I’m thinking these days about what has popularly become known as The Greatest Generation.  Tom Brokaw’s book brought the phrase to the tip of our common tongue.  Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan and Ken Burns’ recent PBS War mini-series once again focused on a time that is, remarkably, so far removed now that even those in their early eighties were too young to have served in WWII.  But what made this generation truly remarkable was more than the willingness to serve in the Armed Forces.  It was the willingness to, individually, see themselves as part of something greater, to do those small things that, collectively, make things possible for everyone.

Here was a generation that saw two world wars spanned by a Great Depression and, all the while, built this country…more often than not surviving on one blue-collar paycheck. Government came to people’s aid when the marketplace collapsed around them. It provided employment for the jobless that, at the same time rebuilt the infrastructure of this country.  It educated countless veterans via the GI Bill that further changed the course of our future.  And it guaranteed some measure of security and dignity in old age.  But government didn’t do this alone.  We, as a people, stepped up.  We recycled, we reused, we saved, we…and here’s a word that rarely passes the lips of an American leader these days…sacrificed. 

When the towers came down on the morning of 9/11 people lined up across this country to give blood, even when it was clear by noon there was no one to give blood to.  For months regular blood donors like me could not get a reservation at the local blood bank, so dedicated were we as a people.  We lined up, rolled up our sleeves, held out our arms and said, “Here!  Take my very blood.  I want to do something, anything to help.”  It was a moment of staggering possibility.

And the leadership of this country, what did they say to this citizenry offering up its generosity?  Shop.  It’s still the economy, stupid.

It was one of the most astounding lapses of leadership I have ever seen.  And it hasn’t stopped since.

Everything now is about fear: war, detentions, the PATRIOT Act (which, I’m sure, has Jefferson spinning in his grave), elections.  Governments build walls while the same crowd works overtime to tear them down via NAFTA, GATT, and the other “free trade” agreements.  We threaten wars based on intelligence saying countries have nuclear programs then threaten wars when the same intelligence sources say, “Nope, we were wrong.”  We run up our kids’ credit card bill on military solutions to political problems refusing to ask, “how is this being paid for?”  No new taxes.  For us.  If our kids passed the math component of No Child Left Behind it won’t take them a nanosecond to figure out that none of this adds up.  Seems we’re giving the test to the wrong folks.

If we can’t pay for the ticket, we can’t ride the ride.  I learned that at the Marathon County Fair when I was 8 years old.  So if we aren’t willing to put our own lives and the lives of our kids on the line via a military draft we shouldn’t fight the war.  If we’re not willing to raise our taxes to fund it, we shouldn’t engage in it.  And if we don’t have leaders with the guts to tell the truth, help us face difficult questions and actually take stands for what is the right thing for the right time, no matter how tough or unpopular, then they don’t deserve our support or our money or our vote.  Leadership is about making the tough decisions, not the pandering, poll-driven ones.

We enter an election season with reportage dominated by the Horse Race rather than a substantive conversation about the pressing issues of our day.  Winners are anointed months before a single vote is cast and those without support in at least the double digits are marginalized and their ideas, however valuable, are silenced.  And we keep going back to the same polluted well for Version 2.0 of the Same Old Thing. 

Our National Anthem begins and ends with a question.  In this coming election season it would seem that we have far more cogent questions than answers.  And they bear asking.

• How can we be economic expansionists and foreign policy isolationists at the same time?
• How are we going to address the issue of health care in this country?  The private sector has proven to nearly everyone that it will not and cannot work.  It puts us at an economic disadvantage in a global marketplace when, for instance, Ford has to build in health costs into every vehicle while Toyota (or any other foreign manufacturer) does not.
• Do we believe in an educated population?  If so, how do we stop the increasing abandonment of funding for public schools?
• How do we tackle the realities of energy consumption in a world being systematically destroyed by it?  Even a puppy knows instinctively not to shit where it sleeps.
• How do we learn to work together with people with whom we disagree?   Remember the Cold War?  It’s a simple lesson that we teach our children.  But somehow with adults in wider applications it is…as the song says…”different.”
• How do we reclaim the great promise of this American Experiment and have sane security?  One only has to look around the world to see what restricted speech, state-run religion, state-controlled news media, secretive government, and covert surveillance of the population reaps. 

This is a great nation with incredible promise.  People come here from across the globe, legally and illegally, for more than economic gain.  This is a place in which diversity is tolerated, where dissent is sanctioned and, in fact, foundational, where hope is abundant, and where change is possible through nonviolent means.  But it takes dedication, determination and, yes, sacrifice.

So roll up your sleeves, America.  If we want to regain our greatness…at home and abroad…it ain’t gonna be easy or cheap.  And it shouldn’t have to take buildings collapsing around us to move us to action.  These folks running for office, they’re going through one big job interview.  We get to ask the questions and we get to expect and demand real answers.  Because one thing is clear: the problems of today are not going to be solved by the same ideas that created them. 

Generations become great because of what they left for the next one, not what they accomplished for themselves.  Our work, our vote is an investment in our children’s future.  And they are the ones that will assign the adjectives to our legacy.  Let’s do ‘em proud.

For more of John's thoughts, check out The News.