Thank You for Writing

 Never, ever underestimate the power of a response, whether written or spoken.  As the scriptures say, it is powerful and effective.

My wife Marilyn, or M as I call her, taught school in Arkansas for 38 years.  That's two-score minus two.  For 38 years she taught English at the Maynard School District, as well as Oral Communication and French.  In her English classes, she taught everything from grammar, to literature, to writing an effective resume, to how to respond to written communication.

It is that last aspect I want to dwell on this afternoon.

One day last week, Thursday I think, whatever day President Trump and President Zelensky had their 'Battle Royale," on television, I was so disgusted by the actions of our president I immediately fired off letters to our two senators, Sen. Turbeville and Sen. Britt, and my Congressman, Rep. Aderholt.

I was polite in my correspondence to the three elected officials, but there was no mistaken the tone of the letter, that President Trump was a disgrace to the country, and he was leading the United States down a path that most of us did not want to go.  I added I thought it was time for the three of them, all Republicans, needed to show some backbone and stand up and say, "no more," to our 47th President.

Normally after firing off a letter like this, I would sleep on it and throw it away the next day.  Not this time I was furious at the actions of our Chief Executive and wanted my elected officials to know I was one very unhappy constituent.

Let me add, I know there are a lot of people who disagree with my opinion.  That's fine, I really don't care.  That's not the point of this bog.  The point is what came next.

After firing off y emails with guns blazing, I honestly did not expect to hear from any of the three.  I have had friends who were elected officials, I have worked in the media, I know how these things work.  Some junior staffers with a clipboard will read my letter, check "hates Trump," and go on to the next letter and that is it.  The elected official usually never sees the correspondence.

But lo and behold Friday morning, I received an email from Sen. Britt's office.  To be fair, the response was "canned," meaning it was a standard response specifically written for a specific problem, i.e. the President.  Very little of the response had anything to do with what I wrote.  But still it was a response.

This afternoon, fully one week later, I received a phone call from the 202-area code.  Yes, I am a numbers geek, and I knew 202 was Washington DC.  So, I answered it.  It was a young man from Rep. Aderholt's office thanking me for taking the time to write the Congressman, that the Congressman had actually read my letter (seriously?) and had asked this staffer to respond.

He was very cordial, thanked me several times, and get this, asked me more than once if there was anything I wished to add to what I had written.  Well yes, yes I do.  I talked about y concerns with the excessive number of Executive Orders and how it was my perception the president was tiptoeing through the Constitution, which is dangerous on any level.  I also expressed my concern on this administration's "cavalier" attitude toward NATO and our allies, which I freely admit, scares the living daylights out of me.

But the point is, the Congressman's office responded.  Not only did they respond, but they also called and engaged me in conversation.  No matter if I agree with their stated position or not, that impressed me, and as a constituent, I appreciated it.

So thank you Sen. Britt and Rep. Aderholt, I appreciate the efforts in responding back.  Oh, Sen Turbeville?  Haven't heard a word from him or his office.  He must be out raising money for his run for governor.  Who knows.

Thanks for spending some time in this little corner of cyber space.  I sincerely appreciate it.  Even if you do disagree with me.