Perhaps the wealth of the nation is illusory, but even the perception that we have wealth lends us power and weight on the global stage.
And I absolutely support reading about the past and the records of our own government, because there are some things that never become common knowledge that ought to, and not knowing the details leaves us woefully disconnected from the decisions made that affect our daily lives, and those of people all over the world. (There's that global power again—it's wielded on our behalf, and we really ought to pay more attention to it.)
I agree , we are never to old to learn, maybe to lazy or to complacent, but never to old. I address a lot of the issues I've discovered in this daily dose column on a pretty regular basis. If only one person has the eyes opened and starts searching it will not have been wasted effort in my opinion, we all need to do are part and being educated about our government is paramount.