OK. We need to change the political debate in this country in all sorts of ways.
One way is to emphasize how well so many government programs work for all of us--and to honor the public employees who do the work.
Rachel Maddow gives us lots of opportunities.
We need to get Rachel's picture up in the Post Office. (Not there, Silly. In a place of honor!)
Rachel Maddow did a very nice piece on the U.S. Postal Service on April 5th. You can see it here.
Briefly, she cites the constitutional authority for the Post Office, the efficiency with which it runs, and its approval rating (way higher than other government services). And she has clips of Rethugs bashing the USPS.
Her presentation was great.
So, I went to my local Post Office today, and nobody there had heard of the presentation--or of Rachel. MSNBC, maybe. I told the postal workers about all the nice things Rachel had said about them (leaving out the digs she made regarding Rethugs), and I encouraged them to hit the link I gave them, or to google: Rachel Maddow podcast post office.
They seemed interested. Everybody loves to be loved.
I hope the people I talked to will come to regard Rachel as their champion--both as postal employees, and as citizens.
Next time you greet your carrier, or make a trip to the Post Office, I encourage each of you to chat up the postal workers and spread the love Rachel Maddow sent their way. And every time Rachel, or Larry, or Ed, or anybody on our side lays the love on public workers, spread the word to those workers. Let them know who appreciates and honors them, and who does not.