Truman State University Index | By Zach Vicars | February 15, 2012

Elmer, Mo. — located 25 miles southwest of McClain Hall — is on the verge of being wiped off the map.

This tiny hamlet of 80 people recently had their polling place taken away because they couldn't afford to provide handicap-accessible facilities. The town's elderly citizens now have to travel more than 10 miles on winding roads to vote.

To make matters worse, the Elmer Post Office will be one of 3,700 throughout the country to be forcibly shut down this May, according to the United States Postal Service. To suburbanites who dread a trip to the post office, this might not seem like a big deal, but for a small town, the post office is much more than a place to get the mail. The post office is a community center, a gathering place and a connection to the outside world for an isolated community.

For the Elmer citizens, this two-sided assault on their town seems more like a deliberate attack than an accident of urbanization. With their polling place and post office gone, it is as if their voice in democracy and their line of communication are being targeted.

As Elmer goes, so will the thousands of other towns that are having their rural identity stripped from them in the name of federal budget cuts. As a gesture of gratitude for the agrarian setting that has made this University great, we should fight alongside towns like Elmer to defend the identity of rural Americans.

The USPS suggested the dramatic slash in offices to address the budget crisis it's facing as an independent federal agency. They claim eliminating these isolated offices could save $200 million a year.

That's an impressive number, but it represents only 2 percent of the agency's annual deficit. USPS is losing $23 million a day — that means cutting out the center of civil life for thousands of small towns will save the organization nine days' worth of losses every year.

One of the reasons the USPS can eliminate these offices is because they do not need Congressional approval. Dramatic structuring changes — like a five-day mailing system or reduced pensions — would save the government billions of dollars, but would involve a much more lengthy legal procedure. 

Basically, it's more convenient for the USPS to pick on small towns than to address the core issues of their organization.

About a month ago, Elmer Baptist Church asked me to preach to their small congregation. I accepted the offer, viewing it as a chance to share God's love with a hurting community. In the process, I've been so impressed by Elmer's strength in the face of such great adversity.

The town is sad and lonely, with one small diner and a railroad track that runs through its center. But the people who live there are a shining example of resiliency, determination and courage. Instead of dividing, they have chosen to support and encourage one another. These people are real Americans — vital to our broader cultural identity.

Elmer's story is much bigger than the struggle of a few dozen families. Rather, it is a microcosm of what is happening throughout this great nation. The sad truth is towns from the north coast of California to the maple groves of Maine are facing the same crisis as Elmer. Having endured as rural poverty rates have skyrocketed during recent decades, they now must watch in anguish as the center of their civic identity is taken away from them.

As an institution of higher learning situated in a vibrant rural setting, we must not sit idly by as this great mainstay of American life is removed by force. Instead, let us champion the cultural landscape that has nourished this University and defend the rural America we have all grown to know and love. We have at our disposal vital academic disciplines — such as economics, political science, agriculture and history — which we can use to demonstrate the necessity of rural life in America.

Or we can put rural America up for sale. The price is pretty good: just $200 million a year.

Zach Vicars is a senior philosophy/religion and linguistics major from St. Charles, Mo.

http://www.trumanindex.com/budget-cuts-take-away-from-rural-identity-1.2782085#.Tz0iD3JWoZw