The "Dear Mr. Congressman" Project

For my first "Dear Mr. Congressman" letter, I sent the person who opens the mail a lucky red envelope with 26 cents in it. 

Hi.

Welcome to the first issue of "Dear Mr. Congressman." All of my representatives in Congress are men, hence the name.

Like a lot of people, I think that our representatives are getting farther and farther away from the people. So, this year, I've decided to get in contact with them more.

I call.

I fax.

And, I write letters.

I'm away that many Congressmen ignore letters that are sent out. But, I'm hoping that I can make my letters interesting enough for the people who open the mail to pay attention to.

I send art.

I send humor.

I send food for thought.

And, I also ask them to talk to their boss for me.

Above, you'll see a picture of the first thing I sent to them.

And, here is the text of the first letter:

Dear Person Who Opens the Mail,

Do you like your job? I used to be the person who got all the mail at work, and I found it fun. A lot of mail was humdrum, but every now and then there was a surprise.

And I have a surprise for you, not for the Congressman. Enclosed you will find a red envelope that is used to present gifts for the Lunar New Year in China. It’s coming up on Jan 28. People typically include gifts of money.

I have a daughter, adopted from China, and I must say, it’s been fascinating to learn about Chinese history and customs.

Here in the US, we’ve added a different take at big Chinese New Year celebrations, and we give the children a chocolate coin in the envelope.

I considered sending you a chocolate coin, but let’s face it. Who would eat something from someone they don’t know?

It seemed ungenerous not to enclose something, so I’ve decided to enclose 26 cents. See, my daughter is in college now. She studying Spanish and Chinese and International Affairs. She wants to study abroad, maybe get a master’s degree and work in government.

I am concerned that it will take her a while to get one of those good jobs with health benefits. And now, it seems that Congress wants to repeal ACA and take with it the provision that children can stay on their parents’ health insurance until they are 26.

So, here is my message to the Congressman: don’t repeal the ACA. Could you pass that along for me? I’d be ever so grateful.

As to the 26 cents, I’d like to stress that it’s not a campaign contribution. Take the envelope to your child or grandchild. Or leave it on the sidewalk for someone to find.

I hope you have a nice day. Talk to you later.

Warm regards,

El