Snail Mail Drives Me Crazy / Keeps Me Sane

There is a cartoon I saw recently that had a subheading “10 Years Ago” and a character with a sad face, looking through his bills and other mail.  Next to that the character was on a (very old-fashioned) computer and raising his fists in victory as the computer announced, “You’ve Got Mail!”  Below it, with the subheading “Today” the story was switched around:  a sad face in front of a tablet with the words “You have 562 unread emails” and the character doing the victory dance with one piece of mail.

That cartoon completely sums up the communication revolution that has occurred in our society.  I am of an age when people actually HAD to write letters to keep in touch, because long-distance calls had a prohibitive cost attached.  I just naturally got in the habit of sending quick notes and birthday cards to people.  Christmas cards were (and still are) mandatory.  Yet, I prefer email and the internet for quick questions and answers, finding information, sharing pictures, bill paying, and organizing events.  (And don’t forget solitaire and Sudoku.)

Sometimes I wish this program could be done strictly online like many other programs… you know, the “get rich quick” programs.  It would be wonderful if, after approximately one month in AMC, I had a downline member or two.  It would be great if there was some sort of back office where I could tell if anyone had downloaded the book, “IT’S YOUR TURN!” with my ID#.  (Note:  amc-usa.com/info and ID #227231.  Just in case you needed that info.)  But there isn’t. 

I think that the lack of online presence is probably done on purpose (though it is just a hunch).  The whole purpose is that people now enjoy and look forward to physical pieces of mail.  The internet moves faster, yes, and lists/memberships can be built up much faster.  They can also be lost instantaneously.  And with people expecting to see instant results online, it is so easy to obsess over them and stay glued to the screen 24/7.  Obviously that doesn’t work with a program that gives you updates once a month, on paper, through the U.S. Postal Service.  It forces people to go out and live a life worth living.  And that, in my opinion, forces people to think about lots of other things and to keep from getting burned out on AMC.

There is something about the very slowness of the whole Paper... Fold... Envelope... Address... Stamp... USPS... process that is pleasant and rather peaceful.  Not only that, but the recipient of the mail is far more likely to open it if they retrieved it from their mailbox on their way in the door, rather than opening their email and finding it among the other 561 unread emails.  And results are bound to be better when the mail is opened than if not!  So in a way, the snail mail is here to save the day.  My thanks to the lowly snail.