Surely every generation has it’s own seed of greatness planted by the previous generation. I suppose the same could be said for seeds of failure. Regardless of who gets credit or blame for a generation’s deeds, each generation manages to fail their own generation as well as it’s progeny in some ways. The so called Greatest Generation may be seen as such (by themselves mostly) because they fought a well defined and supposedly crucial war and were raised amid the rubble of the Great Depression, one of the failures of THEIR parents who also fought a terrible but well defined and supposedly crucial war.

The WWII generation was trained by early deprivation to become focused on objectives and conquering obstacles. They also gained a natural talent for compulsive SWOT analysis driven by fear of the T (Threats). I suppose who could blame them. But who they became as adults (and I assume we’re mostly talking about men here) are not only the most objective-focused and materially affluent generation in history, they are also the most self-congratulatory, arrogant, and relationally inept generation in history even if it can be said that they don’t brag much about their war battles. Is that all that matters. Most of my generation of boomers were brought up with a different kind of deprivation with a much deeper scaring impact than hungry stomachs or long walks to school.

Here’s a clue. Men of the greatest generation don’t as a rule, have relationships. They possess and rule over people they admittedly do care about or who are important to their objectives. They just don’t know how to be vulnerable and transparent enough to inspire relational trust and they tend to blame the resentments they provoke on weakness or ingratitude.

And as for WWII, lets also be clear. The greatest generation were the ones who pulled the triggers and died bravely. That’s what the new memorial should be about even if it is a bit out of proportion, in my view, with other war memorials in terms of demand for attention. But in a very significant way that war didn’t belong to them. It was their fathers who saw WWII as crucial, entered it, strategised it, commanded it and guided it to victory. I’m sorry but it was for Viet Nam that the greatest generation fulfilled those roles (except for the victory part). Not exactly a badge of honor. And my generation who died in Viet Nam did so for nothing but war profits. The cynicism and resentment this added to an already resentful boomer generation made us, to our shame, a sell out generation to personal peace and affluence. We became the thing we hated during the Viet Nam era and did little to build on the good of our fathers or erase the bad. Among the few things we boomers have a little more of than our fathers is perhaps better understanding of technology (whoop-te-doo), and the pity and affection of our children.

So to those who need to ignore some of the truth in order to find heroes, I’m sorry you feel so inferior to those guys. Thank God for the special ability they have of coming through in a crisis and their example of loyalty to some principles and also to those they love. They do have that over us boomers I’m sat do say. But don’t blindly worship them as superior to your particular generation. They’re definitely not. The present young generation has so much more to offer the world than the WWII generation and certainly more than my fellow boomers. I’m hopeful they’ll be able to restore what the founders of our union of States dreamed of and do it in a way that inspires their children without alienating them. The current young generation has far more potential to develop genuine adult humility and strong relationships based on equal respect and trust. It may still be rare but not as rare as in my generation or in the WWII generation where it’s all but non-existent. Let’s have a more balanced perspective when we look for praiseworthiness in others. Like the Bible says, examine all things and keep what is worthy.

I have to say that I have found ONE man born in 1950 who is up to the standards but he belongs to someone else and is OFF LIMITS! Wish they had cloning perfected. My brother would have been one of these but he gave his life in 1969 for our country.

My Father is one of these honorable men! He and my Mother met on a blind date – he kept the stirer from the drink from that night – it’s in a frame on the wall in his den – it was Mom’s birthday – I think she was 22. Dad was in the Marine Corps – he saw the horrors of war in Japan and Korea. He was away from our family for some long periods of time serving in the Corps. Mom had us say our prayers on our knees each and every night and when he came home we were THERE to meet him.

They made a pact that if one of them had a serious illness that caused them to need help 24/7 then the one would tend to the other – no nursing homes was the bottom line. Mom had a series of strokes that, eventually, landed her in bed with her left side paralyized. They celebrated their 60th anniversary together in the home where I am presently residing. Unfortunately, upon doctor’s orders, with pain in his heart and tears running down his face, he had to tell Mom that she was going to have to go into a convalescent hospital because he had to have back surgery. He didn’t tell her but it was from taking care of her that his back was in very bad shape. He was no longer ABLE to take care of his sweetheart but that didn’t mean he didn’t see her. He spent every waking hour by her side. When he had congestive heart failure and was in the emergency room he got a phone and called my mother’s room to tell her that he wasn’t well and wouldn’t be able to come visit her but he called her every single day.

They just don’t make them like this anymore … with the exception of a very few. I’ve been blessed to know one of my generation and I call him my “brother from another mother” – he was my brother’s best friend during their time in Vietnam. God Bless the REAL men!!!

Did you know that if you buy a house between Jan1 2009 and Nov 30th 2009 the government will give you up to $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price – whichever is less. The best thing is you don’t have to wait to get your money. Once you buy the house yo…