Few Americans share Iraq war's sacrifices

Some say US citizens need a war tax or a call to national service.

from the March 26, 2007 edition

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"It's my way of making a larger point that our military went to war but our nation didn't go to war," he says. "And as long as that is true, we are not going to have the success and the victory we need."

The senator concedes that taxes are unpopular and that levying one on an already unpopular war may not go over well with the American public or fellow lawmakers. "There may be other ways to do this, but we haven't been creative about it," he says.

Other observers say the problem is not that Americans haven't been asked to sacrifice, it's that they're indifferent to sacrifice.

The burden of the war on terrorism has fallen exclusively on the nation's young – the current generation known as the Millennials, born beginning in the early 1980s and known for their penchant for conformity, public service, and duty, says William Strauss, a prominent generational historian and author of 10 books. [Editor's note: The original version inaccurately described when the Millennial generation began.]

He says it's difficult to convince other Americans to sacrifice because so many of them are baby boomers, who grew up during Vietnam and typically don't trust institutions like the military. Thus, they are less inclined to want to make a sacrifice in the same way their parents did during World War II or their sons and daughters are doing now, Mr. Strauss says.

Political calculations aside, that generational mind-set may make it difficult for the nation's leaders to ask for people to make a sacrifice – especially during an unpopular war, he adds. Still, the war on terrorism presents baby boomers with a dilemma.

"It's one of the questions for boomers; as a generation, they need to reflect on whether they are looking for a free pass through history," says Strauss, "and to see what their legacy will be as elders."

The memory of 9/11 is "a little distant now," says Strauss, who believes it may take another dramatic event before the country is truly galvanized and therefore capable of true sacrifice. "If we have that, the nature of our nation's response could surprise us."

•Tom Peter contributed to this story.

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