I was fortunate to spend last Friday, July 17 at the museum. I love going to the National World War II museum, but it is not "fun". It is sobering, enlightening, educational and thought-provoking. I always leave with a deep and profound respect for those who lived during the Second World War, because everyone was touched in some way by this war.
My husband and I attended "Beyond all Boundaries", a 4-D film experience. Prior to entering the theater, there is an introduction from Tom Hanks. Part of the introduction shows silhouettes of countries, with the name of the country and the number of dead from that country. The civilian and concentration camp deaths are included in the numbers. The total? A staggering 65,000,000. Sixty-five million.
Tom Brokaw called the men and women who fought World War II "The Greatest Generation". The museum makes use of oral histories and personal artifacts to tell the story of the war. Reading the stories, and hearing the stories makes me believe these men and women truly were the greatest generation of Americans.
In the newest exhibit, "The Road to Berlin" each patron receives a "dog tag" with the story of a particular soldier or sailor who served in World War II. My soldier was black, the son of missionaries, who was living in China with his family when the Japanese attacked China. He served in the military in China, and then fought with the Spanish in Europe before coming back to the US and joining the army. At that time, he was not allowed to serve as combat troops in the US because of his race, even though he had been a combat soldier and combat leader in other armies. He was relegated to food service and logistics. This did not deter him, however, and he continued to try to fight for our country. He finally got his opportunity in the Battle of the Bulge, and ended up a decorated war hero.
In spite of prejudice, in spite of being treated as "less than" he continued to fight to do the right thing. As I sit here this morning hearing of yet another mass shooting of innocent people just trying to live their normal lives in America, I wonder what happened.
How did the greatest generation give way to a generation of hate-filled violent extremists who think the answer to everything is violence?
Make no mistake, the violence in America is not an international epidemic.
This infographic from humanosphere.org shows just how singular a US problem this is. I have joined two organizations, Sandy Hook Promise, and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Neither of these groups wants to take guns from law-abiding citizens that use them for protection or hunting. Both groups want a sane debate about violence in our society and how to curb it.
A generation ago, 65,000,000 died to preserve a world where freedom and justice existed and were supported. In the United States, we are disrespecting their sacrifice by allowing so much unbridled violence to go on with talk and no action.
Wherever you are, do something. This problem has many causes, and they all need to be discussed and addressed. Anyone on the sidelines not trying to find solutions is allowing the problem to grow. The next mass shooting could rob you of beloved family members. If the violence continues to grow unbridled, we will all have the opportunity to know and love a victim of random, senseless violence.
We need to honor the sacrifices of the greatest generation by being a county of fair, free and sane Americans, who value human life, and who step up and do the right thing to restore the America they fought for.
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