To paraphrase a popular quote, the best time to become more active in the fight for democracy, was yesterday. The second best time is today.
Grumbling at home has little value. We MUST do more! We can make our voices heard by contacting the people who are positions to make changes. The movers and shakers, the politicians and officials, the billionaires and corporate bigwigs... They need to do better and we need to make sure they do by pressuring them every way we can.
RADICAL POSTCARDS
Postcards are one of the best forms of contact because a number of people see the cards as they work their way through the mail. Even if the true recipient never actually lays eyes on it, a lot of other people might. If the card is clever or interesting, it might get shown to others along the way. "Hey, look at this!"
Think of it this way -
Postcards are mini protest signs that travel around, sometimes across the country.
This site is meant to make it easier for anyone to send "radical postcards" often. On this site, you can find postcard how-to's and tips, links to articles with info on current topics, suggestions of who to contact (along with their address and/or phone number) and more.
No excuses. Let's get started...
✅ POSTAL SPECS
Postcard stamps cost less than letter stamps, but to qualify, the paper needs to meet postal specifications. Making your own postcards is really simple and inexpensive. CLICK HERE to see what paper I use, what size I cut the paper to, and more.
✅ POSTCARD LAYOUT BASICS
Postcards only have room for a few simple sentiments - a picture message on the front and a short paragraph and address on the back. The person handling the card may only have seconds to see the message.
Mass produced / professionally printed postcards barely get noticed, but a unique colorful handmade postcard with some catchy art and short phrases will stand out and perhaps raise curiosity. A few people might even read both the front and back if it's not too long. Maybe the person doing the tallying will show it to others. Maybe instead of trashing it, they will take it home to show others. Who knows?
✅ The front of the card is for the picture. Any writing on the front needs to be super short and to the point. This part of the card is hopefully what will grab someone's attention and make them want to take a closer look. It can be elaborately artistic or it can look like a five year old made it. As long as it's attention-getting, it will be fine. Your artistic abilities should not hold you back in any way.
Click HERE to see LOTS more examples of the fronts of postcards and a few tips and tricks for creating designs when you aren't artistically inclined or want to save a bit of time.
ALSO - CLICK HERE to see lots of EASY TO DRAW POSTCARD ART!
✅ The back of the card is for the address and a brief message. The message should be one paragraph and be on the left half of the page. There's a limited amount of space for writing and that's perfect because the people coming across your card will probably be in a bit of a hurry. You need to figure out the absolute main point you care to make and write it as concisely as possible. Be sure to write legibly and not too small.
Here's an example expressing a bit of rage. I usually keep my language clean in my postcards but I was very angry when I did this one -
✅ Privacy & Safety
I typically want to remain anonymous. I live in a very red area, though I have amazingly just found out that a couple of fellow liberals live on my street. Still, I prefer to remain a little stealthy with my postcards.
I seldom sign my name on a postcard. Occasionally, if I want to sign a name I'll write a fake first name.
I never include my address.
I mail from a post office, not my home mailbox.
✅ MORE
Mailed postcards aren't my only way of spreading a message! Not every message needs to be mailed or needs to be on special paper. You might want to become a litterbug and leave little messages all over town. CLICK HERE to see more on this. There are some good ideas for other ways to get our messages out there!