We live in a time where everything moves at lightning speed.
News is delivered to us in real-time, and we are bombarded with information from all angles all of the time. It's easy to become overwhelmed and desensitized to the events happening around us. But in the midst of all this, we cannot forget the sacrifices and struggles of those who came before us.
At the same time, it’s important to remain focused on the present moment and not the present distraction, lest we be completely detached from ourselves, instead becoming receptacles for the mainstream narrative and focus.
Yesterday was the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, the catalyst that brought the United States into World War II in 1941. It was a day that changed the course of history and cost thousands of lives. And yet, it seems that many have pushed this event to the back of their minds, overshadowed by more recent and salacious news stories.
What I believe many fail to realize is that our history as a people is what shapes and molds us into the society we are today. It's easy to take for granted the liberties and privileges we have, but we must remember that they were hard-fought and earned by those who came before us. Now, I will not bang the drum that we should make WWII the standard from which all purpose and examples should be garnered; in spite of what would be expected, I do not believe that those who fought in WWII were the “greatest generation” there ever was. I believe they did great things, but every generation has fought for good, and the proof of this is that good still remains, and it isn’t due to the 1940s but from everyone before and after, including the teens of today.
How far back should we go?
Afghanistan
WWII
WWI
The First Barbary War
The Revolutionary War
It doesn’t have to be war; looking at more modern “non-war” examples, how about we recognize that pre-COVID, we would have never thought that the U.S. would require citizens to mask, shut down an economy or consider forcefully threatening citizens to take an experimental vaccine…
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