Liberty and Justice For All

Well, I just got done writing letters to our nine Supreme Court justices. For those of you living in caves, our justices are currently facing the decision of whether or not to redefine marriage to include the recognition of same-sex couples as married. They will make this decision in the next month or so. I'm considering writing a post on my feelings about this, but I'll be honest, I'm a little hesitant to put my thoughts on this subject out on the interwebs for all the haters to see. I've mentioned before how ugly comments tear me up or my belief that the internet is full of narcissistic jerks.

Anyway, back to the task at hand: I don't know about you, but marriage is something I feel very strongly about which is why I took the time to write a letter to our justices expressing my opinions and concerns about their upcoming decision on this matter. As an educated adult living in a country where I have the right to vote and have exercised that right since I was of legal voting age, I think it's important that I take the time to make sure that the people entrusted to make decisions for this country know where I stand on monumental issues such as this one. Earlier this year, I wrote to all my state representatives expressing my extreme displeasure in the events leading to the legalization of same-sex "marriage" in my state. 

From what I have observed, my generation and younger have become increasingly apathetic about our right to vote and the legal system in this nation. This is very disheartening to me, and I wanted to take the time today to advocate for being informed about current issues and exercising your rights as a citizen in this country. It is not difficult with the technology we have to figure out who your representatives are and how to get in touch with them. 

If you didn't know, our nine Supreme Court justices are:

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.

Justice John Paul Stevens

Justice Antonin Scalia

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy

Justice Clarence Thomas

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice Stephen G. Breyer

Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor

To mail them a letter, you would address it like this:

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.

Supreme Court of the United States

One First Street N.E.

Washington, DC 20543

When writing a justice of the Supreme Court, it is appropriate to address them like this:

Dear Justice (or Chief Justice) [last name]:

For example:

Dear Justice Kennedy:

When you write a letter to any of our politicians, be sure you include your own name and mailing address. In my letters, I include my phone number as well. Be respectful in your tone and concise. Make your position clear. Check for spelling and grammar errors. Type it up so they will be able to read it. It's not rocket science, people, and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to write a letter to one (or all) of our justices.

If you are interested in writing letters to your state representatives or senators, this is a really helpful website for figuring out who they are and how to do that. If you are interested in reading the letters I have sent or have more questions about how to write to a politician, feel free to email me at hannah(dot)hancock87(at)gmail(dot)com, and I would be more than happy to show you my letters, answer your questions, or help you in any way I can. 

We really do live in a great country, and I, for one, want it to stay that way.

Have you ever written to your senator? Your representatives? Our Supreme Court justices? Or the President? What did you write about? Did you receive a response?