them. It also puts you in a better place to explain these issues when talking to people in person.
So, get out our pens and paper, buy and stamp, and write!
(Side note: the politicians do NOT get my cute stationary)
