Three Lessons from Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation"
Ambition, Responsibility and Perspective.
Upon completing Brokaw's book, "The Greatest Generation," several simple consistencies arose in my analysis of the lives of the war veterans and those closest to them. Ambition, responsibility, and perspective were all boldly exemplified. Brokaw detailed how these individuals lived their lives post-war and, as a result, gave us an outline of how to live our own.
In summary, the book chronicles the lives of numerous men and women who served directly in the Second World War or who indirectly contributed to the war effort stateside. These are the resilient members of Brokaw's greatest generation: individuals born in the 1920s, raised in the great depression, and served in the 'great war'. They demonstrated many admirable traits; bravery, patriotism, character, and honour. However, three character traits stand out, resonating with our modern lives. Ambition; a drive for greater service and success. Responsibility; taking tasks and challenges head on while bearing the weight of duty. Perspective, to take oneself out of their current situation and analyze and reassess their current place amongst times of the past and times lived by others.
The greatest generation had all this and more, giving us a mould on how to traverse our life path better. Ambition. Upon completing their military service, the greatest generation had exploding ambition. Many individuals in the book became lawyers, doctors, and politicians and started businesses. Even those who chose less flashy careers strived to be the best at their job and philanthropic endeavour they could be. Ambitious and always looking forward. Service in the war inspired them to take life head-on and to seek excellence and purpose in their careers.
There was no hold up on life’s goals, or putting off what these men and women wanted. they saw a straight path to whatever it was they focused their attention on and got to work without delay. Putting up with financial, familial and personal obstacles, they believed in their pursuit and got on with it.
Responsibility. Returning from combat in their early 20s, it was straightforward life's next task, which was common: get married, have kids, and begin a career. Usually, this happened very fast and overlapped with other challenges, such as education or further military service. Nevertheless, these significant life steps were taken without question or contemplation by the men and women who served, and by todays standards, men and women of a very young age. This is not to say that their willingness to reproduce so young makes them great; their willingness to take on such responsibility makes them great. They knew what had to be done and what was being asked of them societally, and they stepped up. Now, it's clear that some were more caring and present than others. However, it is this ability to embrace responsibility that makes this generation so great.
Perspective. War brings about some of the most traumatic moments human beings can face. War is something that no human should have to go through. Hopefully, we will not have to understand what these lows feel like. Yet, these lows were able to give perspective on what life's meaningful moments ought to be. The sacrifice of years of service for a greater purpose and an ability to reference this trauma and moments of pain in future peril. Hopefully, we don't have to go through what these people did. However, we will all have low moments, and it is essential to keep this message of perspective to use these low moments as a compass for future plans. When we are in a moment of goodness, we can embrace it and enjoy it to the fullest. Further, when we are faced with times of pain, we can use our perspective to keep us steady and afloat.
Simple principles can teach us a lot, and there were many in this book to touch on. Three stood out above the rest, and we can take them into our own lives to propel us forward to better and more whole lives and serve our families, community, and ourselves to the utmost ability. Be ambitious, set high goals for yourself, work hard to achieve them, have confidence in your own ability to accomplish these goals of service and success, be humble in your failures and know we are on the right path. Take on responsibility, look for ways to carry the weight of others to serve your community and family better, and know that this will improve your life and those around you. Keep a perspective of the good and the bad times, and use this as a reference to know that things will get better and things have been and can be worse. Know that if they do get worse, you've braced the storm before.
Much can be learned from the lives of others, it's in their stories of success and failure that we can apply to our own lives and look to inspire, ground and propel forward. To take on lived wisdom of others that can help us trek through life with guidance and knowledge. The book is a great read and much more can be drawn from the lives detailed by Brokaw, and it is clear that the principles that these men and women live by is why they are referred to as the greatest generation.