Here's Hoping History Remembers

As the stimulus package passed through Congress this week, I couldn't help but think of the strong and stubborn Republican opposition to the bill. And as the bill was finally signed into law, I also couldn't help thinking: "I hope history remembers."

Mired in a deep economic recession, we find ourselves approaching a cliff, running full speed ahead. But that isn't our only concern - the world is still unsettled over key environmental regulations to curb global warming; our educational facilities are outdated, impairing America in this ever accelerating globalization race; the disastrous and immoral battle to insure millions of Americans; and the dangerous affairs in the Middle East, which aren't ending anytime soon. In other words, we've got some serious work to do.

And so "if", and it's a big "if", we're able to stomach all the massive problems on our dinner plate - we revive a broken economy, spawn a new "Green Revolution", reboot our entire education system to compete in a globalized world, unravel miles of red tape and lobbyist power grabs on the health care industry and solve ethnic and economic problems spanning decades (even centuries) - let history remember who guided the country to better times. More importantly, let's remember who stood in the way.

Remember when you were younger and learned about FDR, the New Deal, and the way all of America pulled together to starve off....well...starvation? Guess what? Some people (cough, cough) stood in the way of that legislation too. In fact, Republicans held such a grudge that the New Deal was passed, they continued to shout it from the hallways of Congress through the decades that followed, making it a party mission to undo most of Roosevelt's contributions. And they have certainly come close to succeeding.

Make no mistake - the unraveling of the New Deal programs and regulations done by Republicans and pushed forward by conservative think tanks has directly led to the current situation. But some are still out on news programs, echoing empty Republican mantras, some even claiming the New Deal was a failure. They yell "tax cuts" without historical perspectives - that tax cuts helped us dig ourselves even deeper into this economic mess.

So if fate allows it and sensible people win out in this partisan struggle (yes, all politicians only look to get re-elected but at least the Democrats are listening to economists and academics while trying to do so), and this country overcomes one of the most dramatic and dangerous time periods in American history, let's not lump everyone into the "hero" column. Instead, we should teach our kids what really happened, who stood for what and how the situation became so grave. Hopefully, we'll get the opportunity.