Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Was “The Greatest Generation” really the greatest?

Well, without any doubt, they did DO the greatest thing ever.

But, as I take a closer look at the generation that preceded my own – by taking a close look at my parents – I start to wonder as my mind wanders.

First off, my mom grew up in a family of Depression Era dirt farmers in Ohio.  She graduated high school at age 16 and became a career woman – a rarity in her time in and of itself.

Then there was my dad, the fighter.  The son of a gangster who fought hard for everything he had.  He then barely survived an attack by Japanese Kamikazees and came home from World War II with a purple heart pinned to his chest.  To hear his story in his own words, follow this link:  http://ussreid369.org/OralHistory.htm

But what did they recall from WWII?  There was no nostalgia or romance in their memories.  Instead, my parents remembered an era that was filled with fear and uncertainty about the fate of the world.  But then they won.  They accomplished the greatest feat ever.  They saved the world!

So, how does a generation follow up something as amazing as saving the world?

As parents, nearly their entire generation made sure that their children had none of the struggles they had and to shield us from the disadvangates and character forming hardships that they endured.  What they didn’t take into account is how much “hard knocks” play in shaping a person’s – even a generation’s – character and values.

It had to be inconceivable that the next generation didn’t share their foundational character and values, but instead rejected their values and sowed the seeds of their society’s downfall – the very society that their parents had fought so valiently to save.

But what else could they do?  It was really nothing less than a Catch 22 situation for what might as well be labeled as the “Catch 22 Generation”.

Then, to wrap up this week’s podcast, we look at Louis Zamperini – Olympic hero, national hero, war hero… but his truly heroic act took place when he turned his life around, followed God’s call into the mission field and spread God’s word across the very land that was once his torture chamber.