Life November 30, 1942
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Writings and musings on the eccentric beauty of sacrifice. Come journey and write with us. We are resolved to capture something positive in a troubled world and laugh when we can along the way. This, then, is dedicated in Loving Memory to LCpl. Aaron C. Austin, USMC KIA Fallujah, Iraq on April 26, 2004. Rock On...
4 comments:
We're so soft and spoiled compared to the WWII generation. They scrimped, rationed, saved and did without for the war effort. What have we done? Is there more talk of carpooling to save gas? Doing away with gas-guzzling vehicles? Has recycling become more important? Are we civilians doing without anything during this war?
Some families have made the ultimate sacrfice: their sons and daughters. But the rest of the country trucks along as if we're not at war at all. As if there's no enemy that wants to destroy us. As if 9/11 never happened.
Americans still have the mettle that defined the Greatest Generation, but it's going to take something stronger than 9/11 to awaken that spirit.
That's sad.
I don't know what it is. Really. In the beginning, when we started this, I truly did think it was apathy, but after being all around the blogs, I don't think so.
There's talk all around, but it's the action that's missing. Maybe we're complacent, but I think more than anything, people think if they don't get too close to it, it will go away.
Or perhaps we live in a world of noise, and everything is filtered through it, where we don't get our heart in it.
I've thought about this a lot today, and I do wish we could discuss it here.
What will it take? How much do we even discuss WWI or the Revolutionary War ...yes, those people have gone, though I will be busy for a few days working on resurrecting some of my folks due to a DAR invitation I've accepted.
At what point will we lose interest in WWII or Vietnam.
I'd hoped, and still believe, that the thing that would eventually benefit Iraq, would be the passing away of the generations. But then I wonder, as our generations pass away (if we're all still here), will more of our appreciation of freedom and sacrifice be buried as well.
We don't teach our kids enough about it, I think. We're too afraid we're pushing our beliefs on our children.
I'm here to tell you from being a very old non-traditional student during this time in history, parents better push their beliefs, because SOMEBODY is going to.
If we could view it that way, if we could look at our children as sponges, ripe and ready for someone, somewhere, to get ahold of them and "teach" them, I think we'd be better off.
Something has to change. What changes the heart? Therein lies the problem. People don't mind giving their stuff, and I think we could grow used to conservation; we have before. But it's our heart that we can't give.
People hide behind a smokescreen of giving to other countries, when their people need their compassion.
De'on, you are SO right. If parents don't talk to their kids about what they believe and why someone else will. We talk to our kids about our faith, our politics, how the two go together, and how not to believe everything (or much of anything) they see on TV!
I could tell that right away, and then I saw it on Channel 11.
And it will pay off.
And there are promises from God that go with it.
No doubt, kids will get off the path or whose to say that mine is entirely right? But my heart, through God, is.
Aaron was wild, and I don't mean like legal trouble wild, but loved to have a good time wild, class-clown wild, speak his mind wild, and he had such a heart. For that I will always be proud and grateful.
I know my parents helped develop mine.
I taught Kayla The Lord's Prayer when she was three. I try to teach Weston the Pledge of Allegiance, but he can't stand still that long ... which would have been Aaron. But they see and hear. A seed, at least, is planted.
And others will have the same effect on them if the soil hasn't been tilled and planted and watered.
Someone else and their ego or their ideology will just love to have that follower.
At least have your team in the war!
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