THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

MACHO MUCHISSIMO | 2005-08-08

Right now I wish I were a member of the group that calls itself "The Greatest Generation."

I have been in pain for a week but didn't think much of it. Friday I went to the dentist for my regular tooth cleaning and discovered that I have an cracked tooth under a crown. My gum is about to rupture from it.

I will see my regular dentist today for a root canal. In the meantime the dentist on duty gave me heavy antibiotics and the pain pill you put in the peanut to stun an elephant.

I was in serious pain, but I marched on.

If I were one of those who call themselves The Greatest Generation, I could announce that this was just one more proof of how no man has ever been as brave as I am.

Unfortunately, I was raised around the "Greatest Generation" and I am sick to death of their macho crap.

I like to make fun of myself largely because I got tired of that crowd taking themselves so seriously.

I have met many people in the burn ward who would give anything if they were able to take a little while off from their agony and invade Normandy. History is full of people who suffered a lot more than "The Greatest Generation" did.

My mountain ancestors faced conditions all their lives that made World War II and the Great Depression look like a picnic. They took on the Indians face to facce and it takes unlimited gall for someone to claim that they are the Greatest Generation because they fought a war abroad.

What other people call Macho is what I call trashy.

White trash is always getting drunk and moaning about how hard they have it and how easy everybody else has it.

If people of a certain age do the same thing they are called "The Greatest Generation."

COMMENTS (2)

#1 Elizabeth | 2005-08-12 13:18

Life isn't "fair."

For a few decades, I've had to listen to a seemingly ever-increasing number of people whine about how unfair life is.

I've finally come to the conclusion that people who are obsessed with how unfair life is belong in an institution.

I've been stomped on quite a few times by life, but I'm not CONSTANTLY YAPPING ABOUT IT!

#2 Camie | 2005-08-14 08:25

Hope you are feeling better!!!

The so called Greatest generation was raised to never question anything their govenment told them. To this day, that generation believes everything the government says and never for one second think that our government lies.

My generation of baby boomers grew up knewing that our government lied. I remember Kent State and the National Guard firing on college students for protesting against a war they felt was wrong. I learned then that when one is willing to stand up for what they believe that there is always a chance you may have to die for it. I am not the liberal that many of my generation are, but anyone who tries to tell the truth about what is going on may suffer the same fate.

We all have done things in our life that we had to do that we didn't want to do. We all have had things happen to us that were terrible. Some of us deal with them in different ways. Some don't deal with it and so they tend to self destruct because of them trying to hold it all in.