take a look

  I've seen some advertisement for a book. I believe the title is Things our fathers saw. or something similar. Apparently, a book written as a series. The edition I'm seeing advertised concerning WW2 and the GI's seeing those concentration camps in Nazi held territory. Surely a horrifying and traumatic sight for anyone to witness. The small segment I did read describing battle hardened people literally getting sick at the smells and sights. I can't imagine that at all. It is beyond that! 

 I do like the title; it sparks an interest. A good title should do that. As I said I have only read a very small sample of what the book is about and so I am making certain assumptions. I'm thinking the book does concern what has been called the greatest generation, the generation of my patents. Perhaps this book would provide insight into their lives and their way of thinking. A change of perspective. It's my feeling that generation was an emotionally strong generation. It was that mental toughness that earned them the moniker, the greatest generation. A generation that certainly persevered through hardship. 

 Each generation has its' own unique perspective on life. Being raised in an era of prosperity in America did influence all of that. The Korean war ended the year I was born. I was raised hearing the stories of WW2 and Korea. America had triumphed! Well not so much in Korea, there was an undercurrent of discontent, but WW2 was a great victory. The way I heard it the United States practically won that one single handled! The allies? Yeah they were our friends and helped out some. That was the perception anyway. The fifties was like "cool cats" and tough guys. The sixties brought us the hippies. Peace and Love, all of that stuff. We were urged to turn on, tune in, and drop out. Some of my contemporaries did just that. I stayed pretty much, square. Took some degree of mental toughness to do that, in my opinion. I see it as a form of self -denial. You are denying yourself certain things. The hardest thing to do at times is to maintain the moral and cultural traditions of the previous generation. That's simply because we have a tendency to believe we know better. We call it progress, enlightenment, or wisdom. Feeling like we are expected to learn from the previous generation. Thing is we are just as often mistaken about that thinking, we believe learning means changing something. That isn't always the truth. Two and two will always be four, even with the new math. True, a different avenue was used to get to the answer, but the important part is, the answer is the same.

 I think that title is a sort of rewrite of an old adage, walk a mile in my shoes. I say spend a day in my head! There are memes about that on social media and we laugh. Other people are crazy, aren't they? We often think so and just as often we are correct. You have to be strong to live in your own head, in your own world. Perhaps that is why so many want to escape to another one and just follow the crowd. It is certainly easier to do that. Today the message is often, you can't do it alone. You need help. And what's more it is a sign of strength if you need that help! That is quite contrary to the way I was raised. I was raised with the, you made your bed now sleep in it attitude. An old fashioned concept called, accountability. Yes, I am responsible for the choices I make, regardless of how good the salesman is.

 The irony in all of this is that we often fail to see these things. The "things our fathers saw" went unseen by them. It was just the reality of the times. That is true for me, and for everyone else. True heroes do not see their heroic actions. They are too busy doing it, and later marvel that they did whatever it was they did. To do right, for the sake of it being the right thing to do. What are the things we are failing to see today? What changes in the moral, ethical and cultural traditions are we accepting today? Are those changes making an improvement? Or are they just making things easier? Is it, as I suggested in another blog posting, a path to a more "convenient" faith? All those rules concerning morality and behavior are limiting, aren't they? Same with the rules of society. All depends on how we "see" it. 

 I see each generation becoming less emotionally strong. What I would call intestinal fortitude. Oh it's easy enough to stage a protest, to wave flags and shout into the sky. It's much harder to adhere to the principles that promote the general welfare however. Those principles are delineated in the Constitution of the United States of America. It says so, in the preamble to that Constitution. Article One, section one, says, "all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of representatives." That simply means, the people are the Government! We the people determine all legislative actions! It takes inner strength and emotional maturity to make the decisions necessary to great governance. It cannot be accomplished by acquiescence. That's true no matter how loud you shout. 

 Consider this: The greatest life, the best life, would be to emulate the teachings in the Bible. The Bible is the guidebook! It's also true of every other religious text to the one that believes in that text. And what is the issue with religious belief? Adherence to the book! That's why forgiveness is offered as an alternative, if you deserve that forgiveness. The United States has a constitution. A manuscript detailing how we should govern. It took 116 days of writing and debate to come up with the final document. Even then, ten additional amendments were added at a later date. The issue today is sticking to that document. The fact is it has been debated since the first day, to make it easier for some to comply. Same as religious texts, we look for exceptions. We start with, that's what is says but that isn't what it means. 

 Well, I guess I have gone on long enough. I could continue but will leave it here. I can say I understand one thing I heard my parents, and their contemporaries say, open your eyes and take a good look around. What are you seeing? More importantly perhaps is, what have you seen?