A recent riff in The New Yorker on the Titanic and the Paul Ryan budget reminds us of the realities of American history. That the good life Republicans miss so much came about only after WWII, the GI bill, and large, active unions.
The PBS series American Experience has been running some excellent pieces that cover a few significant events from the turn of the century through the crash of '29. I recommend the reminders.
The first two have been shown already and are now available for viewing online:
The Panama Canal was completed in 1914, just before the outbreak of WWI.
The power of Grand Coulee Dam came online at the outset of WWII.
Hoover Dam will air on Tuesday, April 17 and the Crash of 1929 on Tuesday, April 24.
We should know, we should remember, what we looked like, how we lived, how we thought, and how we viewed the world we lived in. We should know both what we accomplished and what the costs of those accomplishments were.
There may be issues some of us have with the costs, but when some folks try to tell you that government can't do anything right, ask if they live in Eastern Washington.
