America's best idea

[David Anderson]

Man I feel good after watching Ken Burn's "National Parks".  I want to load the bus up and go.  Two times I had tears well up in me.  One was the story of the father who did the buddy walk with his son at Glacier.  The boy wrote in his diary that, "this was the best day of my life", when he and his dad saw the wild goats come within 3 feet of their path.  The other was the man telling of his father coming to Washington from South Carolina.  His father, deep rooted in the Jim Crow south had never been out of his home town, but came to Washington and requested his son take him to the Lincoln Memorial.  He wanted to walk up to the monument alone, and as his son watched the father proceeded to read every inscription on the memorial, returned to the car, with tears in his eyes, and said, "now I can go home".  Wow, what a moment.

I learned another thing I didn't know.  My late father talked many times about his experience in the CCC camps.  I never realized how the CCC affected so many americans.  It was a huge program and has many accomplishments that we enjoy to this day.  If any of you have been to my home area of San Antonio, much of the riverwalk was built by the CCC.  

I always thought those who participated were avid outdoorsmen, but learned that many of those men had never seen outside their own city limits in cities such as New York, Pittsburg, or Detroit, etc.   They didn't know what a mountain was.  The CCC gave those men dignity and ownership in a country that was on the brink of collapse.  

That made me think what an oppurtunity is lost in our current recession.  Instead of President Bush advocating at the end of his term such a program, he and congress just give it away, then President Obama comes in and does the same thing, typical of the give it to me I deserve it baby boomer generation.   Even this week Congress is debating to add another extension of unemployment benefits to give to people out of work to sit at home on their behinds.    What an opportunity lost.  Just as in 1930 a similar person who has never lifted a shovel or dragged a rake could go out to a national park and reclaim dignity and ownership like his grandpa did in the depression.

David

[Hobie]

Nice reflection David.

What strikes me the most is that this work ethic was strong less than a generation ago.   Men were proud and would do anything to support their family.  What happened?

I believe, and I don't want to get a political rant or flame war started, that government social programs and later many aspects of feminism have resulted in unintended consequences we see in today's society.

[zubzub]

Nice reflection David.

What strikes me the most is that this work ethic was strong less than a generation ago.   Men were proud and would do anything to support their family.  What happened?

I believe, and I don't want to get a political rant or flame war started, that government social programs and later many aspects of feminism have resulted in unintended consequences we see in today's society.
[/quote
figure this will go OT soon, but, had you considered that sloth and greed (age old habits of humans) are to blame for our useless work ethic?
When times are tough we get tough, but  when we make tons of $ for little work we get lazy.   Makes sense really, when a lion has a full belly he sleeps, when he's hungry he has plenty of energy.  I don't know if you have noticed, but on the whole in the states and canada, the bellies have been pretty full for awhile now.

[zimtok]

I think that there have always been those personalities that lend themselves to being lazy. If they can get by without doing very much why work hard....

Some programs designed to help people make it easy to become lazy. Where do you draw the line between helping and enabling...

In general though I think that a lot (not all) younger people expect more. They want to get to the top faster, without having to work at the bottom for it. I believe that good work ethic starts at home. Your children will have a good work ethic if you teach it to them. Once they are on their own then it becomes their responsibility.



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[David Anderson]

In general though I think that a lot (not all) younger people expect more. They want to get to the top faster, without having to work at the bottom for it. I believe that good work ethic starts at home. Your children will have a good work ethic if you teach it to them. Once they are on their own then it becomes their responsibility.
.

Therin lies the problem.  It seems that no one has to work very hard to achieve anything.  It is as if it has always been there for them, and if they fall down the gov't picks you up.  That's not all bad, BUT, as a matter of patriotism I believe that folks have to give something back to the land (country) in order to feel like they have ownership instead of entitlement.  My dad had some of his most memorable times in the CCC.  He didn't want to be there in the beginning, but he was hungry and needed work desparately.   What those "hungry" men did for the National Parks and their country is priceless and spans to future generations.   Why is Congress so cowardice to eliminate such an option for recovery in this downturn?  The only thing we will get from the current stimulus is debt laden grandchildren.

I'm still fired up.  Yosemite is on my bus trip schedule for next summer.

David