It seems I’m deep in the thick of thoughts about World War II lately.

This summer Dave and I watched Dunkirk.  I still find myself thinking about it here and there.  That is a beautifully haunting movie.  My favorite song filled up my favorite parts of the movie and made me cry.  I am so grateful I don’t have to send Max to war.  Oh please let’s never have to do that.  Also, those poor soldiers had so much grit.  How is our generation of shiny, distracting technology devices going to cope with hard things that come their way?

Then a couple weekends ago we watched The Darkest Hour...such an interesting different perspective on the same time frame of what was happening in the world.  It made me so grateful for courage and bravery and what came out of those dark hours when all the world lived in uncertainty.

And this morning as I was filling the remnants of the breakfast dishes I was in tears as I finished listening to The Nightingale (here).

So much bravery and beauty woven into that book.  Still another angle so beautifully written about two sisters in those dark days when the world was being taken over by deceit and inhumanity and fear.  So much to think about the nature of humans and in awe wondering (again, as we all wonder so many times) how could that ever happen?  Makes me think of mob mentality and how much do we stand up for what we believe right here and now in the world of today and how much do we let slip?  And what does what we let slip mean as life as we know it continues to be unveiled?
Made me wonder at the goodness intermingled into even the dark characters, and the darkness that seeped into the good as well.  And how standing for something can hurt.  Sometimes enough to kill you.  
Made me also examine what am I doing to create grit in my life.  And what can I learn from the stories of grit filling the pages of that book?  That grit that so many of those characters expanded their capacity for as they trudged through the excruciating circumstances they endured.  

I love how good books (and movies) can make you think!  

7 Comments

  1. We know how the computer and smart phone age effected the grit of the kids at age for military sign up. We have had an all volunteer military since the 80’s. During desert storm and beyond. In fact the technology of tv and computer monitors let us see live that plane enter the second tower. Enlistment skyrocketed. Now we have a male and female strong military. Because of technology like drones and other tech we can’t even image we can function with less boots on the ground. Much more powerful than newspaper, radio or the simple fact your country has been invaded. Grit because they didn’t individually have to enter the service knowing they could or definitely will see action in the next 8-10 years.

  2. I love those movies and think about this topic a lot. I hope I can raise my kids to be gritty when it counts. All of the technology we have now has made everyone softer and people just aren’t as hardy and gritty as everyone was back during WWII.
    My husband is a Commander for an Army Basic Training company, there are SO MANY trainees who just can’t hack it, they fall apart mentally, physically or emotionally and sometimes all three. Basic training is much easier now than it was even ten years ago and that’s because the Army has to work with who society gives it.

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