07-01-2002, 07:23 PM
The fact is, our post-Vietnam generation has never been tested. Every other generation born in the last century has had to face some trial. WWI and II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, the Great Depression...
I've always believed you don't know what your capable of or what you really stand for untill your tested. When it comes to patriotism, 9/11 was the first real test this generation has really faced. The Cold War died when we were just kids and the Gulf War was essentially a televised video game to everybody but the people on the ground there. We've never faced a draft or had to decide wether or not to defy the cops and get arrested at a protest.
Peace breeds complacency. We are not facing an enemy where we can draft a big army and ship out to fight. This isn't an enemy where we can gear up our industry and work harder to produce material for the fight. All we can do is "get back to normal". Well, for most people, being uncaring and blasey about this country is normal.
It's simple human nature that you care more for what you shed blood for. I don't think there's a person on this board who doesn't appreciate what our men and women in uniform have done throughout the last century and continue to do today.
But don't think that ceremony and oaths are the same as patriotism or that the lack of one means the lack of the other. When called on once, this generation rose up and was ready to contribute and do something. The nature of this enemy did not allow any more than a show of support, donations, and civil volunteer work. I fully believe that this generation can and will respond with the same dedication shown by generations past when called on again.
I've always believed you don't know what your capable of or what you really stand for untill your tested. When it comes to patriotism, 9/11 was the first real test this generation has really faced. The Cold War died when we were just kids and the Gulf War was essentially a televised video game to everybody but the people on the ground there. We've never faced a draft or had to decide wether or not to defy the cops and get arrested at a protest.
Peace breeds complacency. We are not facing an enemy where we can draft a big army and ship out to fight. This isn't an enemy where we can gear up our industry and work harder to produce material for the fight. All we can do is "get back to normal". Well, for most people, being uncaring and blasey about this country is normal.
It's simple human nature that you care more for what you shed blood for. I don't think there's a person on this board who doesn't appreciate what our men and women in uniform have done throughout the last century and continue to do today.
But don't think that ceremony and oaths are the same as patriotism or that the lack of one means the lack of the other. When called on once, this generation rose up and was ready to contribute and do something. The nature of this enemy did not allow any more than a show of support, donations, and civil volunteer work. I fully believe that this generation can and will respond with the same dedication shown by generations past when called on again.