Fact Check

Is This a Real Letter to the AARP?

"Washington has rendered Soylent Green a prophetic cautionary tale rather than a nonfiction scare tactic."

Published Sept. 21, 2009

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Claim:
A letter to the AARP from owners of Miller Farms Equine Transport explains their reasons for not renewing their memberships.

A letter said to have been sent by a couple of former members of the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) explaining to A. Barry Rand, that organization's Chief Executive Officer, their reasons for declining to renew their memberships, circulated on the Internet in September 2009 with a tag line attributing it to "Walt & Cyndy" of "Miller Farms Equine Transport," located in Cheraw, South Carolina.

The letter protested, in the main, the "Socialist politics practiced by the Obama administration and empowered by AARP":

Dear Mr. Rand,

Recently you sent us a letter encouraging us to renew our lapsed membership in AARP by the requested date.

I know it is not what you were looking for, but this is the most honest response I can give you. Our gap in coverage is merely a microscopic symptom of the real problem, a deepening lack of faith.

While we have proudly maintained our membership for several years and have long admired the AARP goal and principles, regrettably we can no longer endorse its abdication of our values. Your letter specifically stated that we can count on AARP to speak up for our rights, yet the voice we hear is not ours. Your offer of being kept up to date on important issues through DIVIDED WE FAIL, presents neither an impartial view we have come to embrace. We do believe that when 2 parties agree all the time on everything presented to them, one is probably not necessary. But, when the opinions and long term goals are diametrically opposed, the divorce is imminent. This is the philosophy which spawned our 200 years of government.

Once upon a time we looked forward to being part of the senior demographic. We also looked to AARP to provide certain benefits and give our voice a power we could not possibly hope to achieve on our own. AARP gave us a sense of belonging which we no longer enjoy.

The Socialist politics practiced by the Obama administration and empowered by AARP serves only to raise the blood pressure my medical insurance strives to contain. Clearly a conflict of interest there!

We do not understand the AARP posture, feel greatly betrayed by the guiding forces that we expected to map out our senior years and leave your ranks with a great sense of regret. We mitigate that disappointment with the relief of knowing we are not contributing to the problem any more by renewing our membership. There are other organizations which offer discounts without threatening our way of life or offending our sensibilities.

This presidential administration scares the living daylights out of us. Not just for our selves, but for our proud and bloodstained heritage. Even more importantly for our children and grandchildren.

Washington has rendered Soylent Green a prophetic cautionary tale rather than a nonfiction scare tactic. I have never in my life endorsed any militant or radical groups, but now I find myself listening to them. I don’t have to agree with them to appreciate the fear which spawned their existence. Their borderline insanity presents little more than a balance to the voice of the Socialist mindset in power.

Perhaps I became American by a great stroke of luck in some cosmic uterine lottery, but in my adulthood I CHOOSE to embrace it and nurture the freedoms it represents as well as the responsibilities it requires.

Your website generously offers the opportunity to receive all communication in Spanish. ARE YOU KIDDING???? Someone has broken into our ‘house’ invaded our home without our invitation or consent.

This president has insisted we keep the perpetrator in comfort and learn the perp language so we can communicate our reluctant welcome to them.

I DON'T choose to welcome them.
I DON'T choose to support them.
I DON'T choose to educate them.
I DON'T choose to medicate them, pay for their food or clothing.

American home invaders get arrested. Please explain to me why foreign lawbreakers can enjoy privileges on American soil that Americans do not get? Why do some immigrants have to ‘play the game’ to be welcomed and others just have to break and enter to be welcomed?

We travel for a living. Walt hauls horses all over this great country averaging over 10,000 miles a month when he is out there. He meets more people than a politician on caffeine overdose. Of all the many good folks he enjoyed on this last 10,000 miles this trip yielded only ONE supporter of this current administration. One of us is out of touch with mainstream America. Since our poll is conducted without funding, I have more faith in it than one which is power driven.

We have decided to forward this to everyone on our mailing list, and will encourage them to do the same. With several hundred in my address book, I have every faith that the eventual exponential factor will make a credible statement to you.

I am disappointed as hell
I am scared as hell
I am MAD as hell, and I’m NOT gonna take it anymore!

Cyndy confirmed for us that she did write and send the letter to AARP:

About a month ago, I wrote a letter to AARP refusing to renew my membership. I sent it to them about a month ago and sent it to 10 friends at the same has now gone around the internet and I get about 40 emails a day asking if we wrote it, and some telling me they contacted you for verification.

I have included the letter to make it easier and more accurate. Every time someone asked me if it was mine, I had to read through what they sent to see if it was still intact. Amazingly, every single time, it was!

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.