Some years back, Tom Brokaw named the generation that came of age around World War II "The Greatest Generation." I do not begrudge them that label (though when that generation matured into positions of power they committed their share of blunders and crimes --like Vietnam and Watergate). That generation did learn early an ethic of self-sacrifice that many in my baby-boom generation have not previously had to take to heart.
But history has come round now to give us Americans of this era our own profound challenge. Will we rise to the occasion, setting aside the lives we might otherwise wish to live in order to defeat the evil forces that have taken control of our country?
There is room in history for another greatest generation.
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