MY THOUGHTS

One summer, after attending a firemen’s marching band convention, I observe the special patriotism older veterans felt the rest of the group seemed to lack. I thought about this and why the" old guys and gales" proudly stood and belted out patriotic ballads while the rest of us shyly sang sitting down. What was the difference in the generations? They were proud, not self-conscience, of what others were thinking. They knew something the younger generations probably may never understand. They were happy because they know the cost of happiness - and freedom, which has nothing to do with if your paycheck is bigger or your house is larger – it’s freedom to be happy . They seemed to know how to be an "American". They “felt” patriotism.

I thought quite a bit about this difference as I put this writing together. It was not until half way through my research that I began to understand. These folks lived in a time when people stood together and learned what it took to be in a united, free country. The difficulties they lived through cannot match anything ours or other generations have or ever will witness. War has touched many of us throughout the years, but somehow it has been left it off the “main event” plate leaving room for other current events.  Even though we may be in a conflict with one country or another at any given time, the home front seems to read about it as just something that is "going on outside our world" - that is unless you have a personal tie such as a relative serving. When you hear on the news that some senator or congress politician has petitioned a bill to allocate funds for more war equipment – everyone starts screaming “no, no, no… we shouldn’t be at war anyway… don’t send them more ammunition.” Leaving troops without the resources to defend and do their job.

How do you feel when the national anthem plays at a sporting event? Are you thinking about the game or about how the soldier is sitting in a hot desert wondering if the tank he is riding in may be bombed? Or are you just looking for who is standing and who is kneeling. I understand the reasoning behind some of this behavior, but lets get down to what it really stands for - Freedom. The freedom to stand or kneel, the freedom to scream it, to cry during it, or to ignore it... This generation understood that - There is the difference.

OK - I have jumped on my soap box heading off in a different direction - lets get back to design!

Look at this ad and other marketing below. These images represent the atmosphere from 1939-1941 prior to when war was delared.