[On May 6th, 1935, Franklin Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration [WPA]. So this week I’ve AmericanStudied a handful of WPA histories, leading up to this weekend post on why we need a 21st century revival!]
I’m not
gonna lie, I planned the main focal points for this series long ago, before the
start of the new Trump administration (another inside baseball blog detail)—and
given that the new administration’s #1 priority has been cutting federal jobs
and programs and departments, it seems beyond silly to even suggest something
like a Works Progress Administration in 2025.
But here’s
the thing: I’ve spent a good bit of the last decade-plus of my career arguing
that we can’t cede concepts, ideas, ideals over to the MAGA types. Not patriotism,
not America,
and, yes, not federal
workers. So there’s no way I’m gonna let Elon Musk, his DOGE lackeys, and
the ostensible President dictate how we think about federal workers and
programs in any way, much less in the worst possible ways that they’ve been
arguing for in both words and actions over the last few months. Not when we’ve
got so many models of the best of federal workers and of America through them,
with the WPA a whole host of prime examples.
So yes, I
deeply believe we need a new WPA for the 21st century. The fact that
we most definitely will not get it during this administration only makes me
more certain that we need to argue and fight for it, and all such ideas that
represent our highest ideals, moving forward.
Semester
reflections series starts Monday,
Ben
PS. What
do you think?
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