attitude adjustment on a massive scale

[a non-amos]

I had been rather depressed, with work piling up with no end in sight and a horrendous and unenviable assignment looming in my all too immediate future.

It's rather amazing how my outlook can change with one email.

I received a handwritten thank you note.  Not many people send thank you notes, and this one was handwritten.  Someone on his staff actually sent the email, with a scanned copy of the note attached.  She was careful to mention that this is a handwritten note, not a form letter.  They also wanted to know my home address, so they would know where to send the handwritten original.

At first I thought it was a scam or a prank, but everything checked out OK.  I sent them my home address.

This is a handwritten note from Barack Obama, the President of the United States.  Yes, he does read his email.

- A

[pat]

Yes, he does read his email.

I rather suspect someone reads it for him!

[a non-amos]

I have heard that he has several people screening his email, but that he also devotes time to reading a small fraction of it (several emails per day) and responding.

[bobbi]

OK I'll bite...what did you say in your email that warranted a hand-written thank you note?

[a non-amos]

I am not sure if this meets Chihuahua criteria for postings.  If not, I ask that Alan please remove this post.

This was shortly after the Trayvon Martin shooting and the Zimmerman trial.  The poor guy was shot for being black.  Have you heard the recordings of him pleading for his life?  It didn't work; he was shot to death for being black in the wrong neighborhood.

I no longer have record of the exact wording I sent the President.  It was something to this effect:

Do we live in a society that allows this?  Have we chosen to live in that much fear and hatred?  Here's how I can make it better in my neighborhood (followed by a very short list).

This started out as a lengthy dissertation.  Edit, condense, and then get to the meat of the matter.  The golden rule at work is that if it cannot be summarized in one page you are not yet ready to present it.  In this case, I guessed that if you could not read it aloud in 90 seconds it wasn't worth sending.

Of course, it's not worth sending if it's only another rant or diatribe.  You must also present a solution.  It's better if you're already implementing it.

In my case, I freely admit that what I am doing is a drop in the bucket.  The ocean is made of drips like me.

Even if I try and fail, I was a fleeting bright spot in his day.  He is faced with many huge problems.

A note to other Chihuahuans from the US who might not like this President as much as I do:  Please have some respect for the office, please have some respect for him as a fellow human being, and please have some respect for those of us trying to make it all better, to the best of our limited abilities.

[bobbi]

As a typical Kiwi, I have a complete aversion to guns. Most of our police force don't even carry guns. We are taught that the most effective conflict resolution is to use our words. I constantly bore the leaders of our three armed forces with letters suggesting we scrap them completely and use the money saved to improve health and education services in New Zealand, after investing a little more in our coastguard rescue services to compensate for the loss of the Navy. Panama did this 20 years ago, and I'm surprised more countries haven't followed suit.

I am also appalled at how slowly western society is adapting to and accepting the concept and truth that all races are basically the same.
A lot of fuss has been made about Barack Obama being a black president. Frankly his race ought to be completely irrelevant. His job is to to lead, coordinate and delegate to - the representatives beneath him who shape a country of about 300 million people in an effective manner. Nothing more, nothing less.
From here, he seems to be doing an okay job. He is also an extremely likeable leader. Approachablility is becoming an increasingly important quality in our leaders.

Congratulations on getting a note worthy of keeping  

[a non-amos]

Bobbi, I would love to meet you one of these days.

We might disagree on some very trivial points (nothing major).  Yes, the most effective conflict resolution is by words.  However, words can be even more effective in conflict prevention.  We have other tools at our disposal, in addition to words.  Conflict prevention is usually better than conflict resolution.

Other tools in conflict prevention include music, cooking, snow shoveling, offering a jump to someone with a dead battery, sticking out a hand to shake, and just saying "Hi".  It sounds corny, but it really does help.

- A