The Power Of A Letter

It was a quarter century ago that 13 year-old Samantha Smith, her father and eight others were killed in a plane crash.

Samantha made worldwide headlines just two years earlier—after writing a letter to Soviet President Yuri Andropov, asking him bluntly why he wanted to conquer the world. After initially receiving no response, Samantha wrote another letter to the Soviet Embassy, expressing her disappointment at not getting a letter in return.

Then, it got interesting.

Yuri Andropov wrote a personal reply, assuring the Maine schoolgirl that his country had no intention of starting a war or taking over the globe. What was surely a stroke of genius direct from the Soviet public relations/propaganda machine, was nevertheless gobbled up by the American media and the U.S. public. In the process, an unlikely celebrity was born.

Samantha Smith made her mark in her short life—and demonstrated the power of a letter. The intelligent and articulate 10 year-old (at the time) penned a direct question that was both naïve and profound. After all, there is hardly ever a logical case for war, violence and bloodshed. Framing it in the simplistic language of a child made the relationship that grew out of that simple one-page letter the stuff of legend.

Andropov invited Smith and her family to the Soviet Union, prompting another wave of worldwide attention and publicity. While the State Department no doubt cringed at the thought of the “Evil Empire” attempting to manipulate American public opinion by using a 10 year old child, there had to be some private concessions that perhaps this youngster had accomplished more diplomatically than any delegation sent from the White House ever could.

Check out Ted Koppel’s interview of Samantha on ABC’s “Nightline” program:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TgCEvWa16Y&feature=related

Amazing.

We lost this young leader too soon, but her memory lives on through the Samantha Smith Foundation, started by her mother Jane—to honor her daughter and perpetuate the cause of peace that this small ambassador started. If you’d like more information on the work of the Foundation, here is the link:

http://www.samanthasmith.info/Foundation.htm

One young life. Not many years –certainly not enough. But an impact that resonates even today, 27 years after that simple but fateful letter.

Just a letter.


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