Guest article by Ros Poplar
Watching this year’s endless cycle of both political and domestic violence perpetrated not only on national figures such as Charlie Kirk but also on an innocent subway rider who came to America to escape the violence of Ukraine only to be stabbed to death leaves me not only saddened but perplexed and bewildered. As a “Boomer” I was raised and influenced by the men and women of America’s Greatest Generation and wonder what they would think of the current sad state of affairs in our nation. Theirs was the generation that bore witness to the catastrophic consequences of misguided ideologies not based on truth, wisdom, and belief in the all mighty but rather on the false prophets of Communism and Socialism.
To our forefathers and mothers these were not just idlepolitical theories but rather the cruel realities put into practice that benefited the power elites and not the masses. Many of the Greatest Generation stepped forward during some of America’s darkest hours and paid dearly with their lives to stop its insidious spread.They saw firsthand how totalitarian regimes manipulated idealistic language promising much like today - equity, freedom, and justice - while systematically implementing oppression and violenceon those subjugated caught under its enigmatic spell.
But their wisdom didn’t begin with them. They also inherited a legacy from the generation before them. A generation that saw the slow collapse of Old-World monarchies, the rise of revolutionary movements, and the aftermath of World War I. That earlier generation watched as lofty academic utopian ideologies gave way to engineered brutality, and they soon began to understand how fragile freedom could be lost when false though perhaps enticing ideologies overrides the truth.
When the Greatest Generation took the world stage, they had a grounded suspicion of any movement that prioritized grand systems over individual dignity, liberty, and moral clarity. Their sacrifice wasn't just about defeating enemies abroad but also preserving a framework here at home based on liberty, responsibility, truth, and perhaps more importantly sound logic. Many Americans do not realize that without the determined intervention of the United States of America in World War II with Britain on the verge of total collapse and the Empire of Japan running rampant in the Pacific we would not be the nation that we are today. Tyranny vice individual freedom and liberty would prevail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Santayana
As most members of the Greatest Generation on this earth have departed one would hope that their influence and just plain common sense would be ingrained in the fabric of our nation, but I fear not. As the Spanish–American philosopher George Santayana stated “ in his book The Life of Reason “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it" well it appears the reason and common sense that once prevailed and grounded our nation sadly is fading fast. One can only hope this Holiday Season that the legacy of the Greatest Generation remains forever embedded in our national DNA.