Internet Pilgrim
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 |  Subject: The Greatest Generation?  Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:36 am | |
| I have a new article on Michael Wilson's Preaching Politics website:
The Greatest Generation? Comments are welcome!
Here's some excerpts: 
- Quote :
- ...I’ve often questioned Brokaw’s moniker, wondering if they were the greatest generation, or merely the most materialistic – those who accumulated the most wealth, overcoming the greatest odds against success in this world because of their perseverance and determination. This was the generation of my parents, and as a spoiled youth I rebelled against their values, because they seemed more interested in obtaining money and prestige than they did in me. Maybe that’s a self-centered view, and since I’ve grown older, I’ve recognized that they did love me and gave me what they thought I needed. But what I needed most I got from the generation before, from their parents, and that pertained to spiritual values. For all of their sacrifice and dedication, what the Depression and WW2 stripped from them was the vision of a life beyond this one, the understanding that deprivation is meant to steer us toward something greater – toward the eternal, not toward the here and now.
They were great in many ways, yet even the definition focused on material ends, citing, “those whose productivity within the war’s home front made a decisive material contribution to the war effort….” Although that generation had something that those today lack, a real toughness, a readiness to sacrifice, and a belief that the American ideal was the best that ever was or could be achieved in this world, what they forgot was that there is a world beyond this one. After the war, they created a happy, frivolous culture, believing they were raising their children to succeed, and providing everything they thought would compensate for what they themselves lacked as children.
But they forgot what the most important things were, and these were godliness, faith, and unconditional love. That’s what drove the Beatles to the top with songs such as “All You Need is Love.” That’s what drove the hippies in the 1960’s to reject their entire way of life and look to things which we now know were destructive to society as a whole. But then, it appeared only that there was something missing, though we didn’t know what, and because of that, we were led astray in the search for anything that would make life meaningful, because wealth and possessions certainly didn’t make it so.
The Depression and then the war taught them to be self-sufficient, and to fight for what they wanted. They saved and made do with what they had, never throwing things away but instead making them last, often to the point of the ridiculous because they feared a day could come again when there might not be enough. Those events focused them first on needs, and then on wants. It also taught them that there may not be a tomorrow in which to enjoy life, whether because of extreme deprivation or sudden death. That led them to seek pleasure and to value all that money could buy, whether that was luxury, or just more of anything they were driven toward. They began trusting in science because wonder drugs like penicillin had saved so many of their lives, and the polio vaccine had conquered a real fear of the cruelty which nature could inflict, of suffering close to home in a way that seemed random.
Yet because of their upbringing, they were bound outwardly by rules and conventions. They had affairs but didn’t divorce. They worked tirelessly, but kept the goal of accumulation in mind, as protection against the uncontrollable forces of a system which suddenly could falter. They attended church each week as they’d been raised to do, or made sure their own children went, but it was mere social convention for most, something expected by the community. They valued conformity and the good opinion of neighbors above all.
They started the course of Western society down the road to narcissism, valuing appearance more than reality. Their morality was not their own; it was a remnant of the previous generation, handed down and maintained in a general outward manner, but it was not the conviction of their own beliefs which drove it. That’s why it generally was impossible to pass it on to the next generation. And because of all that, they are the generation responsible for removing prayer and Bible-reading from schools. They lived with the benefits of a moral society, but because it wasn’t truly their morality, they saw its foundations buried without expressing even a whimper.
Are they the generation responsible for beginning the destruction of America as it was, that great “city on a hill” envisioned by the Puritans? Maybe I’m too close to them to know; maybe it did begin with their parents who were traumatized by WW1 and sought to hide in the excesses of the 1920’s. Or maybe it was their grandparents, who built the Titanic and believed man could achieve anything he desired, yet then led the world to that first colossal war. But through all of these missteps, the foundations still remained. It was left to them to remove them, opening the door to the chaos we now endure, and to the loss of God from everywhere in our society.
It long has been recognized that each generation slips a little more, that standards become more lax over time. But this undermining is more than slippage; it’s a pattern described in the book, “The Fourth Turning” where generations since our beginning have followed an established course. It’s something from which we seemingly can’t escape. Four different turnings have been identified for successive generations: High, for generations raised in crisis, with strong institutions and weak individualism; Awakening, when institutions are attacked in the name of personal freedom or spirituality and youth see the previous generation as spiritually bankrupt; Unraveling, where trust for institutions is shattered and personal freedom and enjoyment become the goals; and finally, Crisis, where institutional life is destroyed and a perceived threat to the nation brings about rebuilding in a different model, with strong civic authority.[2]
The defining difference for that particular generation was that they didn’t just fail to revere the spiritual underpinnings; they removed them altogether, believing they really weren’t important. They changed the game completely; “being Americans” became their religion and moral bankruptcy was the legacy they left to their children and grandchildren. And once spiritual bankruptcy occurs, financial disaster isn’t far behind because demands and entitlement take root. Their legacy of wealth became meaningless and impossible to hold. Without biblical foundations, we all become prodigal sons, squandering our inheritance...
Today we’re facing an uncertain and dark future. Unemployment is rife and nearly half of the US population is dependent on the government to survive, if only through food stamps. But we should look to God rather than government. And we should learn something from that “greatest generation.” The lessons they can teach us are many, but two of the most important are that first, deprivation and struggle can make us stronger and help us to work harder, and second, if we focus solely on this world and what we have (or don’t have) we’ll lose it all because we’re looking at the wrong things. Material possessions can make us comfortable but they’ll never build character and they’ll never lead us to God.
Having lived both with and without material goods, I can verify that the only way to live is as the Apostle Paul did, when he stated, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”[3]
That’s the lesson they forgot in their struggle to get beyond need. But it’s one that’s not too late for us to learn now. As life grows more difficult, it’s something that should drive us back to those foundational principles, and to the God who uses our difficulties as catalysts in our search for Him. If that occurs for enough of us, maybe we’ll be remembered as the greatest generation because of our willingness to seek God and to fight for restoration of what truly made America great – a desire for godliness.
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