Open Letters, do you read them?

More and more recently I see bloggers, mums, celebs and the everyday person writing “Open Letters” either to other celebs, churchs or politicians. For a while I ignored them as I wondered were they in fact ever actually read by the person they were intended for. Of course open letters have been around for an incredible amount of time. From the Epistles in the bible through to Martin Luther King and his open letters perhaps the most famous being Letter from Birmingham Jail to Steve Jobs. Yet recently they seem to be aimed more as a sensationalism effect – Dolly Parton’s to her Goddaughter for example… or so I thought. That was until the day I checked the news and there was a lovely workers open letter to Russell Brand and curiosity got the better of me and I read it. And chuckled and thought about it. Never suspecting that these open letters are read by the intended people of course least of all the celebs! A couple of days later however Russell Brand actually replied and rather cleverly too. And boy do they get people talking! There are very few sites which have a roundup of most them but one worth a look at is Open Letters.

It seems within a day of the news breaking there’s an open letter to back up or disagree or condemn. Some of them a little trite, some of them however make fabulous reading and offer up an alternative view point that has never crossed my mind. A lovely one leads the page today on Angelina Jolie. A gentle reminder that while her options are brave and gutsy not everyone has the ability or the money to make the same choice and so perhaps she isn’t just an average American mom as she tried to portray herself.  Now there’s one I would love to see her response too.

Of course they aren’t just to celebs either they cover mums to daughters, victims to bullys even love letters. Perhaps it’s a wonderful way to hope that by expressing your thoughts, hopes, fears and worries out loud the intended might respond or it might cause someone else to think twice about their actions! What a wonderful unique and eye catching way to create a wider discussion about a subject which might otherwise be side lined! So if you could write an open letter who would it be too?