Bonnie Mettler, CO: Hello Russian Friends! We would like to meet you and talk to you. I know that we both share the same desires -- to live safe, happy, and healthy lives and leave the earth for all of our children and grandchildren to enjoy.
Kenneth Martin, NM: I have extended family, love them very much. I have spent a lot of time in southwestern Siberia (Barnaul) to be close to them!
Maryellen Suits, MO: I have read Tolstoy and Chekov and Dostoyevsky. These authors have helped me to know you, and I send you love and hope. We Americans who oppose our new president could benefit from your love and hope as well. -- Fondly, -- Maryellen Suits
Anne Koza, NV: I have visited Russia 7 times. I love Russia and its culture and history. I wish the Russian people "All the best."
Elizabeth Murray, WA: I hope for the day that we can live together in peace without the shadow of nuclear war over our heads. I hope for the day that many billions currently being used to prepare for never-ending war will instead be used to prepare for never-ending peace.
Alexandra Soltow, St. Augustine, FL: The leadership of the US does not represent me or most of the people I know.
Anna Whiteside, Warren, VT: Just imagine a world without war where we can work together for bettering the world for all humankind.
Stephanie Willett-Shaw, Longmont, CO: The Russian people are a great people. Rock on!
Meghan Murphy, Shutesbury, MA: We are one global family. We can love our homeland but not always our governments.
Mark Chasan, Puducherry, NJ: Greetings from real American people who want mutual friendship, understanding, loving kindness, unity in diversity. We the people of the U.S. and Russia can build friendships, respect, new understandings and relationships that will bring us closer and lead to future peaceful and caring connections. It is a great way to lead our governments in the right direction.
Ricardo Flores, Azusa, CA: I always wish only the best for the Russian population, who I am sure feel misrepresented by some members of their governing power, just like many of us do, but the future of a peaceful Earth resides on our hands.
When I visit Russia this week I intend to bring a sampling of these messages of friendship. I will not claim that they represent a unanimous U.S. view, only that they represent an informed view and an under-reported view that contrasts with what Russians and the world hear directly and indirectly from U.S. corporate media all the time.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, allow me to reproduce here, without names attached, a handful of lovely emails from my in-box:
"And don't forget to offer Putin all of Europe and let's learn Russian so we can have Putin take over the USA. We should sent the same love letter to the heads of another Korea and Iran as well as ISIS -- if you could get your head out of your a-s you see the dangers of your dumb position of gutting our military."
"f*ck Russia! They gave that bastard TRUMP the election! I will NOT send friendship to them!"
"STUPID, they, under the burden of Putin, gave us TRUMP, the only thing to send to them is for the sake of PEACE is to dump Putin. You people are fools."
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