The Greatest Generation?

by Ruth Sheets

I just finished reading the book THE AMERICAN HOME FRONT 1941-1942 by Alistair Cook.  Many people will recognize Mr. Cook from his stint as “Masterpiece Theatre’s” Master of Ceremonies, the man who introduced American audiences to some of the BBC’s best offerings.

Alistair Cook came to the US from Great Britain in 1937 and served for years as an interpreter of American culture to the Britts.  In 1942, he traveled across America recording his impressions of the people and the impact of the war on them and their communities.  He didn’t pull punches.  He described the altruism of people helping neighbors who had family members gone off to war.  He also described the meanness of folks who had suffered too long, or who just didn’t care. 

What surprised me most was the number of issues encountered that are still on the table today.  Poor people were considered poor by choice.  Unions were often seen as the cause of all work-related troubles by people in what are now known as “right to work states."  Native Americans were among the poorest Americans.  Mexicans were resented, particularly in the border states. 

Despite the nation being at war, everyone seemed to be out to get as much money as they possibly could, from farmers to industrialists. 

Defense industries competed for workers leaving small towns bereft of able-bodied workers to keep their businesses going.  Mines and logging companies removed resources from the earth in such quantities they could not even consider the effects, long and short-term, on the environment.

The adults of the World War II era have been called “The Greatest Generation,” but reading this book gave me some new perspective.  It is true that those folks managed to make it through the worst depression in American history and stepped up to fight what was the most devastating war of the 20th Century, but they may hold their position of honor more because we value their sacrifices rather than that they were “better” people than those in any other generation.

Out of fear, they interned thousands of Japanese Americans, citizens who were totally loyal to our country.  They maintained institutional racism despite the service of African-American and Latino Americans in all aspects of America’s war effort.  Many of that generation got rich from the war and their descendents wield power today, and not always for the good of anyone else.

I just wonder, was this generation any “greater” than the folks who marched and fought for Civil Rights for African-Americans in the 60’s, women’s rights in the 70’s and 80’s, disabled persons’ rights in the 80’s and 90’s and gay rights in the 90’s and 2000’s?  Were they any better soldiers than those we sent to Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan?  Were they more noble in their survival of the Great Depression than people today facing the current deep recession?

It seems to me that surviving a depression and fighting a war aren’t sufficient to call a generation “Great.”  Maybe greatness comes with building, sharing, supporting, one another, not just one’s own kind, but the broader spectrum of humankind.  Maybe, the “greatest generation” is still to come.  Maybe it’s the children born since 2000 or so who have the potential to step up to do the really great things.  I am looking forward to seeing what happens when these kids come of age.