Some of our grandparents might remember the post office being in the general store. It was the center of town; everything could be taken care of there.
The post offices might be moving back there in the near future.
According to CNN.com, a list of potential post office closings has been released, and the U.S. Postal Service suggested “village post offices” be established in grocery stores because people don’t go to post office buildings anymore.
The post office is not funded by taxpayer money at all, but on the revenue it creates. The number of customers coming in per week is down to an average of 600. Without this plan, the post office will not be able to stay afloat.
This is a fact that saddens me. I can already see that mail is fading out of not only popularity, but also out of necessity. People just don’t need to send letters anymore. To some people, it is counterproductive. Why send a letter when a text or email can get the job done so much faster?
A number of people are concerned by the effects the closings will have on their towns, but the Postal Service needs to cut spending. It lost $3.8 billion in 2009, proof that the post office as we know it cannot remain. It expects to hit its $15 million debt limit in the 2011 fiscal year. Mail delivery on Saturdays might also be stopped to save money.
I always wonder why mail is so exciting, though. Maybe it is the fact that it was delivered by someone, that time was taken to have it sent to us. We have actual proof that someone cares.
I can’t go up to my friends excitedly because I got an email, but if I got a postcard and showed it to them, they might be a little more enthusiastic with me.
My grandparents send mail since they do not want to use computers. They are always thoughtful about what they send, perhaps because of the time it takes to send a letter or a package. The deliberate care put into things sent by mail is refreshing.
My concern is that we are no longer putting as much effort into our communication. Crafting a letter is a careful and deliberate process, whereas texting is short, abbreviated and often times unclear or misunderstood.
The one advantage of our move away from letters is the environmental side. It saves paper to email and text. Saving trees is important, and the fact that we are cutting down on paper usage is very encouraging. We get less junk mail and more spam.
I also understand that the Postal Service is financially struggling and needs to do something. I don’t necessarily see another way to fix this problem.
Though I feel strongly about this, I too have fallen out of the habit of writing letters. I used to do it all the time, but I rarely do it anymore. It costs money, and email is free — so why spend that money? Well, maybe for the fun of slipping a letter into the mail slot and giving someone else a chance to get mail.
We need more productive political discussions
