Loosening Threads of Democracy
The slow unraveling thread of a beloved civic instrument
The UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE predates American independence and embodies a radical democratic promise:
That every person regardless of wealth, education, or status, could reach any other person across a continent defined by distance.
The guaranteed delivery of packaged and sealed ideas at modest price to any address in the land was a fundamental building block of American democracy, and its importance is fading into memory. These artifacts of thought and intention also acted as vehicles of what was perhaps the most democratic art gallery in human history. The postage stamp as a considered object was curated, printed, and distributed by the millions to every address within the United States. Giving unparalleled access to fine art, scientific achievements, national heroes, native wildlife, historical sites... the subject matter remains limitless. They acted as small reminders of patriotism, not in a moral or partisan sense, but as a civil collective.
As the digital landscape slowly replaces this quiet and taken for granted American institution with faster and better communication methods, it is worth considering what benefits were quietly carried by 250 years of slower communication. At a moment when the conversation seems particularly skewed towards surveillance, we might remember that protection of privacy was not merely a concept thrown into America's founding documents because it sounded important.
