Déjà vu During the Pandemic?

Even The Propoganda Posters Are Similar

I doubt if I’m the only old person during this pandemic who is having occasional flashbacks to the days of World War II.  During the early forties, there were many similarities to the sheltering that we are experiencing nowadays.  Scarcities of some foods and basic supplies come to mind, certainly,  but thankfully not to the extent of rationing.  Not so far.

The focus on home gardens and growing our own produce is another similarity.  We don’t call them Victory Gardens these days as we did during “the war,” though.  (And do you notice how many of my generation still talk as though World War II was the ONLY war despite so many since then?)  These days, perhaps we are putting our efforts into our gardens because of long months of “sheltering.”  It seems a positive thing to do even if not absolutely necessary.

Victory Gardens – A Patriotic Duty

Home and family being the focus of our lives is another similarity — but for different reasons.  During the war scarcity of goods meant that “shopping” was done for necessities only.  Plus we were just coming out of the Depression and “extra” anything wasn’t a part of the picture.  We had not yet “invented” shopping malls or fast food restaurants or other ways to flaunt our excesses.  I remember that going out to the soda fountain at Woolworth’s for a hot fudge sundae was a Big Deal.

Another difference is that most parents were working “for the war effort” and many of us had relatives in the service.  My father was General Manager of the catalog order division for Montgomery Wards and was considered an essential worker (though I don’t recall that terminology — just that he had a draft deferment) and my mom went to work as a pipe-fitter’s helper for General Engineering shipyards.  Like almost everyone we knew, our lives changed drastically after December 7, 1941.

Different Reasons – Same Need

I remember that right after the war both my mother and father became manufacturer’s representatives — my mother for a potter named Vadna and my father for brass items from India.  They had so many orders, my dad truly thought “our ship was coming in.”  Unfortunately,  the manufacturers could not keep up with the demand and orders couldn’t be filled.   “The shops had been empty or closed for years,” my dad later reflected.  “Buyers were hungry for everything.”  Our ship never made it over the horizon.

The biggest difference I notice between then and now, though, is in attitude.  During the war, at least from my child’s perspective, most people willingly sacrificed for the “war effort.”  We were full of patriotism and helpfulness and wanted to please Uncle Sam.  Now?  Sadly, not so much…  In fact, does Uncle Sam still exist?  I haven’t heard about him for years.

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