The 4th of July.

Yesterday was a holiday and I listened to some radio specials on NPR. The shows talked about the history (versus the common myths) about our nation's struggle for independence and they talked about the great depression.

Not for the first time, I just sat there listening, fascinated by how little I know about our nation's actual history.
How terms like "republican" and "freedom" have been twisted around over the decades.
How little I know or think about our national holidays.
How incredibly wealthy we are and we dont even notice.

Like most people, national holidays to me are about beer and bbq and not going to work. I dont think about what they mean or the words to the songs we sing - the way men like Thomas Jefferson did. Shit meant a lot back then, at least to the learned. Words and ideas were important, were worth fighting and dying for.

As I lay on the couch watching TV and eating chocolate, it strikes me that people back then had so much less and yet thought so much more. Its hard to prove but at reflective moments like this, I feel that we are getting dumber even as we learn more stuff. Sure you can work a cell phone but what does a word like "freedom" actually mean?

But Jefferson was a long time ago. Much more relevant and fascinating is the history of just the past century. You would think we would know more about it.

I heard a show that talked about the Hoover/Roosevelt election and the things Roosevelt did to give people work.

The sanctity of work. That was a big deal then. Not just giving people money but giving them labor for a wage. It makes a lot of sense to me. I am not sure it translates to brain work (banking, stock market, computers) but it makes sense to me.

Another big deal back then was nature and learning life skills. How to start a fire, catch a fish and cook it. Basic manual labor skills.

The stories, some from people still alive, were really touching. 15 year kids who lied about their age so they could go to work and earn food money. The CCC which sent poor men around the country. Men who got food, a little money and who built just about everything, from the first ski resort in Vermont to the Hoover dam.

It was a fascinating tale far from the politics of today and our "debates" about the stimulus plan and bailing out the banks and home "owners".

Listening to some 90 year old guy talking about how poor, hungry and desperate his family was then and how the CCC saved his life, it was really touching. And it was like another world.

We have come so far, prospered so much this past century that the idea of so many homeless and hungry is unimaginable. Our wealth, wealth I grew up in, is unimaginable but so omnipresent we dont even see it. We take so much for granted.

And that is what I like about our national holidays. Spending at least a few hours thinking about how much we have and being thankful.