Good documentary on the Civilian Conservation Corps at American Experience. Nice that PBS lets us foreigners watch these programs on line. I added the link to "Other Sites."
Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, not...
The CCC - an old idea whose time has come again. It sure as heck would reduce unemployment among America's youth.
ReplyDeleteThe CCC was indeed a great idea. Given the amount of money the government doles out in the way of welfare, unemployment comp, and other related costs, you would think Republicans and Democrats could come together on a jobs bill that would put these people to work on government-sponsored project that would improve the infrastructure of this country.
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