Refugees don’t flee FROM America, they come TO America. There is promise here. There is hope.
“The Greatest Generation.” That’s what Tom Brokaw called my parents and their peers, with good reason. They were asked to defend and support their country in whatever way they could.
My father was in the Navy, served as a medical corpsman in the Pacific. He didn’t talk much about that time in his life. Few in his generation do. But their patriotism is unquestioned. The world seems to be a more complex place now.
There will be disagreements among us about how best to solve America’s problem. But when we agree to disagree and move forward toward that goal — solving those problems, we remain patriots. Boomers may never be labeled the Greatest Generation. We have an obligation, though, to make certain we leave an honorable legacy for those who come after us. Did we serve our community, our country to the best of our ability? If we can say yes, then we can be counted as patriots.
It’s important to take your hat off when Old Glory passes by. But it’s also important to know, despite it’s problems, that flag represents the hopes and dreams — not just yours, but those of your children and millions of others around the world.
Patriotism can’t be measured in any kind of units. You can’t earn more “patriot” points than the last generation or your neighbor. You CAN remember that while we are all different — we are all Americans.
The Elderhood Project airs on KHON2 Friday morning news at 5:45 a.m. and Thursday news at 5 p.m.
