By Gavin Boyle
The Greatest Generation makes up less than one percent of Americans today, and many have forgotten why those born between 1901 and 1924 earned their title. Mike Rowe wants to fix that.
“What makes the greatest generation so great? Well, for starters, they literally saved the world. Then, they came home to raise their families and build their businesses and became the most productive citizens our country has ever seen,” Rowe said.
While many today view the U.S. as the bad guy in many of its previous global initiatives, Rowe, a longtime patriot, argues that Americans have much to be proud of. While it is true that our country has been involved in some nefarious things, overall its impact on the world has been much more positive than negative.
“I’m clinging to this idea that liberals and conservatives and Democrats and Republicans can still be on the same side with regard to the answer to the question, ‘Do you see yourself first and foremost as an American? If you do, then you can kind of walk backward from there and start looking for other similarities…” Rowe previously said. “There’s a lot to celebrate and there’s a lot to be grateful for, right, in pursuit of a more perfect union.”
Meanwhile, the DIRTY JOBS host believes that today’s military members deserve much more credit than they receive as they put their lives on the line to protect freedom across the world.
“One of the biggest threats facing the country is the degree to which the average American has become disconnected from the Armed Forces. Most Americans today don’t have a personal relationship with anyone in uniform,” Rowe said. “Statistically, that’s understandable; less than one percent of the population actually wears one. But that’s no excuse for the breathtaking ignorance of what our men and women in uniform do on our behalf.”
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“Wars today require zero sacrifice from the civilian population, and therefore zero understanding,” he added. “Zero understanding leads to zero awareness. Zero awareness leads to zero gratitude. And zero gratitude is a clear and present danger to our many freedoms.”
Even if someone believes the U.S. has been on the wrong side of more recent wars, America undeniably played a major part in saving the world during WWII. Thus, those who fought in that war and came home to foster prosperity in our nation deserve more credit than they could ever possibly receive, and we owe our nation and our world to them.
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