Save the Post Office

| 01 Jun 2020 | 08:09

The U.S. Postal Service is as American as apple pie.

The American colonists recognized the need to send newspapers, letters, documents and books to each other. In 1775 the Postal Service was created and Benjamin Franklin became the first Postmaster General.

After the American Revolution, the post office was enshrined in the Constitution.

The post office is not political. It is American.

Some things should not be partisan – like the post office. It embodies community, connection and commitment. We learned as children “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

I remember thinking of postal workers as heroes.

I still do.

I don’t want to live in a virtual world. I want real people who take pride in their job, sell me a stamp with a smile and let me send a package to someone I care about and a check to a doctor.

The federal government has an obligation to keep the post office functioning. We know the lights can go out but the mail still arrives. Especially now, we recognize how brave these men and women are just doing their job.

Please contact our members of Congress and tell them to provide robust funding for the United States Postal Service.

Without Congressional action, the USPS could become insolvent by the end of September 2020.

We often don’t know how much something means until we lose it.

Gail Buckland

Warwick