Smart stamps get stamp of approval

Privacy watchdogs are virtually up in arms over a proposal by the U. S. Postal Service that would create "smart stamps" to better track mail especially in light of threatened terrorist attacks. The smart mail plan has been under consideration long before Sept. 11 but interest has increased following the attacks.

Under the proposal, the Postal Service would develop special bar codes or stamps that would identify the sender of the mail, the destination and the class of the mail. Similar service is already available for corporate customers. But use of the new system by all customers would help to track or prevent incidents such as the anthrax scare that killed five and sickened dozens following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Privacy advocates however are expressing strong concerns. They fear that the new system would allow the government to track mail that has no wrongful purpose. That process, they fear, would invade the privacy of everyone just to help prevent a few, isolated incidents.

"We have a long history in this country of anonymous political speech," an advocate said this week. Any change that removes anonymity from the public mail is "making a major change to the political discourse in this country."

Well I fall squarely on the side of the Postal Service in this instance. If a new high-tech system can track mail and improve efficiency, I see no public harm that would follow. In fact, the ability to track threatening mail or tainted mail far outweighs any potential for public harm by a wide margin in my book.

It seems to me that some people within this country fail to remember that we are at war. It may not be as traditional as past wars but it remains a reality. There are those in this world who wish to bring us harm and they will go to any lengths to do just that. For us to ignore a tool that can fight that threat seems foolish and foolhardy.