Independence

I am running a one man campaign against two small issues that irritate me. I have mentioned one of them before, but since we are celebrating Independence Day I thought I'd share my approach to trying to get my independence from junk mail and advertisements. Everyday when I go to my mailbox I find that about 2/3 of it is junk (the other third are usually bills or J C Penney sales flyers for the greatest sale ever). It almost always includes an offer for a new credit card or an invitation to learn more about a medicare plan or an opportunity to buy insurance or borrow money. Many of these include postage paid, addressed return envelopes. So what I do is kindly write "No thank you" on the information, fold it all including the original envelope, stuff it in their return envelope, seal it with tape, and put it back in the mail. I feel that if they have the funds to send the offers to me, I should be "kind" enough to reply and decline, at their expense of course. And with all that is stuffed into the envelope I imagine that it may cost them more than normal to receive my reply. But that is just part of my campaign. I am also irritated when I go to read a magazine and all sorts of reply advertising cards fall out of the magazine - usually on to my lap or the floor. I now take those, which are also postage paid, "kindly" reply "no thank you" on the cards, and mail them back. After all if they really want me to react to their advertisements, why shouldn't I take the time to do so, again at their expense of course. Now I guess the junk mail is what is probably keeping the U.S. Postal System in business since most correspondence and even billing is now done electronically. So in returning all of these, I am helping to support the U.S. Postal Service, as every good American should want to do. I'm helping save jobs for my friend Mitch and for my local mail carrier. And that is a good cause. Now if you are bothered by junk mail or those irritating loose cards in magazines, maybe you might want to consider a campaign for independence from them as well. I don't know if I will ever achieve anything, but at least I am exercising one of the rights that I have as an American - freedom of speech. So shout it out - U S A ... U S A ... U S A ... U S A!