Those of us who are Babyboomers were raised in the shadows of our parents. Our parents lived lives of sacrifice. They came of age during the Depression and many struggled to survive. They stood in the path of totalitarianism and defended and preserved freedom in World War II and Korea. They returned from the fight, rolled up their sleeves, and pitched in to re-build the nation. They stymied the expansion of communism and won the Cold War. They made the United States the greatest nation the world has ever known. Tom Brokaw paid tribute to their sacrifices in his book, “The Greatest Generation.” They were great.
The Greatest Generation also transformed American society in ways that now present a challenge to us, their children. Our parents sacrificed in ways great and small to assure that we would never have to do so. In the homes of our youth, most of us lived protected and sheltered lives where we never wanted for food, clothing, entertainment, transportation, education, and security. That we will have our wants and needs fulfilled has become a foundational expectation of our generation. The Greatest Generation not only saved our nation, but also birthed the entitlement society.
Our parents not only attempted to provide security to us in our homes, but also nationally through the construction of a massive “safety net” of entitlements. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, school lunches, education loans, and grants and subsidies of a broad variety became embedded as fixtures in our lives. The Greatest Generation had created such wealth that the nation seemingly could afford anything. Now that Babyboomers have come to leadership they focus on expanding those entitlements and creating new ones such as national health care. We have accepted government as a primary caregiver.
The entitlement society took root in Europe long before the flowering of social programs here. And the consequences of the concept of government as caregiver are bearing evil fruit there first also. Greece, burdened economically by increasing debt necessary to fund rich public jobs and entitlements, is on the verge of financial default. The citizens of Greece, however, addicted to the entitlement narcotic, have taken to the streets to fight any changes that might save them. They will sacrifice their country rather than accept modifications to their benefits. The descendants of the 300 who sacrificed their lives at Thermopylae to preserve Greece from the Persians will not sacrifice a euro to save their country. How sad!
The reality, however, is that the Babyboomer generation in America will face soon the same choice. Entitlements consume a greater portion of the Federal budget and our Gross Domestic Product each year. The entitlements that seemed affordable to our parents now exceed our capabilities. They are already not sustainable and if the health care entitlement passes our debt will be beyond any reasonable bounds. As the Babyboomers pass into senior status and consume more and more of these entitlements, we too will be beggared. Greece is our future unless we choose to change it.
Unlike the Greeks, we Babyboomers do not have to look back thousands of years for models of behaviors to guide us. We only have to look at the preceding generation. Our parents showed us the way. Yes, they laid the foundation of the entitlement society and gave us permission to live self-absorbed lives. But they also showed us that when America is in crisis, Americans have the courage and determination to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to preserve this nation. They showed us the no sacrifice is too great in the cause of liberty.
The unfortunate reality is that our nation simply cannot afford to fund the entitlement society for aging Babyboomers. The debt poses a threat to the existence of our nation as we know it. Yet the fear of the political consequences of confronting that reality trumps the economic reality in the minds of our political leaders. They simply do not have the courage to keep us from hurtling down the same track as Greece. So it comes to us, the entitled, to make the difference. Unlike the citizens of Greece, rather than demand that we receive our due, no matter what the cost to our country, we must take the lead and concede that the entitlements must be reduced.
I’m not sure of the answer. Perhaps we must accept means testing so that only the truly needy receive the benefits. But I am certain that the time has now come for our generation to sacrifice to save our nation. We have been a generation of privilege that has sacrificed little for our country and taken much. As the primary beneficiaries of the entitlements, unless we are willing to sacrifice our “rights” to the benefits, nothing will happen. Our electoral strength is too great. The sacrifice demanded of us is not of the kind our parents made, but it is to surrender the security that our parents wanted to bequeath to us. The sacrifice that we must make is to take greater responsibility and risk for our lives in order that we might bequeath to our children an America that can be as great as that our parents left to us. Do we love our country enough to make that sacrifice? Are we made of the same stuff as our parents? Can we be Great?
Freedom Correspondent 