Archives

Reflections

   Written by on November 4, 2020 at 3:38 pm

The following is something we need to relearn and that is why I am copying this from a friend:

I talked to a man today, an 80+year-old man.  I asked him if there was anything I could get him while this Coronavirus scare is gripping America.  He simply smiled, looked away and said, “Let me tell you what I need! I need to believe, at some point, this country my generation fought for…I need to believe this nation we handed safely to our children and their children…I need to know that this generation will quit being a bunch of sissies, that they respect what they’ve been given, and that they’ve earned what others sacrificed for.” I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going or if it was going anywhere at all so I sat there, quietly observing.

“You know, I was a little boy during WWII. Those were scary days. We didn’t know if we were going to be speaking English, German or Japanese at the end of the war. There was no certainty, no guarantees like Americans enjoy today. No home went without sacrifice or loss.

“Having someone you love sent off to war wasn’t less frightening than it is today. It was scary as Hell. We didn’t have battlefront news. We didn’t have email or cellphones.  You sent them away and hoped AND prayed. One might not hear from them for months, if ever.  Sometimes a mother was getting her son’s letters the same day a father was comforting her over their child’s death.

“We sacrificed. You couldn’t buy things.  Everything was rationed.  You were only allowed so much milk per month, only so much bread and toilet paper.  EVERYTHING was restricted for the war effort. What you weren’t using was saved and sorted for the war effort. My generation was the original recycling movement in America!

“We had viruses back then, serious viruses.  Things like polio, measles and such. We didn’t shut down our schools or shut down our cities. We carried on without masks and without hand sanitizer.  We persevered. We overcame. We didn’t attack our President. We came together.  We rallied around the flag for the war.”

He slowly looked away and maybe I saw a small tear in the corner of his eye.  Then he continued, “Today’s kids don’t know sacrifice.  They think sacrifice is not having coverage on their phone while they freely drive across the country.  Today’s kids are selfish and spoiled.  In my generation, we looked out for our elders.  We cared for one another.

“So, no, I don’t need anything but appreciate your offer. I know I’ve been through worse things than this virus. Maybe I should be asking you, what can I do to help you?  Do you have enough soft drinks to get through this, enough steak? Will you be able to survive with 113 TV channels?” 

I smiled, fighting back a tear of my own, now humbled by a man in his 80’s.  I talked to a man today, a REAL man, an American man from an era long gone and forgotten. We will never understand the sacrifices and never fully earn their sacrifices, but we should work harder to learn about them, learn from them and respect them!  

Next Wednesday, November 11th, is Veterans Day.  Talk to any veteran from ALL the wars and conflicts involving our country about their sacrifices for our freedom.

*******************************************

Don’t forget this speech from over 60 years ago: “Your children’s children will live under Communism. You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept Communism outright but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of Socialism until you will finally wake up and find that you already have Communism. We won’t have to fight you.  WE’LL SO WEAKEN YOUR ECONOMY until you fall like overripe fruit into our hands.”     

Nikita Khrushchev, 1959

Leave a Reply