It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the exceptional character and achievements of a particular generation, often referring to those who lived through significant challenges.
Tom Brokaw, in this quote, refers to the generation that grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, emphasizing their resilience, unity, and accomplishments. He believes that their experiences shaped a strong societal foundation and contributed to the prosperity and stability of future generations, making them unparalleled in history.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech honoring veterans on Memorial Day.
The WWII generation shares so many common values: duty, honor, country, personal responsibility and the marriage vow " For better or for worse--it was the last generation in which, broadly speaking, marriage was a commitment and divorce was not an option
Your grandparents came of age in the Great Depression, when everyday life was about deprivation and sacrifice, when the economic conditions of the time were so grave and so unrelenting it would have been easy enough for the American dream to fade away.
While Pickstown may not be what it once was, it still is framed by the natural beauty of the ancient river, the sweep of the Great Plains, and the long, unbroken shoreline of the lake behind the dam. It gave me a 19th-century childhood in a modern mid-20th-century town, and for that I will always be grateful.
I am simply the most conspicuous part of a large, thoroughly dedicated and professional staff that extends from just behind these cameras, across this country and around the world, in too many instances, in places of grave danger and personal hardship. They're family to me.
I had good care going. I had Meredith and the family. And I didn't want to become the object of some kind of pity, most of all. I didn't want to show up on the Internet, 'Tom Brokaw has cancer.'
Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away.
From the very beginning, history wasn't content simply to be nostalgic fairytales; it wanted to make you think.
The March on Washington was a defining moment in the history of this country and a great example of our nation truly living up to its creed.
The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the future of Christian civilisation.
When historians consider the significance of the Berlin crises of the mid-20th century, I do not believe that they will record it as an incident in the encirclement of freedom. The true view, in my judgment, will be to see it rather as a major episode in the recession of communism.
The Caribbean is such an apocalyptic place, whether it's the decimation of the indigenous populations by the Europeans, whether it's the importation of slaves and their subsequent being worked to death by the millions in many ways, whether it's the immigrant processes which began for many people, new worlds ending their old ones.
One thing 'not right' on the 50th anniversary of the Selma marches is the sad fact that the Edmund Pettus Bridge hasn't been renamed the John Lewis Bridge.
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