The World, Then & Now

Inspired by the AARP’s Calendar Art Competition Titled “Then and Now”.

 For those of us who lived through it, the Second World War affected our lives in many ways. Unlike today, with our all-volunteer military, everyone had to make sacrifices and did so willingly. Many who fought in that war were also volunteers, but the draft pulled men and women from all walks of life in the cause of “Saving the World for Democracy.”

 My grandfather worked at the Pratt & Whitney aircraft engine plant in Kansas City as a carpenter foreman. My uncle, Arthur, was in the Seabees and saw service in the South Pacific. He was an architect by training and helped build airfields on the far-flung islands for the advancing allied armies. My father, who served in WWI, was too old for the military, so he joined the Civil Air Patrol, as did my oldest brother who was not yet of military age. Women went to work in unprecedented numbers, and a popular song celebrated “Rosie the Riveter,” a fictional woman who represented those women factory workers that made the planes and weapons that were necessary to fight the war.  

The war caused many shortages. Gasoline was rationed and you were allowed to purchase only a certain amount each month, depending on how vital your job was to the war effort. A sticker on your windshield designated the amount of gasoline you were entitled to. Coupons had to be presented for everything that was rationed. When your allotment was gone you simply couldn’t buy more until the next month. Car pooling was common. Automobile and appliance manufacturing was suspended in favor of making planes, tanks, weapons and ammunition.

Tires were rationed because rubber came from the very Pacific Islands where the fighting was going on or from the jungles of Brazil. Ships were not available to bring the raw rubber to the United States and tires were needed for military vehicles and planes. The development of synthetic rubber was a direct outgrowth of the war. Fortunately the United States had sufficient crude oil in those days from which synthetic rubber tires were made.

Other commodities such as canned goods, sugar, meat, butter and even shoes were rationed and required coupons issued by the government. We recycled virtually anything made of metal making today’s efforts at recycling look puny by comparison. Mountains of scrap metal filled vacant lots around town. We also saved used cooking oil and animal fat which was used to make explosives and gun powder. There was a munitions plant near our home and we could see flashes of light in the night sky when they tested the powder.

It was during this period that I became interested in gardening. We had a “Victory Garden” on a vacant lot near our house. We grew all kinds of vegetables including corn, potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, radishes, lettuce and tomatoes. It was always magic to me to put the seeds in the ground and see all of the wonderful plants come up and watch the produce develop.  They were so much more flavorful and succulent than those from the store or produced in cans. Harvest time was always special, like gathering free money. No coupons needed.

 Virtually everyone in the country had strong patriotic feelings and willingly made sacrifices for the war. Everyone had someone in the military and many lost family members. Gold star banners, hung in windows signifying a lost loved one, were a common sight. War is never glamorous and it plays no favorites, but we all felt a shared responsibility to protect our country. The country was united as never before or since. Today our young military forces are no less dedicated and heroic, but the general public seems to be pulling in opposite directions. A magnetic ribbon emblem on the back of the family SUV seems to be the only sacrifice most people are willing to make.

 In the twenty-first century, if we approach the problems of the world with the same sense of sacrifice, dedication and fervor that we had in the 1940s during World War II, we could solve many of our current problems, such as our fossil fuel dependence, the high cost of medical care, unemployment caused by the globalization of industry, global environmental problems and many other concerns that cause us to worry about the future.

 We don’t need a War on Terrorism. It’s something that we’re probably going to be saddled with the rest of our lives. What we need is a War on those problems which potentially threaten our way of life far more than a handful of radicals. We need a war on apathy, intolerance, and greed. We also need a war on waste. We don’t need a war on drugs. If people want to ruin their lives with drugs let them. It will clean up the gene pool.  Finally we need a war on unsustainability.  Our own lack of foresight will destroy us far sooner than a few radical extremists. We need leadership that cares more about our country, the world, and our future than about the next election.