Some Things to Think About

While digging back into my brain to dredge up some old memories of things my parents, grandparents and teachers talked about I've come up with some things we should think about these days. "Such as?" you ask, adding "What could be relevant to us younger folks of today?" Well, how about who did most of the grape harvesting in California way back in the 1900's until relatively recent years? Bet you don't know the answer.

In my youth, yeah I was young once, I remember traveling with mom and dad to Southern California. As with so many trips my parents made, this one was to look for work. We were fortunate that one of my mother's uncles lived in that part of the state, and Uncle Jim invited us to stay with them until we could find a place of our own.

Dad was able to find a job as a welder with one of the machine repair shops that serviced agricultural equipment used by the grape growers. It was during this relatively brief stay that I learned that most of the people who worked as grape pickers were poor white farmers from Kansas, Oklahoma and other midwestern areas that lost most of what they had owned when the great drought hit and most farms were sold off to richer land owners.

So, who filled a great many of the servant positions for many of the rich and powerful in California? They were filled by poor white folks like my parents who took what ever jobs they could find.

Don't misconstrue what I am saying here. I am NOT playing down the plight of the Negro and other races that also suffered during this period of our history. I'm simply pointing out that people of other races, including those of white Anglo Saxon lineage also suffered.

Also, I lived in Alaska when it became a state. There was quite a bit of arguing about giving voting rights to the Eskimo and Indian residents. Thankfully, common sense prevailed and they were insured that they had all the same rights as every citizen of America had.

After looking at the past history of our nation I am convinced that we were on the right path – extending more and more rights to citizens of every creed and color. Yes, mistakes were made from the founding of America, and continue to be made today. Government over reach into our day-to-day lives is now the worst one. Our personal freedoms have been constricted more and more by government from the city to the national levels. Some may be necessary. Others I think are more blatant power grabs. I'm one of those old time radicals that believe government should ONLY do what the citizens cannot do.

And this is why I think teaching the complete uncensored history of America's founding thru all the decades that followed until today. Then we citizens would know the following...

"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men." ~ Samuel Adams

P.S. Take a look at the history books being used in out school systems. You might be shocked at how little is taught about America and it's founding.