40 Whole Number 227
When Religion Was the Glue
by Tom Clarke A retired teacher friend, Ed, born shortly after the war,
recently commented that on hindsight he felt very for-
tunate to have lived during the peak of America’s great-
ness, influence and character. At the same time he is
equally convinced that the old motivation to strive for
greatness and goodness is gone and we are quickly
spiraling downward politically, culturally, ethically,
and morally.
Worlds Upside Down
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) felt similarly a cen-
tury ago, that while very grateful for the wonderful
experience, he felt he had lived too long (he died in
1910 at 76). Twain saw the multitude of changes that
Figure 1 ‘Washington praying at Valley Forge’, a fantasy
were tearing apart his beloved 19
th
century, and he
invented along with other mythical stories by the
didn’t care for the new America that was being rebuilt
religious Parson Weems in his 1806 eulogy, George
Washington.
The story of religion in America and its effects is com-
plex and shrouded by the fact that the country that has
taken such pride from the beginning in free religious
expression reveres it for its ethical contributions but
wants it kept personal. Religion in one way or another
covers many bases, maybe all bases, depending on your
view.
In a country as democratically wide open as ours has
always been, especially in the age of terrorist warfare,
and in a scientific and increasingly secular society at
that, with some letters to illustrate, it is interesting to
mention a few of the effects of our religious journey.
The same country that has a sacred (but fanciful) pic-
ture of George Washington praying in the snow at
Valley Forge for Divine Guidance, today forbids prayer
in schools. We hear on the History Channel Franklin
Roosevelt’s various radio admonitions to Almighty
God for aid in the war, but are split on George Bush’s
attempt to use public money for poor relief through
religious charities. Whichever side one is on, there is
Figure 2 Deplorable health conditions in the 19th
no doubt that religion has molded our nation from the
century, like those 5,000 years previous, meant frequent
beginning, and simultaneously has been a troublesome
death, especially of the very young. The average life
thorn in our political side.
expectancy was about 42 in 1800 (and 1900 too, and in
Rich Martorelli’s latest La Posta contribution else-
less developed nations today) when taking into account
where in this issue focuses on marriage during WWII.
all the stricken babies. This pre-Civil War Daguerreotype
shows a distraught though stoic mother, with a resigned
Those who lived it are convinced that the wrenching
mouth and eyes, holding her dead baby for the camera-
experience and our forbearance during the Great De-
man. These are not uncommon mementos for the time.
pression of the 1930’s, plus the ordeal of fighting the
Consoling grief kept church attendance high. Because
World War’s evils, created the ‘Greatest Generation’, death was so close then, folded letter writers reacted to it
those roughly of the 1910’s to 1960’s. in an almost casual manner.
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