stamps--it matters

     A new campaign suggests that we put pictures of living people on United States stamps. The people you see honored on stamps are always dead people, usually people who have been dead for 10 years, at least.  The image of a living person on a coin or stamp traditionally, and currently around the world, means that the person whose image is on the stamp or coin is the head of state, and probably the hereditary monarch, of the country issuing the coin or stamp. From ancient times, when the Romans "recalled" and reissued coins when a new leader took over, to the modern image of the British queen on British stamps and coins, the figure of a living person has meant the ruler of the state. In America, we use the stamps and coins to remember and honor those who have made contributions to our society, not to proclaim a new dictator.