They served as models of military excellence for their fellow soldiers and were warriors of the last resort, when their courage and experience might turn defeat into victory.
In light of today’s political and cultural warfare, with its bitter divisions of race, class, religion, and more, it strikes me that perhaps we Americans could use our own Vieille Garde. These soldiers would wear no uniforms, and their height wouldn’t matter a fig, but ideally, they would be veterans of hard-fought conflicts who had learned a few things to pass along to the rest of us.
Who We Are
Veteran comes from the Latin vetus, which means old. In the United States, the elderly, more bluntly called old people, normally refers to those who are 65 years old or older. The 2020 census revealed that this group, of which I am a member of seven years standing, comprises almost 17 percent of the population. Some of us are retired; some continue working. A few live in mansions, most own or rent their homes, and some unfortunates live hand-to-mouth on the street. A large majority of these seniors have children and grandchildren.
Many of them remember, as do I, the Cuban Missile Crisis of ’62, when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war. We remember where we were when we heard of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Some of us fought in Vietnam, while others protested that war in our cities and on our college campuses. We watched in awe as Americans walked on the moon and in wonder 20 years later when the Soviet Union tumbled down. We’ve lived through economic booms and downturns, we’ve watched fads come and go, and we’ve benefited from medical and technological marvels unimagined a mere century ago.
In short, like Napoleon’s Old Guard, we seniors are seasoned soldiers. We’ve been around the block, as the saying goes, and more than once.
The Mess We’re In
“Ask not what your country can do for you,” President Kennedy said at his 1961 inauguration. “Ask what you can do for your country.”“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with the well-fought lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same. And if you and I don’t do this, then you and I may well spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.”The absence of the ideals expressed by these two men—service to our fellow citizens and the promotion and defense of liberty—are at the heart of today’s cultural and political tumult. We’ve become so engrossed in the maelstrom of daily events that we may be forgiven for forgetting about the big picture—the true essentials most important to us.
Which brings me to those of us who are old.
“To whom much is given, much is required.” That frequently quoted biblical line applies to all of us baby boomers, especially now. We are a generation that has received untold opportunities, wealth, and blessings. We now have the great fortune to live in a time and a place where we can pay some return on those advantages we have so long enjoyed.
The Trifles Add Up
Of course, many older Americans are already taking steps to make the world and their country a better place. They teach chess to fifth graders, mentor young married couples at church, work as poll watchers on election days, and perform a myriad of other volunteer services. Those with some money may contribute to worthy causes. Most of us provide personal services to families, friends, and neighbors, such as babysitting the grandkids while the parents go to work or taking an infirm neighbor to the grocery store.These small charities accrue within the culture. They’re the nuts and bolts, the bits of machinery, whose sum turns out to be greater than the parts. When we give ourselves to these endeavors, however small, we’re helping to create a culture of goodness and even of love.
Moreover, no matter how we spend our resources of time and treasure on others, we can all model civilization through our demeanor. We can spiff up the way we dress, refrain from crude language, and daily greet the world that we encounter with a spirit of good cheer. We can lead by way of example.
Perhaps most importantly of all, we can love the young—those who are below the age of 40. We can do so by avoiding cynicism and by rejecting generational cheap shots. Grumpy old men and acerbic old women may be funny in the movies, but in real life, they’re mostly obnoxious. That 30-year-old parent doesn’t need her grandmother’s constant lament, “I’d hate to be raising children in this day and age,” and no one at all finds a positive message in a bumper sticker announcing “I’m spending my children’s inheritance.”
Looking Both Ways
“The true soldier,” wrote G.K. Chesterton in 1911, “fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”If we make a metaphor of Chesterton’s statement, we might say that most of us, whatever our politics, want to defend the things of the past that we love and see them carried into the present and the future.
As for shaping that future, we should do battle not from hatred or fear but from hope, the desire to make the world a better place for those who come after us. It’s true that most of us will fight as skirmishers to make this future a reality, individuals striving to make daily life a little more bearable, a little more civil.
Win enough of these skirmishes, however, and we will win the war.
