Borrowed greatness

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And finally today: Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: The ceremonies included a reminder of the cost paid by generations of Americans who served and died for the country. Giving remembrances yesterday were the president and vice president, as well as the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth.

EICHER: WORLD commentator Cal Thomas says remembering that cost also raises a question about what Americans are willing to endure today.

[Drums]

TRUMP: Before we hail the founding, we honor the fallen. Before we celebrate the triumph, we pay the tribute. Before we crown the victory, we count the cost...

CAL THOMAS: "Count the cost."

That phrase stayed with me over Memorial Day weekend.

As Americans gathered at cemeteries and memorials around the country, I found myself thinking not only about those who served and died, but about the generations that came home and built the country afterward.

We call them The Greatest Generation. But do we stop to think about what made them great?

My mother used to tell me what life was like during World War II. I was too young to understand sacrifice at the time, because sacrifice was simply normal life to me. 

Gas was rationed. So were many other things. Long road trips were rare. If families ran short on ration stamps, neighbors shared. And when those neighbors needed help later, the favor was returned.

Neighbors knew neighbors. Neighbors helped neighbors.

People accepted inconvenience because they believed something larger was at stake.

But even those inconveniences were tiny compared to what others were being asked to give.

Vice President JD Vance:

VANCE: ...weddings that they never got to attend ... children that they never saw grow up ... daughters and sons they never got to hug and kiss again...loved ones, husbands and wives, they traded every moment. 

The people back home gave up gasoline and comfort. The people on the battlefield gave up entire futures.

That is the kind of cost Memorial Day calls us to remember. 

War Secretary Pete Hegseth:

HEGSETH: ...those graves are more than names and dates with a dash in between. Each grave marker is a story. The young American on the battlefield, away from home, he stayed in combat...

And that is what struck me as Americans debated the latest tensions involving Iran.

Now, I understand why many Americans are wary of foreign intervention. Many remember Iraq and Afghanistan and do not want another conflict in the Middle East. 

These are serious concerns.

But I also heard something else: "What about gas prices?"

And that question stopped me. Because I wondered when we became so quick to measure national problems against our own convenience.

Can we endure temporary inconvenience if the alternative is allowing a regime that sponsors terrorism to gain nuclear weapons?

Previous generations endured far more.

The Great Depression and World War II together consumed roughly sixteen years of American life. 

Sixteen years.

The generation we celebrate on Memorial Day did not become great because life was easy. They became great because they believed some things mattered more than comfort.

As we move toward America’s 250th birthday, perhaps that is something worth remembering.

For WORLD, I’m Cal Thomas.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.