The Greatest Generation

Finished read Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation last night -- highly recommended. To me the book was far more interesting for its insight into the mindset of the Depression/WWII generation than anything else. A few thoughts:

• Of course we all know how bad Blacks and other minorities were treated during this time, but reading accounts of it never ceases to amaze you. One Black soldier described being at a camp where Blacks were prohibited from entering the post's officer's club -- and then later seeing a group of German officer POWs allowed in!

• And of course it wasn't just Blacks. Sen. Daniel Inouye describes returning home from the war and going to a barbershop for a haircut. When asked if he was Japanese he responded that his father was born in Japan, prompting the barber to remark that "We don't cut Jap hair." And Inouye was in his uniform complete with medals and missing his right arm!

• It's mind-blowing just how opportunities were limited for women in the workplace. Basically you could be a nurse, a secretary or a teacher. And even teachers were only supposed to be single women -- married ones need not apply.

• It's also amazing how despite these very real obstacles that it only made people determined to work even harder rather than declare themselves victims.

• Some of the observations about modern life by some of those interviewed in the book is interesting. For example one of the Black soldiers remarked coming back to Chicago after the war and becoming a landlord. He said that after welfare came about that you could see the impact, with many of his tenants being in their late-twenties and having never worked a day in their life. Another guy who went back and became a schoolteacher talked about how over time the support from parents has steadily eroded.

• Perhaps the most stunning aspect, however, was just the overall description of life. We have things so much better now, and I don't know if we really appreciate it. People worked long and hard doing back-breaking labor for not a whole lot of money. Running water was far from universal. Housing was much more cramped. Like racial discrimination, this wasn't totally new info for me. I knew for example that when my grandmother was growing up that feed bags were cut up after they were emptied to be used as clothing. That was typical.

And the thing is, World War II and the Depression weren't forever ago. Depression was 70 years ago. World War II was 60. And yet the changes that have taken place have been dramatic. We're so fortunate and I think we usually don't even realize it.