I have heard that Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal did not end the Great Depression, that it was really World War II. This is partly true. However, World War II was, in itself, a gigantic stimulus package.

The most important message FDR gave us was hope and confidence in our government. He showed that government does care for all its citizens — businesses, the unemployed, homeless, elderly and poor — and that he would do all he could to end their pain. I believe this is exactly what the Obama administration is trying to do today.

What really ended the Great Depression was a combination of fair taxes, government programs, World War II and a concerted effort by all citizens of this nation. Franklin Roosevelt gave us a unity of purpose and faith in our government that we could get the job done.

Obama has been in office just a few weeks and the obstructionists are already doing everything in their power to tear down the change that most Americans want. He has established a special bond between the presidency and the American people. Obama believes in democracy and the free market, and the capacity of Americans to address their ills affecting society. He refuses to accept that government invariably bungles whatever is attempted, and this refusal has inspired new ideas and government efforts that will have a positive effect on our country.

Will Obama get everything right? Nobody can, but most of what he does will be right. And if he makes mistakes he is presidential enough to admit it and take proper action.

He says he believes that old age need not be accompanied by poverty, and that receiving government help is not a brand of failure but a temporary step toward success. All of us may need help during our lifetime, even corporations and banks.

There are some, when their arguments fade, that resort to placing labels on everyone who disagrees with their ideology. Let’s forget the labels and examine the ideas of others on whether these ideas are right or wrong for our nation. Let’s start thinking more about what is best for our country, not what is best for our party or winning elections.

Let’s give our new leader a chance, and then if we are worse off at the end of his term, we can elect someone else. Let’s give change a chance. Isn’t that what most of us voted for?

How sad that FDR’s programs, and the millions that it helped and is still helping, have to be debated again, especially in these hard times.

I lived through the Depression and the hardships that we had to endure: the millions that were out of work, the unemployed who came to my mom and dad’s farm asking only to work for food. My parents never let anyone leave their farm hungry.

I was a youngster at that time and I used to get excited when someone who was unemployed (Pa would call them “gentlemen of the road”) would arrive. It was so interesting for me to hear their stories about how many of them once enjoyed prosperity, and now because of no fault of their own needed help.

Pa used to tell me a story that prior to getting married to my mother, he once baked delicious pancakes under a bridge near Santa Rosa, for his friends. He was loved by everyone in Sonoma, and I am not surprised that at one time he could have been a “gentleman of the road.”

Homeless victims of that era were educated individuals, farm workers, railroad workers, factory workers, all walks of life, who worked hard at anything that came along. They were not bums, as we all realized that it could just as easily have been us traveling that same route. It was an education that lasted all my life.

However, there is something very different now than in the 1930s, something that will help us through this terrible economic crisis:

1) Social Security, which has helped so many millions of Americans.

2) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which has protected the American citizen from losing their life savings.

3) Workers’ compensation, which has helped thousands of workers who have lost their jobs.

4) The Wagner Act and the Taft Hartley Act, which protect the rights of workers.

5) The GI Bill of Rights, which gave thousands of servicemen and women an opportunity for a college education and the ability to purchase a new home, which went far in establishing our middle class.

We now have our chance — Republicans, Democrats, Independents, all Americans — to unite in debate as a nation, not to settle old scores or enhance our pocketbook but to bring this nation forward so all may benefit.

Let’s have a unity of purpose, for ourselves, our nation and the world.

(Giorgi lives in Napa.)ꆱ