I was shocked when I learned that the Postal Service was under attack by the Trump administration. They’ve never done anything to hurt anybody, they aren’t particularly active right now, and they’ve also made some pretty decent music, even if it’s not my absolute favorite. One thing’s for sure: Regardless of individual opinions on their work, the PS doesn’t deserve to be ambushed like this. So here’s why I wholeheartedly support the Postal Service, even though I do prefer the Iron & Wine version of “Such Great Heights”.
For one thing, I don’t understand how the Postal Service became politicized in the first place. I mean, they are from Seattle, and I guess I wouldn’t peg Trump as a big indie-pop-head, but to totally smear them with allegations of propagating voter fraud is way off base. The worst thing the Postal Service ever did was make a song way worse than a subsequent cover of that song, but really the cover couldn’t have existed without the original so in a way that was a good thing they did, too.
I’ve also heard some people saying that the Postal Service is in danger because a certain member of Trump’s administration has vested interests in its private competitors, and I’m like, look, I get it. I have a vested interest in Iron & Wine’s gorgeous, quietly heart wrenching, hypnotically fingerpicked “Such Great Heights” cover, but that doesn’t mean I can’t support the Postal Service at the same time. All bands deserve to create freely, even if one is, like, so 2005 and the other is absolutely timeless. It’s easy enough for me to hold both these ideas in my head at once; maybe the executive branch should give it a try.
All over social media, I’ve seen people arguing that this coordinated attack on the Postal Service poses a significant threat to democracy, and while I feel that’s perhaps a tad dramatic, I understand the sentiment completely. Ben Gibbard is worth protecting, even if it is true that his style is a little cute and Sam Ervin Beam breathed new life into that song imbuing it with a depth its creator could never have mustered. Still, it’s not like we have to destroy art we disagree with — what are we, a fascist dictatorship now?
So whether you’re a flannel-wearing, 2000 and late PS purist, or an Iron & Wine lover like me, I hope you’ll join in the fight to support the wrongly attacked Postal Service. Now, does anyone knows how we do that?
