Say it with letters
Say it with letters
Stepping into the new year on Sunday President Soeharto kicked
off a letter writing campaign. He advised Indonesians to
revitalize the habit of writing letters.
The presidential appeal has provoked the awareness that the
positive habit of letter writing is under threat. Although there
has been no serious survey of the trend, the National Post
Office, which has over the past years significantly improved its
service, reports that it handles only 500 million letters a year.
This means that the average Indonesian, who can now read and
write, produces only 2.5 letters a year.
This figure is clearly very low and the government is
obviously right to expect that the campaign will motivate every
member of this nation of 190 million people to write at least 50
letters every year.
We regard this campaign as timely because the reality which we
are observing at present is not at all a cheery one. Perhaps the
problem is that modernization, albeit certainly bringing many
benefits to our people, has robbed many of us of our old letter
writing habit.
The growing role of the electronic media in our society and
the rapid development of the telecommunications technology in
this country -- where now almost every district has its own
telephone exchange system -- has pushed the good habit into a
defensive position.
Important messages can now be passed through the modern
telecommunications system, which works faster. People tend to
have less and less time for writing -- or even reading -- because
watching TV programs is almost irresistible for many people.
But few realize that communication by telephone calls,
telegrams, or even facsimiles, cannot replace the positive
elements of letter writing.
Rabindranath Tagore, the famed Indian poet and philosopher,
was very much right when he said letters had the power of speech
which tongues do not possess. "And therefore when we meet," the
sage said, "some parts of our thoughts will remain unuttered from
the want of a great space and silence between us."
It may sound unbelievable but it is true that many lovelorn
persons still address letters to Romeo or Juliet, the tragic
leading personalities of Shakespeare's famous play. The letters,
which their writers send to Verona, Italy, where the story is
set, usually ask for solutions to their own personal problems.
And the letters are answered by the people who manage the
historic site, on behalf of the two legendary figures.
Through letters one can also maintain the bond of family ties
better because in them one can fine-tune one's opinions, feelings
and sentimental attachments to certain persons or places. A
letter can also convey a serious message at length and thereby
boost personal relationships.
Greater still, a letter can be documented and become a
historical item. Many letters of great historical figures have
disclosed more to us about history than any formal textbooks can.
There are actually so many such letters that we cannot mention
them one by one in this column. Remember, however, that letters
sent by Indian leader Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru from his prison to
his daughter Indira Gandhi in the 1930s were compiled into a
book, which relates to us the march of mankind, and particularly
that of the Indian independence movement. Letters also have
revealed that Napoleon Bonaparte had a sentimental side to his
nature.
During this present age of consumerism, in which values have
dramatically changed and the sense of beauty has acquired new
forms, people tend to be less shy. Thus, letters also help to
reveal for future generations the spirit of the times in which
their forebears lived. Thus, it may not be too much of an
exaggeration to say that advising people to resuscitate the
letter writing habit is almost tantamount to asking them to try
to enjoy the beauty of the voice of the human soul, while
preserving tiny but meaningful bits of history for their
offspring.