I watched SPR last night again, this time with my 15 year old daughter who is a Freshman in High School. I am a firm believer that ALL incoming Freshmen should have to see the movie. Youth are sorely lacking in any frame of reference about the sacrifices that Generation made for the well being of the free world.
That being said, I have another thought that came to me after watching it again last night. We call them "The Greatest Generation". For the USA that is a good statement. However if you look at the generation on a global scale the very same generation brought us NAZI Germany, Fascist Spain, The Iron Curtain, Mao, and a host of other evils around the World to go with our own triumphs and victories.
Don't let it be said I am trying to diminish our Veterans in ANY way! The victories over the NAZIs and Imperial Japan were monumental tasks that HAD to be done. Just pointing out that we only kept evil at bay and did not vanquish it as we did Small Pox.
Evil still exists and I look around me and fail to see a generation that would jump as readily into the breach to stop it. Only one that would be annoyed if their Tumblr didn't update or the latest XBox game was late to market. I hope I am wrong. These same thoughts might have gone through the parents of the teenagers in the late 30s. Just keep in mind, European "peace" has come at the cost of a lot of the freedoms we hold dear. It is not a dishonor to the Greatest Generation if we slip back to the Europe we fled, it is a dishonor to the men that fought 238 years ago against a different Empire.
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