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The True Citizen, Wednesday, February 24, 2021 — Page 5A
Michael N. Searles
NEITHER SNOW, NOR RAIN, NOR HEAT, NOR GLOOM OF NIGHT
Many readers will recognize
the title of this article as the
unofficial motto of the United
States Postal Service. The
full statement was penned
by Greek Historian Herodo
tus 2500 years ago: "Neither
snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor
gloom of night stays these
courageous couriers from the
swift completion of their ap
pointed rounds." Americans
not only love the Post Office
as a reliable source for mail,
stamps, and money orders,
but as a friendly gathering
place where neighbors meet
and share stories and news of
the day. A few years ago, the
U.S. Postal Service enjoyed the
most positive image of 13 high-
profile government agencies
according to a Gallup survey.
Overall, 73% of women and
70% of men rated the Postal
Service as doing an “excellent”
or “good” job.
The image of the Post Office
has taken a hit in the last couple
of years. Part of the problem
rests with COVID-19, which
caused thousands of postal
workers to miss work during
one of the busiest times for the
delivery of mail. It has been
reported that more than 50,000
workers took time off due to
COVID because they were
sick, a family member was
sick, or because of quarantine
requirements. The American
Postal Workers Union also re
ported that 160 postal workers
died from COVID-19.
Another problem has been
highlighted in what might be
called a Post Office debacle —
the appointment of Postmaster
General Louis DeJoy. DeJoy is
an American businessman who
was appointed in May 2020 by
the Board of Governors of the
United States Postal Service.
Prior to the appointment, he
also was a Republican Party
fundraiser and supporter of
President Donald Trump. Upon
assuming office in June 2020,
he instituted a number of cost
cutting measures such as ban
ning overtime, forbidding late
or extra trips to deliver mail,
removing and dismantling
hundreds of high-speed mail
sorting machines, and remov
ing some mail collection boxes
from streets. The changes
caused significant delays of
mail delivery, resulting in in
vestigations by congressional
committees and the USPS
inspector general.
In August, DeJoy announced
that the changes would be
suspended, and in October, the
USPS agreed to reverse all the
changes. However, the damage
had already been done. Many
of the changes may have been
instigated by the former presi
dent who reportedly wanted to
slow the delivery of the ballots
for the November election.
Some have alleged that De-
Joy’s actions were a deliberate
effort to set the USPS up for
failure.
The Postal Service currently
operates under a backlog of
packages and letters that are
only now being delivered.
Before DeJoy’s arrival, first
class mail arrived in a timely
manner topped off above 90%.
While the complete blame
cannot be reasonably laid at
the Postmaster General’s feet,
his actions did not help. A
recent article from the Port
land, Maine Postal Service
reported, “At Christmastime,
you could barely move in the
facility. Aisles were blocked
with mail.” “Jay Geller said it
took 30 days for a birthday card
mailed after Christmas from
his mother-in-law in Iowa to
reach her 8-year-old grandson
at his home in Cleveland.” A
myriad of other stories have
been reported from around the
nation.
Locally, a number of Burke
Countians have their own hor
ror stories of mailing an item
only for it to arrive much later.
A local resident reported mail
ing a gift before Christmas only
to have it arrive on Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.
The resident reportedly said, “I
guess rather than a Christmas
present it became a Dr. King
Day present.” The past is the
past, but sometimes the past in
trudes into the future. All of us
who love our local Post Office
want the best for the institution
that many of us use on a daily
basis. We also hate that blame
will fall on the dedicated work
ers who handle 181.9 millions
of pieces of First-Class mail
each day. Let us hope and pray
that all the hardships of 2020
become a faint memory, and
we can return to loving our
Post Office.
Diana Royal
NO AGENDA HERE
As I write this, it’s just after 4
a.m. on Tuesday morning. Star
ing at the screen trying to come
up with something to fill this
space, I realize how often I’ve
pulled something previously
written and just chosen to do a
reprint here instead. This little
column, an area that could be
a sounding board in my com
munity, has become secondary
to me. And I don’t think anyone
has noticed. Which is also fine
because for me, my love for
writing grew from a desire to
do it for myself; reading and
writing are therapeutic, but in
this world, in media, the two
combine to provide informa
tion. That’s what’s supposed to
happen anyway. I think we do
a fairly good job of that at this
tiny operation, but others will
argue that we are too political
or they don’t read this trash.
Blah. Blah. Blah.
Several weeks ago I shared
an ad on our Facebook page
that someone had purchased,
just like all the other ads that
are purchased and placed on
our social media every week.
Yet this one was political; it
ruffled feathers. Those who
supported the candidate in
question got on their soapbox
boxes about what a horrible
newspaper we are, how we
are not worth the dollar a
copy costs. However, had the
ad been about someone they
disliked, I’m sure we’d have
stayed in their good graces.
I hate political ads just as
much as everyone else, es
pecially when you’re trying
to watch TV or a YouTube
video, and the same ones are
on repeat. I’m pretty sure this
past election haunted me in my
sleep, but honestly the night
mare of reporting the numbers
and making sure to not mess all
that up was far worse than any
of the campaigns.
Since the beginning of its
creation, media, on whatever
platform, has relied on ad
vertising to support it; that’s
how we operate, and we are
so thankful for the advertisers
who keep us going. Election
season, however cringy some
may believe it to be, is a profit
able time, and in the age of Co-
vid when small businesses are
hurting, why would we chose
to then start filtering content?
Wouldn’t that actually put us in
the category of catering to this
agenda we’ve been accused of
promoting?
This is why print and TV
media use the phrase “paid for
by the candidate” — it lets you
know that we did not write the
information, it is not a news
story and does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the staff
at the media outlet. In other
words, it’s up to the reader
to determine for themselves
if the content is accurate or
exaggerated. We really aren’t
trying to tell you how to think.
In fact, we put in copious
amounts of effort into speaking
with candidates and sharing
their direct answers to specific
questions within the pages of
our publication. We work with
the Chamber to organize and
present candidates forums.
We want you to have firsthand
information. What you do with
that is your business and your
right, and The True Citizen
isn’t trying to take that away
from you.
For nearly a year now, in
my personal and professional
life, I have tried to navigate
these pandemic waters, and
it’s not always been easy to
keep my head above the H20,
as I’m sure is the case for
many others. It’s harder to fill
a newspaper when key ele
ments like public gatherings
and day-to-day activities at
schools or annual events such
as Boss Hog or the Wimberly
gala are canceled or postponed.
It’s easy to give up or to adopt
the mindset “no one cares any
way” when you have a job
such as this and hear nothing
but complaints 97 percent of
the time.
I’m trying to crawl out of
the hole I let naysayers dig and
throw me in, which boils down
to the point of my scribblings:
don’t let the lynch mob rob
you of your worth or purpose.
Those mobs are everywhere,
waiting to pounce. Sometimes
they’re just one person. We
have all been through the
ringer, but this pandemic has
not — should not — take
away our common sense or
congeniality.
Just in case you need remind
ing, we are your friend.
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