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You perhaps get less opportunity for heroism, but on the whole be thankful for your small impact I think. One common thread from both dad talking of WW2 and gr

You perhaps get less opportunity for heroism, but on the whole be thankful for your small impact I think. One common thread from both dad talking of WW2 and grandfather of WW1 was a lifelong cynicism of all things political. My Uncle was in Burma and got to see the River Kwai bridge as a prisoner. He never talked of the war. I only learned of this from dad, but was asked never to mention it. I wish I had chance to talk more in my 30s and 40s when my perspective had matured. I think I'm quite glad I never lived through events of that magnitude now I've matured past "Oooh I could have flown a Spitfire" of childhood. Despite the terrorism in the media constantly, we're in far safer times. I am saddened to read in this thread that we seem to have still not figured out how to treat indigenous people well.

_lh7z 11y ago
I'm very grateful we live in safer times, in part because people like our fathers, grandfathers, and Joe Medicine Crow participated in wars so that we (hopefully) never again have to. I think the twinges of existential crisis mostly come from the idea that I'm mostly just sitting and fiddling with bits of code, many of which will not benefit the world in any great way. Of course, it's stories like this one and others that serve to remind me that maybe I could, or should, contribute to something more positive and beneficial. And I fully agree with your last point too.
- anexprogrammer 11y ago
  > existential crisis mostly come from the idea that I'm mostly just sitting and fiddling with bits of code I can relate to that so much. It's the main reason I did a career change after many successful years in IT. I'm now in conservation, where I hope at least a few of the things I do outlast me. I keep half an eye out looking for a worthwhile OS project I can use some of my coding smarts on before I forget it all. Nothing yet has really enthused me. Something that makes a difference to some lives perhaps. All I can really say is I'll know it when I see it.
- hyperliner 11y ago
  We don't live in safer times. Times are as dangerous as before. The difference is that there are a group of volunteers who fight the wars so that the rest can pretend the world is safer. The world would appear less safe to you if you, or someone close to you, were required to serve and fight the wars.
  - protomyth 11y ago
    Reflected in: handwritten sign in a US military facility in Ramadi, Iraq. The sign read, "America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war; America is at the mall." from a Boston Globe article in their paid archive.
MaysonL 11y ago
My uncle was a Marine in WW2, and I never heard him talk about those times. I can only imagine what it was like: he served on Iwo Jima, where he received a battlefield promotion from Sergeant to Major.
- anexprogrammer 11y ago
  The Japanese theatre was hell. Iwo Jima was inch by bloody inch as virtually none surrendered. The life of the japanese' prisoners horrific. I think a lot of people out there were reluctant to talk much and PTSD wasn't understood but probably common. In my uncle's case he came back weighing nothing and broken. Took years to get back to something like normality I gather.

_lh7z 11y ago

I'm very grateful we live in safer times, in part because people like our fathers, grandfathers, and Joe Medicine Crow participated in wars so that we (hopefully) never again have to. I think the twinges of existential crisis mostly come from the idea that I'm mostly just sitting and fiddling with bits of code, many of which will not benefit the world in any great way. Of course, it's stories like this one and others that serve to remind me that maybe I could, or should, contribute to something more positive and beneficial. And I fully agree with your last point too.

anexprogrammer 11y ago
> existential crisis mostly come from the idea that I'm mostly just sitting and fiddling with bits of code I can relate to that so much. It's the main reason I did a career change after many successful years in IT. I'm now in conservation, where I hope at least a few of the things I do outlast me. I keep half an eye out looking for a worthwhile OS project I can use some of my coding smarts on before I forget it all. Nothing yet has really enthused me. Something that makes a difference to some lives perhaps. All I can really say is I'll know it when I see it.
hyperliner 11y ago
We don't live in safer times. Times are as dangerous as before. The difference is that there are a group of volunteers who fight the wars so that the rest can pretend the world is safer. The world would appear less safe to you if you, or someone close to you, were required to serve and fight the wars.
- protomyth 11y ago
  Reflected in: handwritten sign in a US military facility in Ramadi, Iraq. The sign read, "America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war; America is at the mall." from a Boston Globe article in their paid archive.

MaysonL 11y ago

My uncle was a Marine in WW2, and I never heard him talk about those times. I can only imagine what it was like: he served on Iwo Jima, where he received a battlefield promotion from Sergeant to Major.

anexprogrammer 11y ago
The Japanese theatre was hell. Iwo Jima was inch by bloody inch as virtually none surrendered. The life of the japanese' prisoners horrific. I think a lot of people out there were reluctant to talk much and PTSD wasn't understood but probably common. In my uncle's case he came back weighing nothing and broken. Took years to get back to something like normality I gather.