Social Studies and History Classes.

They were, at least in my day, required courses in high school.  Neither held much interest to me but they were part of the curriculum. No way around taking both if you wanted to graduate.

I still remember a particular history test.  I got an E.   Accustomed as I was to reasonably good grades, I assumed the E stood for Excellent.  It did not.

My grades eventually crept up to passing, allowing me to graduate, but my interest/enjoyment of the factual subject matter remained low.  Both classes taught me the value of our country’s constitution and our rights.

While I remained steadfast in my refusal to memorize dates and other nasty details from history classes, social studies gave me an appreciation for our country and its uniqueness.  I may not have “learned” everything the classes had to offer, but a good amount of it eventually seeped into my pores, and perhaps even my brain.  And there it’s stayed for all these years.

I got it then. And I get it now. I get our freedom, our democracy, our constitution and the importance of our three branches of government.  Don’t pin me down on specifics. I don’t do details. But I’ll defend our democracy up one side and down the other. In my own way.

Sadly, I fear for its well-being. For once, I’d love nothing more than to be wrong