FDR's Legacy

It seems easy for talking heads to attempt to denegrate the New Deal.  Unfortunately, history classes are quite poor, and my father for example never got to World War II in his history class.  In fact he never covered the legacy of FDR either.  My own family benefited from the projects put in place by FDR, and if you had any family in rural America during the post-Depression years then yours did too.  The New Deal along with other FDR projects were fundamental to bringing this country back after the Great Depression.  If you put down the New Deal, frankly, you are un-American or sadly uneducated.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was an incredible undertaking that put millions of young men to work and gave them a paycheck and skills to be useful in the workforce.  Even after leaving the CCC these workers could rest assured they had learned skills to be put to good use.

Lineman Working for REA Coop

FDR signed Execute Order 7037 on May 11, 1935 creating the Rural Electrification Administration.  This was followed by the  Rural Electrification Act that passed congress.  Private companies were unwilling to provide electricity to rural areas claiming lack of profitability. When Roosevelt responded, its ironic how quickly these companies claimed it was unfair because they couldn't compete with the government when they themselves said it would be unprofitable.  In reality, the REA simply gave authorization to give funds to private local electric cooperatives to do the work themselves.  Thousands of jobs were created as a result of this.

Not only was authorization given for simply electrical power, but also telephone service as well.  Local cooperatives sprung up all over, providing work for the willing.  People were put back to work bringing forth a sense of shared struggle, and work towards a common good.  That is the real America.  Not this cold individualism we are sold today, but a sense of shared hard work delivering results for common folk.  The America of the four freedoms:  Freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

The Four Freedoms Etched in the FDR Memorial

We must ensure that we aren't trampling on the rights of people to express their views and opinions.  People must be able to worship however they choose without interfering or interference from others.  There is a need for us as a society to provide a social safety net for the common good and step in where private individuals corporations wont.  And finally, but no less important than the others, there is a necessity to protect ourselves and defend against our enemies and our way of life.

Where is a President that will deliver these things?  Among the current field of candidates I see none that can deliver the type of real American values that I'm looking for.  Not a peep about the four freedoms.  If I was running for President, that would be my platform.  Let's take it back to FDR.