OPINION:
The editorial “Musk’s money makes us all richer” (Web, June 17) caused me to reflect on my 91 years of life thus far.
My wife and I were children in Britain, both born before the outbreak of World War II. We experienced rationing, evacuation from London and homes being bombed.
During our teenage years, we were mystified to understand the mentality of fellow citizens who used keys to scratch the paintwork of neighbors’ new cars parked by the roadside. It appeared to reflect a meanness that had entered Britain during the slow recovery after the war.
During the war, citizens were much more supportive of one another. Everyone was equally deprived of luxuries.
We started married life in Massachusetts. Living there during the Kennedy-Nixon election campaign, we admired the American can-do spirit that was so different from what we had left in England. At that time, the spirit in the U.S. seemed to be dominated by the concept that all had the potential for success.
We returned to England in 1961 and lived there until 1990, when we came back to the U.S. From here, we have watched with growing alarm the decline of Europe. More recently, however, we have recognized that America also has lost the can-do spirit that we so admired 66 years ago.
Rather than admiring successful people and aspiring to emulate their success, too many citizens now look to government to fulfill their needs. It is clear that too few know their history and no longer believe in the basic freedoms that underpin what used to be admired as Western civilization.
Rockville, Maryland
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