The Forgotten Promise

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Home Page News & Society The Forgotten Promise The Forgotten Promise Posted: Feb 27th, 2009 | Comments: 0 | Views: 3 var random_number = Math.random(); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='http://js.articlesbase.com/gadsA.js?v=1.0006' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); Related Articles Related Q&A Forgotten Valentine's Day? How to Rescue the RomanceBiocare : Fulfilling the Promise of Better HealthHow to Find Promising Daycare CentersPistol Pete - Already ForgottenRelationship Basics: Have Your Forgotten the Fundamentals of a Great Relationship?Post-traumatic Stress: a Promise of Great Things to ComeCyprus Reunification Must Not be ForgottenHoney: Another Long Forgotten Cough Suppressant Ask the community a question about this article:
Q&A Powered by: Syndicate this Article Copy to clipboard The Forgotten PromiseAuthor: Andrew P. St. Asaph

Generations of Americans are branded by the events that they've lived through.  Consequently the label of the ?G.I. Generation' was created to describe those Americans that fought and served during World War II.  But labels can sometimes be too simplistic, too narrow.  For instance, the G.I. Generation encompasses all Americans born between 1901 and 1924.  Many of them came of age during the ?Roaring Twenties', while the earliest of the GIs were just old enough to have fought in the War to End All Wars, and then decades later picked up their rifles a second time to liberate Europe from tyranny and oppression.  They celebrated V-E Day, rejoiced on V-J Day, and have mourned their fallen brethren since D-Day.  They fought the "Forgotten War", pioneered the space program, and finally defeated Jim Crow. They have suffered, sacrificed, and guided our country through more trying times than any other generation of Americans.  Nearly a century later in his 1998 book of the same title, journalist Tom Brokaw labeled the G.I Generation, "The Greatest Generation."   

My generation, "The Millennials", is the largest generation since the GIs, stretching 22 years (1978 - 2000).  We came of age at a time that included the end of the Cold War, the United States becoming the world's lone superpower, and the internet fueled economic boom of the 1990's.  We did not know the true meaning of ?sacrifice' or ?recession'.   To us, sacrifice was giving up AOL Instant Messaging for two consecutive nights, and a recession was when we sat down in front of eBay but left our debit card on the dresser.  We were untested, unproven.      

In early 2009 as the global economy recessed the American unemployment rate eclipsed 7%.  Analysts are currently describing the era as the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s, as well they should.  Millions of homeowners were foreclosed on, hundreds of banks became insolvent, and corporations declared bankruptcy by the dozens.  An estimated 2.6 million people were laid off in 2008, most of them in the last three months of the year.  Another 250,000 were laid off in January 2009.  Yet, despite these grim statistics, even if you were laid off or had your home foreclosed, Americans should count their blessings; we have faced worse.  The GIs have conquered worse.     

During the height of the Depression the unemployment rate was more than triple that of today, estimated at 25-30%.  For more than a decade children starved and poverty was rampant.  Through sheer will power and compassion for their fellow man they survived the misery and anguish of the Depression. Then, just as Americans had dusted themselves off with a ?New Deal,' our world was rocked by the attack at Pearl Harbor.  Americans were thrust into war and our factories roared to life.  Over the next four years the GIs would sweat and bleed and die together and for each other. Men and women; black and white; old and young; sacrifices were made on the battlefields across North Africa, Europe, the Pacific Ocean, and also in the homeland.  Never before had our country been so united; so willing to compromise for the benefit of the troops overseas or our neighbor next door.  At the end of the Second World War, nearly 15 years to the day of the stock market crash, a reinvigorated nation had been forged by the GIs with the hopes and dreams before us as our forefathers once envisioned.       

Brokaw's claim can't be disputed.  I dare you to find a generation of Americans that has persevered through more and defeated tyranny on such a grand scale.  You won't.  Part of the reason is because the GIs are so big, encompassing a quarter century of births.  Improvements in medicine and social welfare have extended the lives of GIs dramatically, thus increasing the amount of time they remained integrated with society.  Another reason is that technological advances like electricity, the airplane, and the automobile instantly shrank the size of the world.  GIs were not responsible for these inventions, but they were responsible for their assimilation into the American way of life.  The impact of the GIs on American history stretches nearly eight decades, or 80% of the 20th century. 

Beating the Soviets to the moon seemed to be the crowning achievement for the GI generation. Or maybe the triumph can be more accurately described as their retirement party.  In 1961 the retirement age for Social Security benefits was set at 62 years old, thus putting the first GIs on the precipice of retirement.  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin just missed "qualifying" as part of the GI generation, but many other key individuals in the early years of NASA are GIs. For instance, Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier, John Glenn, the first American in space, and Saturn Five (V) rocket creator Werhner von Braun (although German) were all born in the GI era. By the time Armstrong walked on the moon eight years later, nearly a third of the generation was eligible for retirement, with the rest getting in line soon.

The technological feat of landing a man on the Moon cannot be overstated; it is mankind's greatest success, especially considering the time period when it was achieved.  In 1969 America was in the middle of a wildly unpopular and devastating war in Vietnam. In addition, racial tensions were still high after the Civil Rights movement and assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and mix in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and you have a powder keg environment.  Even still, when Armstrong's words traveled the 230,000 miles from Tranquility Base to Earth, everyone worldwide marveled at our accomplishment.  "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  Not America's accomplishment, but a milestone the world could relish together.  It was the total and complete manifestation of mankind's will and ingenuity. 

The promise of America has perhaps never looked brighter than it did on July 20th, 1969.  The promise that led the GIs through the Depression and to the blood soaked beaches at Normandy, culminated on that momentous July day.  Later this year we will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the most famous step a human being has ever taken.  For the 40th time we will commemorate the day when Armstrong's footprint was supposed to be the beginning of a new era; the passing of America's promise from one generation to the next.    Unfortunately, what was the promise of my Grandfather's generation, what should be the promise of every generation, has not transcended the generations of Americans that followed.  It is the capacity for endless sacrifice; it is the iron will to persevere; it is the freedom to dream the noble dream and it is the righteous ability to compromise for the greater good.   It is the Forgotten Promise.

About the Author:

Andrew P. St. Asaph is an environmental professional that spends his free time as a freelance writer. In addition to writing he enjoys reading, watching sports, and playing cards and video games. Andrew lives with his wife in Virginia.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/news-and-society-articles/the-forgotten-promise-793109.html

Generations of Americans are branded by the events that they've lived through.  Consequently the label of the ?G.I. Generation' was created to describe those Americans that fought and served during World War II.  But labels can sometimes be too simplistic, too narrow.  For instance, the G.I. Generation encompasses all Americans born between 1901 and 1924.  Many of them came of age during the ?Roaring Twenties', while the earliest of the GIs were just old enough to have fought in the War to End All Wars, and then decades later picked up their rifles a second time to liberate Europe from tyranny and oppression.  They celebrated V-E Day, rejoiced on V-J Day, and have mourned their fallen brethren since D-Day.  They fought the "Forgotten War", pioneered the space program, and finally defeated Jim Crow. They have suffered, sacrificed, and guided our country through more trying times than any other generation of Americans.  Nearly a century later in his 1998 book of the same title, journalist Tom Brokaw labeled the G.I Generation, "The Greatest Generation."   

My generation, "The Millennials", is the largest generation since the GIs, stretching 22 years (1978 - 2000).  We came of age at a time that included the end of the Cold War, the United States becoming the world's lone superpower, and the internet fueled economic boom of the 1990's.  We did not know the true meaning of ?sacrifice' or ?recession'.   To us, sacrifice was giving up AOL Instant Messaging for two consecutive nights, and a recession was when we sat down in front of eBay but left our debit card on the dresser.  We were untested, unproven.      

In early 2009 as the global economy recessed the American unemployment rate eclipsed 7%.  Analysts are currently describing the era as the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s, as well they should.  Millions of homeowners were foreclosed on, hundreds of banks became insolvent, and corporations declared bankruptcy by the dozens.  An estimated 2.6 million people were laid off in 2008, most of them in the last three months of the year.  Another 250,000 were laid off in January 2009.  Yet, despite these grim statistics, even if you were laid off or had your home foreclosed, Americans should count their blessings; we have faced worse.  The GIs have conquered worse.     

During the height of the Depression the unemployment rate was more than triple that of today, estimated at 25-30%.  For more than a decade children starved and poverty was rampant.  Through sheer will power and compassion for their fellow man they survived the misery and anguish of the Depression. Then, just as Americans had dusted themselves off with a ?New Deal,' our world was rocked by the attack at Pearl Harbor.  Americans were thrust into war and our factories roared to life.  Over the next four years the GIs would sweat and bleed and die together and for each other. Men and women; black and white; old and young; sacrifices were made on the battlefields across North Africa, Europe, the Pacific Ocean, and also in the homeland.  Never before had our country been so united; so willing to compromise for the benefit of the troops overseas or our neighbor next door.  At the end of the Second World War, nearly 15 years to the day of the stock market crash, a reinvigorated nation had been forged by the GIs with the hopes and dreams before us as our forefathers once envisioned.       

Brokaw's claim can't be disputed.  I dare you to find a generation of Americans that has persevered through more and defeated tyranny on such a grand scale.  You won't.  Part of the reason is because the GIs are so big, encompassing a quarter century of births.  Improvements in medicine and social welfare have extended the lives of GIs dramatically, thus increasing the amount of time they remained integrated with society.  Another reason is that technological advances like electricity, the airplane, and the automobile instantly shrank the size of the world.  GIs were not responsible for these inventions, but they were responsible for their assimilation into the American way of life.  The impact of the GIs on American history stretches nearly eight decades, or 80% of the 20th century. 

Beating the Soviets to the moon seemed to be the crowning achievement for the GI generation. Or maybe the triumph can be more accurately described as their retirement party.  In 1961 the retirement age for Social Security benefits was set at 62 years old, thus putting the first GIs on the precipice of retirement.  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin just missed "qualifying" as part of the GI generation, but many other key individuals in the early years of NASA are GIs. For instance, Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier, John Glenn, the first American in space, and Saturn Five (V) rocket creator Werhner von Braun (although German) were all born in the GI era. By the time Armstrong walked on the moon eight years later, nearly a third of the generation was eligible for retirement, with the rest getting in line soon.

The technological feat of landing a man on the Moon cannot be overstated; it is mankind's greatest success, especially considering the time period when it was achieved.  In 1969 America was in the middle of a wildly unpopular and devastating war in Vietnam. In addition, racial tensions were still high after the Civil Rights movement and assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and mix in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and you have a powder keg environment.  Even still, when Armstrong's words traveled the 230,000 miles from Tranquility Base to Earth, everyone worldwide marveled at our accomplishment.  "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  Not America's accomplishment, but a milestone the world could relish together.  It was the total and complete manifestation of mankind's will and ingenuity. 

The promise of America has perhaps never looked brighter than it did on July 20th, 1969.  The promise that led the GIs through the Depression and to the blood soaked beaches at Normandy, culminated on that momentous July day.  Later this year we will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the most famous step a human being has ever taken.  For the 40th time we will commemorate the day when Armstrong's footprint was supposed to be the beginning of a new era; the passing of America's promise from one generation to the next.    Unfortunately, what was the promise of my Grandfather's generation, what should be the promise of every generation, has not transcended the generations of Americans that followed.  It is the capacity for endless sacrifice; it is the iron will to persevere; it is the freedom to dream the noble dream and it is the righteous ability to compromise for the greater good.   It is the Forgotten Promise.

Andrew P. St. Asaph is an environmental professional that spends his free time as a freelance writer. In addition to writing he enjoys reading, watching sports, and playing cards and video games. Andrew lives with his wife in Virginia.

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