Today I had to run to the post office to mail out thank you cards from the kids to family that were very generous at Christmas. While there I was struck with and reminded what an important service so many of us take for granted.

Making sure that the mail was delivered as quickly and dependably as possible was critical to the colonies’ survival. That’s why three months after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress turned to Benjamin Franklin to establish a national post service as the first Postmaster General. *

While at the post office, I got to talking to the person behind the plexi and he said he is currently working 6 days, 9 hour shifts. The post office seems to be severely understaffed. In a time with record unemployment and people hurting because their service job disappeared and there’s uncertainty about whether some of these businesses will survive and come back – obviously the USPS can’t hire everyone but they can hire some people who may really need a job.

And while under the current post master general, the post office has suffered greatly, I still believe the post office can be saved and excel in the future.

This past election saw people vote in record numbers. A reason for that is that many people voted by mail. This was especially important while we live through the current pandemic. But think about it, US workers currently don’t get Election Day off. Voting by mail is safe and secure and would allow voters the time to research candidates, allow people with physical disabilities to still be involved in the voting process and even if you didn’t feel safe getting your ballot in a drop box, you can walk it to a post office – they’re everywhere! If you have a zip code chances are there’s a post office nearby. Another case for voting by mail is that it ends gerrymandering. In the past and till today, the issue of gerrymandering has hurt and disenfranchised many citizens because they were unable to get to a polling place. This past election we saw people driven to stand in lines for hours to exercise their right to vote. Now imagine if those people could vote by mail – how easy it would all be with a end product of government actually representing the will of its constituents.

The post office and its employees are not the enemy.

* info about the history of the USPS taken from HISTORY STORIES

clipart of USPS logo: clipart-library.com