The Next “Greatest Generation”

I read with great interest a recent story about the rapid passing of those who came of age during World War II; those people who are part of what we now refer to as the Greatest Generation:

The Passing of the Greatest Generation

Each day we lose a thousand stories, a thousand tales of selfless sacrifice and commitment. Those that are part of the Greatest Generation did not realize their exclusive membership, and most would likely tell you that they “did what they had to do.” The Greatest Generation showed us what it means to truly, and unconditionally, “love” your country. The Greatest Generation looked to America’s greatness, and forgave its mistakes.

The Greatest Generation includes a solider that landed at Normandy or fought at Iwo Jima. The Greatest Generation are the women who helped revitalized the industry might of a country that had suffered for over ten-years from econometric instability. The Greatest Generation are those that moved beyond the War, and led the United States into a rebirth of greatness. Yet they remained humble, casual about their place in history. Maybe humility and a magnanimous call to duty are the greatest lesson they taught us?

How will your generation be judged, not only by history, but compared to the Greatest Generation? Have the generations that followed squandered what was secured for them through the sacrifice demonstrated by the Greatest Generation? Have we become too spoiled and arrogant? Will the generations that followed be looked upon as the “anti-Greatest Generations?” Will we ever see the next "Greatest Generation?"

Only time will tell.