Types of Sacrifice

Sacrifice as a form of national service is historically linked to that last full measure of devotion: a soldier laying down his or her life for the country. This is certainly part of what we memorialize when we speak of the Greatest Generation. We venerate that they willingly ran into gunfire for God, family, and country.

But we do their parents a disservice if we forget other types of sacrifice. Cutting creature comforts to save future generations qualifies as honorable service and sacrifice.

In the 1930s, when the Greatest Generation grew up, their parents had to make significant sacrifices because of the Great Depression. There were far fewer resources for families, and hard choices had to be made. “We can’t afford a large apartment, we’ll all have to share one bedroom… We can’t afford meat, we’ll have butter sandwiches… We can’t all afford the movies, maybe just the kids can go.” Hard choices, but ones that nurtured their children through a difficult period, allowing them to lead the country to bigger and better things.

Now, we are in a position to be the parents of the next Great Generation, and we should acknowledge the honor and opportunity in it. By making domestic sacrifices now, we can instill in our children all the attributes that the Greatest Generation had. Our sacrifices will not be made into Hollywood movies. There is little glamour in consistently subordinating our material comfort for others. There is honor in it, as well as a quiet glory. But it is not glamorous.

We think it is necessary, though. If we spend the next twenty years saving more aggressively, purchasing more prudently, and governing more wisely, our children and their children will have better lives.

That is not to say our lives will be bad. But it is to say that for a number of years, we will not be as physically comfortable as we might be otherwise. The parents of the Greatest Generation are an apt example. They made sacrifices in the 1930s, but as they aged and retired after World War II, their standard of living was much improved. As the country rose, so did they. That’s our opportunity now.

We have already begun to talk about these sacrifices on this site. They include smaller houses, later retirement, and higher taxes for better education. Those sacrifices cut broad swaths across luxuries – some would even say rights – of the vast majority of Americans. Young workers don’t want to give up the dream of a big family house before they even start saving for it. Older workers don’t want to continue working after working so hard for decades. Americans who feel they pay too many taxes already don’t want to pay more.

But these are the sacrifices we can make. Smaller homes mean more savings, greater wealth, and more purchasing power. Later retirement means solvency for social security and the federal government. Higher taxes for education means a talented and prepared workforce that strengthens the economy when we retire. These sacrifices are of a type that we don’t publicly honor. But we should. And if we now begin to make these sacrifices and others like them, future generations will publicly honor our Sacrifice Generation.