Remembering the Fallen and those who Served in the "Great War"

As we approach Memorial Day, I can't help thinking about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us. This year is the hundredth anniversary of America's entry into WWI. World War I was known as the "Great War" until the start of WWII. It is interesting to note how different the world was before the Great War. Many towns and boroughs were still agriculturally based and not manufacture driven. There were still pockets of society that worked at tasks by hand.

When I contemplate the atmosphere that many lived in before the war, I realize that there are many similarities to today. We are going through a massive change in how work is seen. The rapidity of the changes and the pressure many are under to conform and accept those changes is somewhat overwhelming. I read that many of the pressures people were facing during the early 1900s were similar to the changes that are happening now. No one really wants to believe this. There is some denial that things really are changing that much.

Yet as we remember the fallen and those who served in the Great War, we can discover that the media influence was the same. The media dictates what is important. You only have to study the colorful posters of the era to see the persuasive factors. The media is good at drawing people in and confusing the issue. I do wonder how many signed up because of the media campaign. It would be very interesting to say the least to see what effects the media has on the general population.

I can't help thinking about how the world has changed. It is no longer the world in which soldiers, sailors and airmen fought for in the early days. Nowadays many of the jobs are run by machines leaving the human element out all together. I know that many of the soldiers during the first World War would have loved sending the machines out instead of exposing themselves to lethal toxins. It is remarkable that so many survived. The Great War showed us the true ugliness of mankind.