But the banks are made of marble, with a guard on every door

Monday is Labor Day, a bank holiday that apparently traditionally marks the end of the summer. Something concerned me about this holiday - its name. Its a bit, well, socialist. And surely America couldn't be celebrating something socialist could it? Turns out they could. Labor Day has been around since the end of the 19th century and was instigated as celebration of the achievements of workers.

Its the one dichotomy that I find time and time again here. On the face of it America (or probably more accurately some Americans) cannot countenance the very idea of socialism. Its an anathema to everything they hold dear. You just have to listen to people talking on news shows about the idea of healthcare reform. News channels, such as the one owned by everybody's favourite Australian are full of people who just seem to be, well the only word I can think of is foaming. (Not necessarily on topic but my personal favourite in this category is the mild mannered pastor who, with some of his mates, next weekend plans to burn the Koran in a protest against Islam.  He truly was the voice of reason)

There is an anti Obama bumper sticker I have seen that says "United Socialist States of America, 2010 - 2014" somehow equating the mild reform that Obama is doing to the USSR. Personally I don't think that socialist is a label that I would ever have put on Obama, liberal democrat perhaps but socialist? The very idea of state intervention to some people here is just selling their birth right. (Again, slight away from the topic but still on it, I was wearing this t-shirt when I was accosted by free thinking local who pointed to the hammer and sickle and asked if I knew that that was a symbolism of being a communist. I of course thanked him for putting me right on this information that I was previously unaware of.... Can't wait to see what happens when I wear this.)

And yet, and yet.......

I am constantly reminding myself that this is the land that gave the world Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Its the land with radio stations that are full of moderate voices who say "hold on a minute....". Its the country where they celebrate the worker and actually name a day after them - something that we aren't allowed to do in the UK, ours just becomes May bank holiday. For gods sake, our electricity is supplied by the Public Service Company of New Hampshire, I don't think you could get much more socialist than that.  So I shall stop worrying about the nutters and celebrate the progressives. Remember, you have nothing to lose but your chains.