I wonder at times if anyone in the U.S. under 70 even understands what it means to pull together, to forgo even minor luxuries for a greater good…of a group, a country, or  even the planet.

I was of military age during the Vietnam era, but never served. And returning vets from that war found quickly what much of America thought of them.  The emerging social revolution from that same era created a “me-first” mentality that, 40 to 50 years later, wreaks havoc with the social order.  Personal choice and freedom and individual identity have displaced the the greater good, the social compact.

I watched today a video of WWII era transport planes recreating a supply run over the Bering Sea and Siberia, an action critical to providing Russia (they were an ally then) with food and supplies and materiel during the war.  It brought me to tears and a sense of loss.  As as a country, we have lost sight of the one thing that might save us, a sense of national unity and concern for the societal good.  I wish we could find it again, but I despair.