When I was growing up we traveled often as a family for vacations and weekends. We had a camper and took it to all kinds of interesting places, frequently our nation’s national parks and historic monuments. I remember fascinated by the history I learned visiting the birthplace of George Washington, the Yorktown Battlefield and National Cemetery, the battlefields of Gettysburg, the birthplace of Booker T. Washington, the Capitol Building, the Lincoln Memorial and so many others. Frequent visits to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Smoky Mountains awakened my fascination with the natural wonders of the world, and the visitor centers, trails or markers were as good as any classroom. I was an inquisitive boy, so I took home the free brochures maps and field guides from these places to study more, and begged my parents, more often than not successfully, to buy me the books in the gift shops that I could read at home.

I learned a lot about our nation’s history and the natural world this way, it seems like as much as I did in school. I don’t remember being taught about Booker T. Washington before college. That’s not to say I wasn’t, but I don’t remember it like I do the visit to his birthplace. We must have learned about Thomas Jefferson, but I don’t remember that, either and my virtual obsession with him sprang out of a family visit to Monticello. While visiting the Smoky Mountains I was first exposed the the tragedy of the Native Americans and the horrors of incidents like the Trail of Tears. Most of these parks had not entry fee, paid for entirely with tax dollars. That meant that we could and would, explore something on on a whim. If it was a rainy day and we had planned to do something outside, we could tour a historic mansion, instead. In addition to the National Parks and Historic Places, there was a whole other network of state parks and sites operated by non-profits that were also free.

More recently an increasing percentage of these sites have imposed an entry fee. People want low taxes, budgets are small, and government at all levels from local to national is practicing austerity. Fee for service became a model for a lot of what government does in the 1980s, and it has been that way since. It makes sense on a certain level. Why should those of who never have any intention of visiting one of these sites pay for their upkeep and for providing services there? In fact, these properties are part of our national heritage. We, as a people, have decided that these places are an important part of our history and they need to be preserved. They are monuments that need to be visible to our fellow citizens and the world to remind us of our common heritage and who we are as a people. The White House has offered to cut $105 million from the budget of the National Park Service, and the Republican’s want more.

If there is a fee to enter, then it is precisely those who most need to be reminded that they are part of the national community who will not be able to visit these important sites: the poor, the badly educated and the alienated will not have access. Moreover, if these places are to be sites for education, as they were for me, then once again those most in need of this will be the least likely to be able to afford it. Bored kids who live near a historic site or museum have been known, contrary to popular perception, to venture into museums and historic sites when they get really bored, during the summer, for example. They are not likely to do so if there are fees involved.

As budget wars wage in Washington, you hear a lot of discussion about the need to make sure the nation remains economically competitive and militarily strong, and about the need to secure the safety and security the citizens. The strength of a democratic nation lies as much in an informed, unified citizenry as it does its military and economic power. Recent polls have shown that Americans are phenomenally uninformed about current events and about the form and structure of their own government. This is not healthy for a democracy. Preserving our national treasures and making sure the public has access to them is just one small way we educate our citizens in our common heritage.

Public Broadcasting plays an even more important role, and now there a move afoot in Congress to cut all funding for it. There are still swathes of this country that do not receive commercial broadcasting of a local origin In very rural areas there simply isn’t enough money to be made, so through public broadcasting the national community makes sure all of us have access to information and the means to broadcast in the event of an emergency. Moreover, it is imperative that there be a source of broadcast news that is not beholden to corporate interest. Nearly every country in the world has one, and in democracies it functions freely and independently. Pay attention the next time you watch your local or national network news and ask yourself how much of the broadcast could be seen as promotion for a product, service or other program. Then do the same with the NewsHour on PBS or All Things Considered on NPR.

Public Broadcasting (NPR, PBS, PRI) in this country is routinely attacked as being too liberal. This is certainly not true of the flagship news broadcasts on these networks: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition on NPR and NewsHour on PBS. They are commendably objective broadcasts in an era in which that standard has gone by the wayside. You will very rarely hear the anchors of those programs offering editorial comment on a story, a practice now commonplace on all the major network news shows. They usually seek to interview people on all sides of a story, and when they can’t get anyone they generally say so. Public Broadcasting does not deserve the attack leveled against it. Many, perhaps, the majority of shows offered Public Broadcasting may have a liberal bias. But individual public radio network stations have autonomy and can program what they want. They can also produce their own shows that could be distributed via these networks. Stations take advantage of this and the political tone of various networks differs considerably. For example, I would definitely not accuse WCVE in my hometown of Richmond, VA of being too liberal. In fact, I wish it were much more so. On the other hand, WBUR in Boston, where I live now, is quite liberal.

Public Broadcasting puts pedagogy and quality over profit and ability to attract advertisers. I passed many a spelling test because of rules taught to me with rhythm on The Electric Company. When I was home sick with the chicken pox when I was young, I could have lost a week of learning, but our local PBS station ran educational programming all day across the disciplines. Interesting programming that made me want to learn more. My mom made sure the channel was on that, but she didn’t have to do much to keep it there, though I had a lot fewer options than I would if I were a child now.

So why support it even if you don’t ever watch or listen to public broadcasting? Because it is an important communications vehicle to us as a nation. Public broadcasting ensures that there is access to community based broadcasting everywhere, and that is important. In general public broadcasting is community supported, but not all communities have the resources.

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We no longer teach the arts in a growing number of America’s schools, and yet it is so important. American art forms such as Jazz have taken over the world, and yet so few Americans can name more then one or two jazz singers or instrumentalists. This is part of our history, and all students should learn about it. Those students who are so inclined should be offered opportunities to participate in the arts, but all students should be aware of high points in the history of American arts and literature.

Public education preserves, passes on and creates our national heritage. I didn’t go to public schools, myself. I went to private schools through High School. My parents felt a Catholic education was important and they struggled to make sure I got it. Their sacrifice was admirable and it would have been nice if they hadn’t had to, but it is appropriate that they did. Firstly there are Constitutional issues surrounding the separation of church and state, but more importantly it is not in the interest of the nation to fund education that segregates and promotes difference along religious, political, economic or other lines.

This is one of the biggest problems with charter schools and vouchers. Some may argue that private schools educate the elite and that charter schools and that vouchers are simply a way of leveling the field, making an excellent education available to some who wouldn’t be able to afford it. I would suggest that to simply accept the failure of our public schools and help certain ones get out is not the solution. Teachers are always blamed for failing schools, and why not? They are the face that students see in front of them every day and that parents meet for conferences, so they are on the front lines when the arrows fly. Moreover, there are bad teachers to single out as examples and parade before the evening news. Some never should have been in the profession to begin with; others have had their spirits crushed by the job. But there are no more or fewer than there are bad firemen, doctors, lawyers, sales clerks, police officers or soldiers. The system is the problem. Most teachers are dedicated and work long hours. They also take work home and spend their own money for course expenses. If a school is failing you probably need to look at the community is draws from, because it is failing to. A few localities have tried a new kind of integration in public schools and it has produced interesting results. They have integrated schools based on income, bringing kids from poorer areas into schools in better areas and vice-versa.

So why should you care if you have no kids, your children go to private schools or you live in a good school district? This is the easiest one to answer. You may be a business owner and you will need workers who have skills. We need to be training them. You may concerned about how competitive American business is for patriotic reasons.

Most importantly, the United States derives its strength from two factors. The first is our founding principles. The United States came to being, as no nation before it had, on principle. The tenants that underlie all were set forth in the Declaration of Independence, and in the Constitution we attempted to establish a form of government that would embody them. They were and remain ideals. We’ve never and probably will never achieve them, but that is what ideals are for. Certainly no other nation has come closer. The second it our diversity. For a nation that nearly eradicated one race, the Native Americans, and kept another from achieving full rights before the law until well into the 1960s, it is ironic how important our ethnic diversity is to us. Are you tapping your toe or shaking your hips to that rhythm on your radio? Chances are it’s a variation of an African rhythm. Are you enjoying that pizza? Thank the Italians. Or maybe you prefer a hot dog? Thank the Germans. Do you sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve? Thank the Scots. Do you like hummus? It was brought here by Arab-American immigrants.

In such a nation we must learn to appreciate our diversity and understand what binds us together. To fail in either task is a recipe for trouble. Not understanding diversity or lacking the ability to appreciate the cultures of others can lead to violence and ethnic tensions. To not understand our common heritage leads to Balkanization and isolation. Individuals are disenfranchised and isolated.

When people feel an attachment to a common heritage they are likely to participate in civil society. If not they feel disenfranchised and alienated and are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior, perhaps even terrorism. Many countries in the world believe they exist because their citizens share a common racial or ethnic heritage, and this has too often led to violent, intractable conflict over centuries-old issues. Our nation exists because people of many different heritages commit to a common set of values and participation in a certain democratic system. We, as a community, must make sure everyone understands what it means to be part of the community. So yes, science, technology, engineering and math are important, but so are history, literature and art.

When making budget decisions, there are factors to be considered beyond the bottom line. We are a nation and we need to think about the common good. There are costs to be borne, but that is just the way it is. It must be done.

Loved this show when I was young