The Oct. 14 letter “Times Changed” about a friend’s grandfather driving home on his car rims during WWII due to tires being rationed for the war effort echoed some of the things I have been thinking lately.
Not only did my parents’ generation deal with the inability to buy tires but also auto manufacturers were not allowed to make new cars during the war.
Sugar, flour, butter, dairy goods, coffee and gasoline were rationed.
Metals were unavailable.
Mandatory blackouts were instituted during which alcohol sales were forbidden and gatherings of more than five people were likewise forbidden.
People were asked to grow their own vegetables in Victory Gardens so food supplies could be sent to the troops.
Americans who had been through the Great Depression had learned to live on less and accepted the rationing for the collective good because they knew the government was trying to win a war and protect their lives and freedom.
I wonder what that generation would have thought of today’s Americans screaming at and threatening the lives of school board members and medical professionals for trying to protect their lives and the lives of their children with masks and vaccines?
If we really have a constitutional right to endanger each other’s lives, what about laws against drunken driving and shooting into crowds?
Wouldn’t that be the same thing?
Blaine R. Hammond
Port Angeles