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Hard times created Strong men of the WWII era
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tooly
May 15, 2022, 12:08:42 PM5/15/22
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Hard times create strong men. Strong men then create easy times. Easy times then create weak men. Weak men then create hard times.
Several sources for this saying [mostly from mideast]...but it seems quite appropriate to qualitatively explain today. Imagine anyone growing up, say since 1990...or even 1980...and most significantly since 2000 and advent of cell phones. People born such decades, have never known of the harshness of things like war, plague, famine, or political instability [at least not as historical suffering that might be taking place in Ukraine now].
Air conditioning and the internet have been 'given' things. They would have no reference, to say, a world where real hard labor was the norm. It amazes some of us older folk, how people today describe 'work' as sitting at a desk behind computer all day, "Yea, I put in a hard day's work uploading all my vlog videos for this month"...? Hard days work once meant an agrarian wake up long before the sun came up, to saddle up coveralls and post diggers to tackle the very earth, or to man the steel machines of mass production...where a man would finish the day with little left but the energy to consume a meal and sleep.
Hard work still exists of course...but with modern machines, even the day laborer has a much easier time of it, especially with OSHA regulations and government overlooking things.
My father came through a deep depression in the 1930's and then fought in a world war and then another war to stop communism in Korea. He never complained about hard work....because he had REFERENCE. He had experienced just how bad things can be in this world...but in an opposite way, had no reference to how things could be 'so good' either. So, he didn't know he had it so bad. Like the blind man born of his blindness, he never knew a computerized world or wikipedia to explain it all to him.
Hard times created his starch [so they called it those days].
--------------------------
Then came along the 60's. It is not clear exactly what riled up the kids of that time, my generation. Yes, we had yet another war to contend with in Viet Nam...and a rising media that publicized it on a daily basis. The war explained some of it of course and we see in the Woodstock movies how young kids no longer wanted to fight; but make peace...and love [as Marcusa chimed]. The creaks of splitting foundation started then.
Hard times created strong men like my Dad. But there was another element to it though. I saw my father as being far more 'good' than he was strong.
I often quote a story I read somwhere [memory fades as to validity so forgive], but as allied armies and russian armies were making their way toward Berlin near the end of WWII...I've read that Berliners [the citizens] prayed that it was the Americans who reached that city first. As the story goes, they knew they'd get a fair shake from the Americans, while the Ruskies coming from the east...well, their fears proved somehwat accurate, and the citizenry did not fare well as the Russian army arrived first. Rape, pillage...and an historical fate for the vanquished.
America has always had a great conscience about it. Something in her founding, innate...a spiritual context of betterment; of a HUMANITY to aspire to in us all. And it was in my father as well...strongly so. We try and demonize America today due to the glaring flaws of her beginnings. But one must consider,not only was the world a different place in that era, and whatever wrongs occured here probably paled in scope of the world at large, it was that 'humanity' that spoke loudly to us, and we fought a bloody civil war and continue to this day reaching for that 'human betterment' in inclusivity. People with high conscience cannot live long with themselves entertaining things they know are wrong.
My father is gone from this earth now of course, but my memories inspire me even today of his character. I NOT ONCE...NOT A SINGLE TIME...EVER...DID I SEE OR DETECT A FEARFULNESS IN HIM. Even in conflict [as there were some with other men at times]...well, you know, FEAR is something the higher creatures of this world can sense; can detect...and often, it IS the deciding factor in the outcomes of struggle. Not always who is bigger or stronger...but who is the more confident; the less afraid.
A Strong man, knows no fear [or so miniscule as to be indetectable by his adversary].
----------------------
Several sources for this saying [mostly from mideast]...but it seems quite appropriate to qualitatively explain today. Imagine anyone growing up, say since 1990...or even 1980...and most significantly since 2000 and advent of cell phones. People born such decades, have never known of the harshness of things like war, plague, famine, or political instability [at least not as historical suffering that might be taking place in Ukraine now].
Air conditioning and the internet have been 'given' things. They would have no reference, to say, a world where real hard labor was the norm. It amazes some of us older folk, how people today describe 'work' as sitting at a desk behind computer all day, "Yea, I put in a hard day's work uploading all my vlog videos for this month"...? Hard days work once meant an agrarian wake up long before the sun came up, to saddle up coveralls and post diggers to tackle the very earth, or to man the steel machines of mass production...where a man would finish the day with little left but the energy to consume a meal and sleep.
Hard work still exists of course...but with modern machines, even the day laborer has a much easier time of it, especially with OSHA regulations and government overlooking things.
My father came through a deep depression in the 1930's and then fought in a world war and then another war to stop communism in Korea. He never complained about hard work....because he had REFERENCE. He had experienced just how bad things can be in this world...but in an opposite way, had no reference to how things could be 'so good' either. So, he didn't know he had it so bad. Like the blind man born of his blindness, he never knew a computerized world or wikipedia to explain it all to him.
Hard times created his starch [so they called it those days].
--------------------------
Then came along the 60's. It is not clear exactly what riled up the kids of that time, my generation. Yes, we had yet another war to contend with in Viet Nam...and a rising media that publicized it on a daily basis. The war explained some of it of course and we see in the Woodstock movies how young kids no longer wanted to fight; but make peace...and love [as Marcusa chimed]. The creaks of splitting foundation started then.
Hard times created strong men like my Dad. But there was another element to it though. I saw my father as being far more 'good' than he was strong.
I often quote a story I read somwhere [memory fades as to validity so forgive], but as allied armies and russian armies were making their way toward Berlin near the end of WWII...I've read that Berliners [the citizens] prayed that it was the Americans who reached that city first. As the story goes, they knew they'd get a fair shake from the Americans, while the Ruskies coming from the east...well, their fears proved somehwat accurate, and the citizenry did not fare well as the Russian army arrived first. Rape, pillage...and an historical fate for the vanquished.
America has always had a great conscience about it. Something in her founding, innate...a spiritual context of betterment; of a HUMANITY to aspire to in us all. And it was in my father as well...strongly so. We try and demonize America today due to the glaring flaws of her beginnings. But one must consider,not only was the world a different place in that era, and whatever wrongs occured here probably paled in scope of the world at large, it was that 'humanity' that spoke loudly to us, and we fought a bloody civil war and continue to this day reaching for that 'human betterment' in inclusivity. People with high conscience cannot live long with themselves entertaining things they know are wrong.
My father is gone from this earth now of course, but my memories inspire me even today of his character. I NOT ONCE...NOT A SINGLE TIME...EVER...DID I SEE OR DETECT A FEARFULNESS IN HIM. Even in conflict [as there were some with other men at times]...well, you know, FEAR is something the higher creatures of this world can sense; can detect...and often, it IS the deciding factor in the outcomes of struggle. Not always who is bigger or stronger...but who is the more confident; the less afraid.
A Strong man, knows no fear [or so miniscule as to be indetectable by his adversary].
----------------------
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