How To Address An Unknown American Person?

I'm about to write a letter to an American person who I know next to nothing about, only his name and address. This letter will be about the upcoming Presidential elections. How do I address him? Is "Dear Mr. So-and-so" right?

Yes.

I'm about to write a letter to an American person who I know next to nothing about, only his name and address. This letter will be about the upcoming Presidential elections. How do I address him? Is "Dear Mr. So-and-so" right?

Is this part of the Guardian's 'Spam Clark County Ohio' initiative? If you only know this person's name and address, why are you unloading your views on the election?
How comfortable would you be if a stranger ina foreign country wrote to you* about your voting intentions in *your national elections?
John Dean
Oxford

I'm about to write a letter to an American person ... How do I address him? Is "Dear Mr. So-and-so" right?

Is this part of the Guardian's 'Spam Clark County Ohio' initiative? If you only know this person's name and address, ... would you be if a stranger ina foreign country wrote to you* about your voting intentions in *your national elections?

I couldn't agree more. I simply couldn't believe what I was reading when I saw the article about this gobsmackingly arrogant "experiment". (The "sample letters" from the bien-pensants were particularly cringe- making lectures, hectoring, and sticking their noses where they don't bloody belong.)
Y'know, if I was a Kerry supporter and received one of these things from some overseas busybody, I'd be very tempted to vote Bush just to shove it back in their presumptuous face.

Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 22 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van)

John Dean (Email Removed) scribbled the following:

I'm about to write a letter to an American person ... How do I address him? Is "Dear Mr. So-and-so" right?

Is this part of the Guardian's 'Spam Clark County Ohio' initiative?

It is.

If you only know this person's name and address, why are you unloading your views on the election?

Because it's my only chance.

How comfortable would you be if a stranger ina foreign country wrote to you* about your voting intentions in *your national elections?

Quite comfortable. I wouldn't necessarily honour the pledge, though, I might throw the letter in the trashcan after reading it. I am fully aware the person I'll be writing to may do the same.

/ Joona Palaste (Email Removed) Finland \ \ rules! / "The truth is out there, man! Way out there!"
- Professor Ashfield

Calling an American "so and so" is never a good thing to do.So and so is usually used with dirty as in "that dirty so and so.".

I'm about to write a letter to an American person who I know next to nothing about, only his name and address. This letter will be about the upcoming Presidential elections. How do I address him? Is "Dear Mr. So-and-so" right?

Yes, assuming he's male.

Don't you think they might do worse than that? Like Harvey says, vote for the opponent of the candidate you favour just because they don't like outside interference? And tell all their friends 'Hey, the furriners like X so he's obviously in the pay of non-Americans - you should all vote for the other guy.'
If you received an unsolicited letter from a stranger, wouldn't you regard it as junk mail? Are you checking your recipient isn't on a list where they've opted not to receive unsolicited mail? If you're sending an Email, do you think such an unsolicited missive comes perilously close to being spam?
Are you going to write to me at the next UK General Election?
John Dean
Oxford

On 15 Oct 2004, John Dean wrote

Is this part of the Guardian's 'Spam Clark County Ohio' ... to you* about your voting intentions in *your national elections?

I couldn't agree more. I simply couldn't believe what I was reading when I saw the article about this gobsmackingly ... from some overseas busybody, I'd be very tempted to vote Bush just to shove it back in their presumptuous face.

During the runup to the Iowa caucus, a cadre of Dean supporters from Seattle flew to Iowa to make sure we understood why we were supposed to vote for Dean. You see how much good it did them.