The wisdom of a storied generation
As time rolls by we’re having to say goodbye to the last representatives of a dwindling generation. They are the grandparents and parents who were there in some of the most turbulent chapters of the country’s history: war, occupation, civil war, dictatorship. They had many stories to tell, many like awful nightmares. It didn’t matter which side they were on, with the passage of time they were able to describe extremely difficult situations with composure and detachment. Some of our children were fortunate enough to hear these stories first-hand and to have their grandparents with them long enough to be influenced by their experiences.
Because they had seen the country teeter on the edge of the abyss many times, these people were united in the anguish of where our worst selves could take it again. History was not a book or a lesson to them. It was a vivid, and very educational, experience. Division and political passions running amok were things that frightened them because they knew what they could lead to.
Some had an extremely hard time. Some helped rebuild the country from the ruins of civil war with a lot of hard work and effort. Most had a very acute sense of duty and moderation; they didn’t show off and just got on with the job.
I was fortunate enough to grow up with and get to know several important – known and unknown – members of the generation born before World War II. I was always impressed by the fact that they shared many of the same concerns and opinions, regardless of their political or social backgrounds. When I’d say that I envied their having been in the midst of such hugely important historical events, they cautioned, “Be careful what you wish for.” One of them quoted Seferis to me: “My old friend, stop a moment and think: You’ll get used to it little by little. Your nostalgia has created / a nonexistent country, with laws / alien to earth and man.” Perhaps he wanted to remind me that his was not a generation that didn’t make mistakes and didn’t sin, but it was one that simply lived and gave a lot back.
When the country was going through its more recent trials and tribulations, there was some comfort in knowing that they were there to offer their opinion and advice. I remember one personal crash-landing into reality, where everything seemed very dark indeed, when I sought a particularly experienced and wise man from this generation and asked him: “What do we do now?” “I don’t know son,” he responded. “It’s your turn now.”
