The Clock is Ticking…
Queen Elizabeth II passed away last week at the age of 96. During her unprecedented reign, she worked with 15 different Prime Ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss. The Beatles came and went, and so did the Vietnam War. Man landed on the Moon; and 14 different U.S. Presidents sat in the Oval Office. Beyond the historical significance and the unprecedented longevity of her reign, one thing above all else stands out to me about her death: it’s another significant loss from what has been dubbed “The Greatest Generation”.
While many will focus on the achievements or historical significance of Elizabeth II’s time on the throne, one of the most remarkable elements of her story is that she never wanted the job to begin with. Her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne in 1936. This shocking development put her father, George VI, as the head of the Royal family. Upon his death in 1952, his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was crowned Queen. By all accounts, she was a stoic, private person, who would have just as well preferred a quiet life in the country with her horses and dogs. No dice. Now she was the Queen of England. Arguably the most famous person on earth, with enormous cultural, historic, and political influence.
These circumstances won’t elicit much sympathy. The castles, the jewels, the currency with your likeness on it. But make no mistake, it is a tremendous burden, and one that she bore out of a deep sense of duty. Duty to both family and country. This is what makes her such a good representation of the ethos of her generation. As Voltaire said, “every man is a creature of the age in which he lives and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time”. For Queen Elizabeth II’s part, she was born a few years after the first World War and ascended to the throne a few years after the end of WWII. She saw some of humanity’s darkest days, and the immense sacrifice needed to defeat evil. It’s remarkable the kind of perspective one gains from living through a war—nevermind two, for folks a few years older than the Queen—that threaten your very way of life (and your actual life). This kind of perspective can’t be artificially created. It was a generational crucible moment.
The Greatest Generation wasn’t perfect. None of us are. We don’t need to romanticize the “good old days”. But it is beyond reproach that we are losing something special as their numbers continue to dwindle. Something that we won’t be able to replace: a sense of responsibility to one’s neighbor, of duty, of a belief in the Greater Good. If nothing else, the incredible history that they experienced first hand is irreplaceable and invaluable. Reading about it in history books informs and educates. Living it shapes the person you are.
I saw an ecard a while back that captured the generational differences perfectly:
Of course, we still see acts of sacrifice and selflessness today. We see it each time a young person enlists to serve in our armed forces. We see it when a couple volunteers to be foster parents. Social issues are constantly trending on social media. These are acts rooted in serving something bigger than yourself. Yet, I can’t help but be drawn to the quiet dignity of the head down, do the right thing mentality of generations past.
Knowledge can be passed down, but wisdom has to be earned. That generation earned theirs the hard way. We can’t do anything about losing them. Time marches on. But hopefully we can property appreciate them while we have them; and most importantly, learn from them.