I had a couple of conversations recently that will stay with me forever.

 

I sat down with two friends. One is in their late 80s, and one is in their 90s. One is a veteran, the other a retired school teach. Both remember Pearl Harbor not as history, but as something they lived through. You can hear it when they talk. It’s clear and serious, with no exaggeration or drama. They just shared their lived experiences.

 

I asked them a simple question: What’s changed?

 

We started with kids. 

 

Not “kids these days” in a negative sense, but children as they have known them across the decades they have lived. They talked about a change that isn’t about being smart or capable. They both agreed those things were unchanged. But what they do see is a difference in how kids understand their place in the world.

 

They talked about how, when they were growing up, there was a clearer sense that you were part of something bigger like your family, your community, your country. That didn’t make life easier, but it just made expectations clearer. You had responsibilities. You were expected to contribute. And there was an understanding, even if no one said it out loud, that freedom wasn’t just “there.” It had to be protected.

 

And they talked about the feeling of fear after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

 

The veteran shared about his two older brothers who served in the war. One of them was seriously injured and lost a leg. They were his heroes, and despite his father’s pleading, he went on to pursue a career in the military himself.

 

And the schoolteacher shared how, at 9 and 11 years old, she and her older sister walked to the recruiting station to join the military. She told me that what the recruiter said to her that day stayed with her for life. In her own words, “Bless him, he was so nice, and he didn’t laugh at us or anything, and he said that the best thing you girls can do is to go back to school and be the best students and the best citizens that you can be. We were attacked, and we were going to fight back.”  She hugged herself, paused, got emotional and said, “I just love this Country so much.”

 

Then we talked about education.

 

They both felt that schools used to do more than teach subjects. They helped shape citizens. Civics wasn’t just a class it was part of how you learned to participate in the country. You learned how things worked, but also why it mattered. Voting wasn’t optional. Being involved wasn’t unusual. It was expected.

 

In the words of my veteran friend, “Now, they see a lot of focus on individual success, which isn’t a bad thing. But I think something got lost along the way. Less focus on shared responsibility. Less emphasis on what it means actually to be a citizen, not just an individual.”

 

And then we got to patriotism.

 

They didn’t describe it the way it’s often talked about today. For them, it wasn’t loud or showy. It was more about paying attention, being involved and taking responsibility.

 

They both agreed…you took care of it, because it was yours.

 

Their message was simple: “If we don’t teach civics, if we don’t teach responsibility, participation, and what freedom actually requires, we shouldn’t be surprised when people don’t feel connected to it.”

 

These two amazing people love this country and have spent their lives living up to the values they learned as children from teachers, parents and those who have served this land we are so blessed to call home.

 

It was humbling to spend time with them. I laughed and cried, and I promised myself to live with that same kind of purpose.

"Seek wisdom from your elders — they've lived the questions you're still learning to ask.” — Maya Angelou

 

Remember-Honor-Teach

With gratitude,

Karen Worcester