Page 179 - Anthology

We accepted and supported every decision made by our government to assist our country in the war
effort; a very different outlook from the wars that followed that did not threaten our country.

A word about the wars that I have lived through - a total of five so far; World War II was a necessity and
had the full support of our country. I firmly believe the division and lack of cooperation between the
politicians increased as our country trudged through wars that did not threaten our shores.

There was no way we could avoid a deliberate attack on our country and the war had full support from the
American citizens. The war in Korea had some controversy, but most Americans supported democracy
for the Koreans; the final peace agreement was not our goal. The war in Vietnam had very little support
from the American citizens.

We were not one hundred percent successful in Korea and were doubtful about our reasons for being
involved in a country so far from our shores. I personally told one of my employees at our small business
that history would declare this war as one of our mistakes. At that time, she thought I was being
unpatriotic, but she later agreed with me. If we learned one thing from the Vietnam disaster, it should
have been that democracy isn’t for every country. Cultures are different world wide and we cannot be the
lone policeman of the world.

9/11 was an attack on our country and we had a right and responsibility to punish those criminals. We
were well on our way to capturing the leader of the terrorist’s attack. But we suddenly left to start another
war in another country that seems doubtful that was worth the sacrifice of so many young lives and the
magnitude of debt our country faces.

History will determine if the people of Iraq want a democratic country and are willing to work with the
opportunity our country gave them. We have to turn our attention to our own problems in our own
country. I firmly believe we live in the greatest country in the world and we are aware of our problems
and will find our way back to our basic beliefs that the majority of our citizens endorse.

I supported our outrage over 9/11 and felt we were justified in finding those responsible and bringing them
to justice. The decision to abandon our search for the criminals, who did such devastation to our country,
has remained a mystery to me.

Our country was dedicated to seeking justice for the harm endured at Pearl Harbor, and yet walked away
from seeking retribution to those responsible for 9/11. For more than ten years, our government officials
argued and bickered over insignificant issues.

Our values are changing, starting with family, education, and country.

Comparing the responsibility, we had to meet from our parent’s expectations during our teenage years, to
the lack of requirements from modern day parents, is indeed sad and a disservice to this generation of
children.

Memories of World War II would not be complete without including my impression of our president at that
time. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, our 32 President was elected November 1932, and served our
nd
country for more than twelve years.

I believe he helped our country regain faith, courage and determination to defeat Germany, Italy, and
Japan. President Roosevelt’s words “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”, is well remembered by
those of us who lived through the war and are alive and well today. We remember his fireside “chats” as
he sat in front of a table and talked to the people. We later learned that he was a victim of polio when he
was 39 years of age and could only stand with heavy metal supports on both legs.