I thought I remembered fifth grade Social Studies. I liked my fifth grade teacher; her name was Mrs. Parsons. Social Studies was where I found out that there was something called abstract thinking, or if I had known that before, it was the first time in school that I remember its mattering. Mrs. Parsons gave stars on the board for good responses, and I liked that. Social Studies was my downfall star-wise until I caught on to it.

This year, one of my students is a fifth grader and I tutor her in....you guessed it. Social Studies. The first part of the year was really interesting to me because it was about Indiana history, and I hail from Ohio. Second semester, though, she is studying American History, which I have studied before, obviously. Maybe I just wasn't old enough to see the things in it that I see now.

I don't remember hearing that George Washington, at 56, did not want to be President. He thought he was too old. Everybody liked him, though, so he was elected anyway. Washington, although in favor of a strong central government, didn't like political parties. They fought too much.

Nevertheless, parties developed: the Federalists were the precursors of the Republicans, and the Democratic-Republicans were the old-style Democrats. According to my student's book, the Democratic-Republicans, or Antifederalists as they were called then, had enough influence to get the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution. They tried to protect the people. Thomas Jefferson was one of them, which I find sort of funny because her book says that he worried that the President might one day be king. Didn't keep him from being the President, though.

I am amazed at the similarities between what happened then and what is happening now. The U.S. needed a strong central government if they were going to survive against any other nation, but any of the mistakes that government made,anything the people disagreed with, took power away from them. I guess it is that neverending story of whenever power evolves. It is only right for you to have it if you fix things the way I want them fixed.

Still, I feel fortunate to live in this country. I wouldn't want to live in one of the Scandinavian countries that openly practices euthanasia. I am glad life means more here. And I don't think even Canada, with their socialized medicine, holds a candle to us. In Ohio, our family doctor was from Canada, and he said once that Americans who fought for socialized medicine using Canada as an example frustrated him. "If Canada worked the way it was supposed to work," he said, "why do you think I am practicing medicine HERE?" Despite the fact that I think women are still somewhat of a second class, I think we have it better here than we do anywhere else in the world. And if I disagree with the President or any politicians, I can vote to try and get them out of office or at least write and tell them what I think without being in fear of my life.

I'll end with a quote from my student's book. Ben Franklin said it when he was asked why he agreed to ratify the Constitution. "I consent ... to this Constitution because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best."

Despite our government's flaws, I agree. I don't know of a better one.

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