If you live in Clark County, OH, you run a serious risk of receiving unsolicited letters from Guardian readers telling you how to vote. They're handing out names and addresses from the registration rolls. The authors of the four most irritating letters win a prize: a trip to Ohio to harass voters in person. What could go wrong?
UPDATE: The Guardian helps to get the ball rolling with examples of the sort of thing they're talking about, from three Prominent Britons. Judged soley by the standard of what is most amusing to imagine falling out of a mysterious envelope opened by some random person in Ohio, I think Lady Antonia Fraser's is the best. It begins:
O dutyPosted by Dr. Frank at October 13, 2004 03:02 PM | TrackBackWhy hast thou not the visage of a sweetie or a cutie ... ?
Why art thou so different from Venus?
And why do thou and I have so few interests in common between us?
These sentiments on the subject of duty, so brilliantly expressed by Ogden Nash, may well be yours, dear Unknown, when I, a national of another country, urge you to do your duty and vote in your coming presidential election...
I grew up in Clark County OH, Springfield to be specific. The people are too dumb and the population is too small to worry about. The town is now pretty much a desolate wasteland when just 20 years ago it had a thriving manufacturing economy. Most of the downward spiral was due to International Harvester/Navistar moving its' operations to Windsor Canada and Mexico City. Now the town has nothing but minimum wage service jobs and those that I went to school with have evacuated to higher ground. The ones that remain are working to the east in Coulumbus or to the West in Dayton. Sad.....
Posted by: Zaphod Beeblebrox at October 13, 2004 05:36 PMPeople send unsolicited junk mail and political messages all the time. On what basis can you possibly argue that it's suddenly an objectionable practice to do so now, in what is arguably one of the most important elections in the history of democracy?
The result of this year's election clearly has serious implications not only for Americans, but also for Britons and the rest of the world as well.
It is intelligent for all interested parties to focus on convincing swing state / swing county voters to vote their way.
Personally, I'm more disturbed that a foreign source - a British paper and British readers - is showing more interest in saving America than Americans themselves.
Posted by: Aryamehr University at October 15, 2004 05:56 PMAryameher, I'm not arguing that it's an objectionable practice. I'm arguing that it's an amusing practice.
Posted by: Dr. Frank at October 15, 2004 06:04 PMI agree that Fraser's comments get the blue ribbon. But the best part was not the opening but her anile maunderings about "Hank", the composite lovable American puppy dog Action Ranger. Laughed 'til I cried.
I think it would a shame to deprive those lucky Ohioans of such missives.
Posted by: Moira at October 15, 2004 09:01 PM