 They did all of that and even more; they raised children called war-babies and
baby boomers. They instilled in those pliable minds the love of freedom and
national pride. They established a moral character of "middle-class" America
that forged a strong bond with God and country that was reinforced with the
likes of Billy Graham, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor
Roosevelt, John Wayne, Maya Angelou, Ella Fitzgerald, Clarke Gable, Jimmy
Stewart, Barbara Jordan and, yes, even Ronald Reagan.
Working during the week and making family trips to town on the weekends was a
way of life. Eating out was a treat; buying a new or used car was the thrill of
life. Entertainment included taking in a ballgame and watching the advent of a new thing called
television, watching the first shows that had come from the radio to television
with Jack Benny, Red Skelton, George Burns and Gracie Allen, and the Ozzie and
Harriet show.
Many American dads and moms during those years participated in family worship on
Sundays, ate meals with the family, bought groceries, paid bills and led the
family in ordinary life. Dad, along with mom, was the leader of the family, and
children, along with the grandparents, sat on the front porch in the cool of the
evening to talk while the kids caught lightning bugs, roller-skated on the
sidewalks or rode their bikes that dad and mom had given them for Christmas.
That was the generation of accomplishment. In the span of their lives they sat
on buckboards pulled by horse or mule, ate food from an "ice box" cooled with a
large block of ice delivered to their homes or picked up at the ice plant in
town, drew their own water from a well outside or pumped it from a kitchen sink
pump, received telegraphs in emergencies, rode the train, saw the first cars
roll off Ford's assembly line, witnessed the first generation of airplane
flights, but still managed to see in their lifetime John Glenn orbit the earth
in near space and see Neal Armstrong walk on the moon.
The war babies and baby boomers have now grown up, having careers for
themselves, raising their children and grandchildren. They have listened to the
stories of their parents talking about the "Great Depression" and the war fought
to eradicate the world of a madman. Many of the war babies and baby boomers knew
exactly where the buck stopped in the White House, and even though they did not
understand it, some of them, along with their parents liked Ike and practiced
many times hiding under their desks at school to protect themselves against the
"A-bomb" that could possibly drop from the sky at any time.
The "three R's" were a staple in school, along with the Pledge of Allegiance to
the flag of the United States being recited each and every morning as the first
thing of the day. In most schools, this generation also publicly read the Bible
in front of the class, listened to announcements over a centralized intercom
system and studied American history to cement into their minds the foundation of
America.
As time moved on, the baby boomer generation began to change.
By graduation time, this generation saw itself slipping into a war that quickly
became unpopular, as if wars are ever popular. This one lacked the full-scale
commitment from the American people as WWII had established. Vietnam was a
far-away place where people were fighting for independence from a communist
stronghold. Peoples in that region were mixed into different kinds of fighting
groups, and it was unclear about who constituted the enemy. It seemed the United
States government was tepid in their desire to actually win the war in Vietnam.
The war dragged on without a formal declaration, with definition changes ranging
from "war effort" to "police action". The war moved from the commanders on the
battlefield to the politicians in Washington. Coupled with the civil rights
movement that sought equality for all Americans, the president waged "war"
against poverty and fought battles for other social justice programs in a
divisive stance with the more volatile war in Vietnam. With the country torn by
war, civil unrest leading to riots and political campaigning, the president,
Lyndon Johnson, chose not to seek another term in office.
Our generation was the last one who really touched the tentacles of an adversary
with national identity and communist backing: Southeast Asia. The baby boomer
generation was called one more time to serve in our national interest. Perhaps
you experienced it much more closely than I by being in the middle of it. But
even during that time, you could see the current and next generation losing its
will to wage war. The president was at home declaring a "war on poverty" while
at the same time not giving the troops the same support they had received during
past presidents, like Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. The left-wing liberals
had already begun to take the constraining grasp on American individualism and
greatness. Even Mr. Nixon crawled through a first term with minimal effort to
"win" the war raging in Vietnam. It was not until his second term that he
allowed the prevailing weakness at home to influence his will and give way to
even what he had called the "domino effect." The generations that followed have
been weaker by each year. With the exception of the Reagan administration years,
the military was downsized essentially from that time forward.
After Mr. Nixon and the initiation of the "all volunteer" military, the
generations following have consistently lost ground. All but the most patriotic
have lost their way in a world of greed, corruption and political morass. The
military was almost gutted during the Carter and Clinton administrations.
By the end of 1968, the country had lost important civil rights leaders through
assassination like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and political figures like Robert
Kennedy and had elected a different political party to the office of president
of the United States: Richard Nixon. Promising to end the war, the new president
lingered on for an entire term with Americans still dying in Vietnam. It was not
until his second term President Nixon pulled American troops from Southeast
Asia. The feared "domino theory" became a reality; Cambodia, Laos and South
Vietnam fell to the communists.
A blight of anger, indifference and downright hatred fell over the returning
troops. Americans seemed to blame those who fought the war rather than the ones
who politically controlled it. Soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines were even
spat upon in some cases. They seemed to have to carry the burden of a nation who
had rejected a war, but found no response from the politicians, so they heaped
their scorn upon those who were visible as they returned and walked the
gauntlets of Americans who were dissatisfied with the involvement and results.
As time passed, the baby boomers settled into corporate America and continued in their careers. The so-called silent majority seemed to turn their focus
more on economics and politics than anything else. Greed was the new theme with
Wall Street, fantasy and most of all everything mega. Career, education and
commerce ruled the day. The baby boomers worked two jobs, secured higher
education and had babies to create the next generation: Generation X.
War babies and baby boomers seemed to meld into the landscape as the political
structure and leadership was passed on to the next generation. Many in the baby
boomer group simply worked and raised families; they have buried their parents
from the Greatest Generation and have been putting the finishing touches on
their own retirement plans. But some cracks in their plans have emerged.
Baby boomers are set to retire over the next few years. After having paid into
the Social Security system and Medicare for their entire working lives, they are
being told the systems are unsustainable. They are being told the money they
have paid from each of their paychecks even before they received them is a type
of "welfare" or entitlement similar to the welfare benefits. They are being told
that the "Trust Fund" has been used over the years and is now empty with not enough
funding to provide what was promised. For years the politicians have talked
about the "third rail" of government, meaning Social Security, and the need to
make adjustments in the system. The baby boomers have watched and heeded the
onslaught of the attacks on their future. Their medical care is in jeopardy;
their retirement supplements are in jeopardy; their economic strength is being
eroded by massive amounts of debt by out-of-control spending; the standing of
America's strength in the world is in jeopardy; and the political structure of
America's greatness is in jeopardy. But the baby boomer generation is being
attacked from other fronts as well.
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 Slowly through the years a new kind of war has been waged. The
Middle East and Europe have both experienced that new war
methodology more than the United States. Terrorism, a form of
focused destruction and murder from radical groups, has emerged as
the mode of choice from groups who see more industrialized countries
as a threat to their culture.
Perhaps the most radicalized groups have come from the radical
Jihadists that see the Westernized industrial, technological world
as "infidels" and thus, an enemy that must be destroyed. It would be
difficult to argue that Sept. 11, 2001, was an act of war with
the attack of the World Trade Center Twin Towers and Pentagon. The
weapon of choice for that attack was hijacked planes taken by force
by radical terrorists and used as weapons. But even prior to that
time, the American people had become synthesized through the tenants
of multiculturalism, educational restructuring and political
left-wing liberalism that resulted in an array of political
correctness that attacked traditional American values.
Judeo-Christian values came under intense attack through a
resurgence of atheism pushing social changes that over the years
resulted in reduction of recognition of the Ten Commandments, prayer
in schools, even substituting the word Christmas, and using instead
the term holiday season.
Slowly through the past two decades, the sentiment has changed to a
greater tolerance toward any value other than the Christian value.
Efforts have intensified to completely separate Christianity from
mainstream America to retreat behind church walls. People are being
taught intolerance toward Christian values, but acceptance of other,
more radical values. It is increasingly politically incorrect to
speak openly of Christian virtues in schools, or anyplace where the
words can be heard. People are "offended" by any use of Christian
symbols or words. Through it all, there are many in the baby boomer
generation who have remained quiet, fearing the condemnation of
being identified as a "right-winged" Christian radical. I believe
this is a mistake for our society.
I have said for awhile we have remained silent too long against
speaking out against those who wish to kill us. Where are the
women's groups in this country who fought for women's rights, but
say absolutely nothing about the wholesale destruction of women in
the Middle East under Sharia law? Men are allowed to beat women, own
them as property, divorce them on a whim, marry them against their
will as teenagers, and treat them as if they are less intelligent
than men. They control the lives of women in every way; even as to
how they dress or are seen in public. American women, even those who
are ultra-liberal, travel to the Middle Eastern Islamic countries
and wear the traditional dress to cover their faces and entire
bodies. That is something they would never tolerate anywhere in the
Western world. Yet here they are, never saying a word about the
treatment of millions of women in the Islamic world. Where is the
National Organization of Women? Where are the feminist groups who
protest to ensure "women's rights" even to the degree of taking the
life of an unborn child for any reason whatsoever? They are
conspicuously silent when it comes to defending their counterparts
in the Islamic world.
We have been brow-beaten into submission of silence on our
university campuses where radicalized groups hold sway over the
speech of others. We can celebrate the other world religious faiths
but castigate Christianity by claiming "separation of church and
state," thus shutting down the use of the Bible even as a historical
book. We are held silent by the liberal press and "politically
correct" crowd when we see with our very eyes the results of the
radical terrorist violence and hear their vows to "kill the
infidels." We see small children groped and touched through invasive
searches at airports, and elderly women taken from their wheelchairs
to be searched, but see clerics of other faiths, with their
traditional dress hiding their body and head, prance by unhampered as
they board the airplane. We don't want to be called "racist" or
offend anyone by any hint of "profiling" anyone who meets the
criteria of radicalism, so our backs are broken in several places by
our self-imposed practice of bending over backward to spare their
feelings.
Yes, our freedoms are vanishing before our very eyes. Our world
seems to crumble as each day goes by as we submit further to the
will of those who hate us. Our president bows a waist-deep bow to
the leader of a country whose desire is to see us dead; we borrow
vulgar amounts of money from a country like China whose communist
goals have been to bury the Western way of life for the past
century; we "save" vast amounts of oil, coal and shale reserves
through political edict of embargo that results in our total
dependence on foreign energy; and we face the prospect of losing our
great country to the whims of a few political hacks whose goals seem
to be our destruction. But you know something, there is still hope.
Once again our hope lies in those of us who are older, wiser and
continue to believe in the greatness of our country. Our fathers and
grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers, fought and supported the
fight against tyranny from the socialists and Nazis during WWII.
They fought against communism in Korea after the world was in flame
from madmen; through perseverance and great personal loss, they won
those wars. Later they also won the cold war when President Reagan,
Pope John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom
understood how to defeat the enemy by the careful rebuilding of our
infrastructure and military, personal faith in God and resolve for
freedom the world over. Even though faint-hearted, liberal people
advised Mr. Reagan not to utter those words at the Wall in Germany.
He knew what he was saying when he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down
this wall." When that wall came down, so did the infrastructure of
the USSR since it had only produced an empire of form instead of
substance.
It seems our current administration has bent its knee to the Russian
Bear once again. The leaders of Russia have once again cast their
eyes toward Crimea and the Ukraine for annexation. The West is
offering sanctions, but the Bear continues to cross borders to
devour ethnic groups whose plans for freedom and democracy are being
dashed. Even after a decade or more of fighting the terrorists in
the Middle East, the current policies are leaving in their wake
countries like Egypt, Syria, Libya and Iraq returning to the
terrorist clans. Iran seems bent on developing the atomic weapons of
war while Israel is left hanging in the wind.
There is one last chance: Millions in the "war baby" and "boomer"
generations are going to have to carry the load again. We are going
to have to look to the future into the next election cycle and make
the right choices by working and voting to carry the day for
America. Our tax codes are bloated, the regulations from commerce
are debilitating, the debt is burdensome, and our philosophical and
Christian values are tarnished. Our freedoms are being bled away by
our own national agencies who spy on us, examine those on the
political "enemy" lists, while national leaders tell total untruths
and half-truths to congressional investigators. This younger
generation has lost its way and has found the teat of the government
handouts to sustain it until the next nanny comes along for it to
latch onto. So we must buck up, go out there and do it again,
looking backward to our forefathers, grandparents and parents, and
our Christian heritage for motivation, but looking forward to our
great losses as a nation if we don't stand up and do the right thing
and muster the strength to overcome radical socialism once again to
preserve our American dream for our children and grandchildren.
[By JIM KILLEBREW]
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