The Weakest Generation

On this day in 1941, thousands of Americans died in a surprise attack on our country. In response, our nation, which up until that day had been neutral and stayed out of the worldwide conflict, stood up in the face of danger and banded together to fight an enemy determined to seize worldwide freedom. We gathered courage from every corner of society and turned it into a force that was unstoppable. It took 4 long and bloody years, but we eventually won the freedom for those unable to fight for themselves (namely, Europe), and then quietly returned to our own hemisphere and enjoyed a boom of prosperity unrivaled in human history.

65 years later, as an almost anti-memorial to those who perished in the name of freedom, we have decided to tuck our tails and run from a similar challenge and threat to world peace and stability. Where before we lost hundreds of thousands of lives and destroyed entire cities to bring peace to the world, we now run in the face of criticism when we have lost only a fraction of the lives required for such operations in the past. Today, we have taken every effort to avoid civilian populations so that life could go on as usual in the middle of a war zone, but still the cause is deemed unworthy by a loathsome and biased press.

Today, 65 years after an event that gave rise to the "Greatest Generation," we are too forgetful and self-absorbed to even care about how events in the world have been unfolding over the past several decades that will ultimately bring more destruction on our own citizens. It has only been 5 years since 9/11, an attack more devastating than Pearl Harbor, yet we can't get off our couches to support a cause in Iraq that will ultimately bring us safety here at home. Instead, we'd rather blame the President, point fingers and vote for people who will continue to feed our sense of laziness.

We have become the Weakest Generation in 65 short years. We would rather ferment selfishness, idolatry, rebellion and irresponsibility than promote a life of morality, helpfulness and conviction. Today is the "me" generation, only concerned with what the government can give them, rather than what they can give to their government. Our politicians are a mirror of a society headed downhill. We're not quite the walking dead that Europe has become, but we're begging to ride on their coattails.

All is not completely lost, however. There are still those people who understand the need to win in Iraq. There are those who understand what is at stake, and understand the reality of the enemy and what he stands for. Even though the quitters have buried many people's heads in the sand along with their own, telling us that just "accepting" the enemy will solve the world's problems - or worse, that we are the enemy - there are still enough people who believe in the spirit of America to keep it alive.

It is my sincere hope, on this 65th anniversary of the birth of the Greatest Generation, that the current weakest generation will grow up, and become the saving generation. Because before we can save the planet, save the whales or save anything else that keeps people's minds of the real problems in the world, we need to save each other. And we can accomplish this by supporting freedom, and overpowering an enemy who is determined to kill us at any cost.