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Generally, the mailman on Race Street in Elizabethton drops the mail off by midafternoon on weekdays. Many of the folks who live on the street are elderly and usually pay their bills by mail and often send cards by mail. Plus, they get their paper through the mail.

Monday, at 6 p.m., they were asking each other: “Have you seen the mailman today? He didn’t get the mail I had for him to pick up.”

Finally, about 6:30 p.m., the mailman showed up. Other routes were in the same situation, I learned Tuesday.

The U.S. Mail is an institution. It has carried mail to servicemen and servicewomen, been the delivery service for birthday cards for years and years, and we’ve entrusted our mail carrier to deliver our water bills, electric bills, etc. to their proper destination. And for many, the mail delivers their old-age pension check.

From its beginning, the Postal Service has bound our nation together. Recently, a United States representative from Illinois said: “There’s a lot more that unites us than divides us, and one of those things is the United States Postal Service.”

Without USPS letter carriers, more than 51.5 million households and businesses in rural communities would have no guaranteed delivery. The Postal Service ensures that every American, no matter where they live, is a valued part of the whole.

The Postal Service predates the founding of our nation. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin served as its champion and the first postmaster general. He knew that reliable mail service was necessary for the colonies’ survival. For more than 250 years, the Postal Service has bound our nation together, ensuring that every American, no matter where they live, is a valued part of the whole.

That’s why it’s so concerning that an administration that pledges to “Make America Great Again” has put one of our greatest national assets on the chopping block. The Trump administration has suggested bringing the U.S. Postal Service under White House control, and even having mail carriers conduct the U.S. Census. The U.S. Congress set up the Postal Service to be independent of the White House and generally self-funded through stamp sales and other service fees.

Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. During his first term, Trump appointed business tycoon and top Republican Party funder Louis DeJoy as the postmaster general. During his time in that position, DeJoy attempted to “save” the Postal Service by raising the cost of stamps while simultaneously reducing its service standards — a prescription that predictably resulted in greater delays in receiving mail.

Fortunately, DeJoy has announced his resignation. But rather than replacing him with a better steward, the Trump administration is contemplating placing the Postal Service in private hands.

No private industry provides universal service, particularly to exurban and rural households whose service may not be “profitable.” Without the work of USPS letter carriers, more than 51.5 million households and businesses in rural communities would have no guaranteed delivery of critical items such as medications, ballots and bills.

In many small communities across Tennessee and elsewhere, the post office is a center for local news and social activity. Losing their post offices could literally take these communities off the map.

Since its inauguration in January, this administration has undertaken a systematic slashing of institutions from Social Security and Veterans Affairs to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. These steps, taken at the direction of billionaire Elon Musk without transparency and bypassing Congress, threaten reliable, essential services upon which millions of Americans depend. Unfortunately, the Postal Service appears to be next in line.

We Americans are united by many things, including our historic Postal Service. It ensures that every person counts, no matter who they are or where they live. In a time of division and discord threatening our unity as a nation, we should preserve and protect the institutions that knit us closer together.

The U.S. Postal Service belongs at the top of that list.