Kay Hively: We need a second greatest generation

Are we seeing the rise of another “greatest generation?”

Those children who grew in the Great Depression, and on into World War II, became known as the greatest generation.

As youngsters, they were mostly very poor children in a relatively poor country. As such, they learned to take care of themselves and to “make do.”

If a boy outgrew his shirt, it was passed down to a younger brother. When it became too ragged to patch, most women cut the buttons off and made the ragged shirt a rag mop. She put the buttons on a dress or shirt that she was making on her treadle Singer sewing machine. 

I have a friend who still owns a Singer. It sits in front of a window in her home and she uses sunlight for a lamp as she sews. She loves her old treadle machine and uses it more than her fancy new one.

As the depression years turned into the war years, that earlier generation learned about rationing and sacrifice to their country. Many of the things they learned in those days stayed with them all their lives. They always wanted a full pantry and “watched their money.”

My parents did that, and a bit of their thinking stayed with me.

With the Coronavirus running rampant, kids are staying home most of the day. Now, they have many more things to do, such as computer games and texting or e-mailing their friends. But I hope they find time to reflect about their lives, their families and the world in general.

Things are very different from the way kids were brought up long ago. Many kids today are from single parent homes. They often have a mother caring for them, but no regular father. The mother usually works hard, so kids are home alone and tempted to get into trouble.

The “greatest generation” of the 1930s and 40s normally had a stay-at-home mom and a hardworking father. If the father went off to war, many uncles and grandfathers stepped in as a male role model.

People who describe the fight today against the virus rightly call it an unseen enemy and talk about fighting to stop or kill it. I think they are right. We are also warned about letting fear get the best of us. As President Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

That’s mostly true, but we must at least respect the power of this unseen enemy and stay alert to its danger. And we must help and pray all we can, especially for our national leaders, our scientists and researchers, our medical teams and those who serve anywhere on the front lines defending us.

Today’s generation has a chance to watch and learn and to come out of this better than they came into it.

Just between you and me, I hope and pray that these times do give us a second “greatest generation.” I am sure we need one.

(Kay Hively is a historian, author and former editor, reporter and columnist for the Neosho Daiiy News and Neosho Post.)