Seventy five years ago today, it was a Sunday. It started off like any other day, but would end up plunging the United States into the world war, two years after it had begun. The nation united as it never had before, and possibly never will again. Their fight lasted four years, and changed America for all time.
I was thinking about this today and trying to make sense of it in terms of today's world. It occurred to me that America's time in the war was the same amount of time as a president's term. I don't know about you, but sometimes it feels like Election Day this year was a date which will live in infamy. For me, I think remembering the Second World War will help me get through the next four years.
The new term that will begin next month, like the war, will bring out the best in us and the worst in us. Like then, it will be the defining moment of our generation. How we treat one another during this time is entirely our choice, and will be what we are remembered for. It will define us as individuals, as a generation, and as a nation in this world, for all of history.
Will we rise up to the reputation of the Greatest Generation? Maybe in an ultimate act of irony, in the new POTUS's goal of "making America great again," he truly will, when we all band together against him and everything he stands for. Let us continue to fight for our rights and those of others. Let us continue to fight for the planet. We will look out for one another when times are tough and dark and it seems like it can't get any worse. We shall rise up and stand arm-in-arm with people who are experiencing hate and discrimination. Let us become the heroes and heroines we long to be. We don't need guns and weapons for this, we just need to be brave, kind, and loving to one another.
Just like the war, everybody has a part to play. There will be plenty of people in need and plenty of organizations that need help in the next four years. We don't have to do all of it, and we really shouldn't burn ourselves out in trying to, but all of us can do some of it. It's going to be scary, it's not going to be fun, but this is our moment. Now it's our turn to be the Greatest Generation.
And in four years, maybe Election Day will be a date which will live in infamy for the man who will be the next POTUS. We will celebrate his last day in office, just as much as we will mourn his first day...
