Consider the hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought and died for the cause of ending slavery in the United States.

It’s hard to believe the people of this country withstood the Spanish Flu from 1918-1920 simply by getting some fresh air.

It’s hard to believe the greatest generation survived the Great Depression.

Imagine the hundreds of soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy during World War II, against impossible odds, with certain death for many, if not all, awaiting them.

Consider all the people who volunteered to get shot into space, the great unknown, in a metal tube.

There are countless examples like these that illustrate the bold and fearless nature of our country. It is our culture. We strive to achieve. We seek to improve. We’re always innovating. Americans don’t take no for an answer.

At least that was our culture.

Unfortunately, the last few generations were sheltered. They were taught to fear. Today’s young adults were taught that the world will end any day now because we’ve destroyed our environment. They were taught to be offended at every idea that wasn’t their own.

It appears a greater percentage of today’s young adults were all taught they are special, and always right. They were taught anyone who didn’t agree with them were awful, bad people who needed to be punished. Today’s generation is made up of delicate flowers.

And so, unlike previous generations who would have found a way to forge ahead at the emergence of the coronavirus, who would have seen it as just another obstacle to overcome, they cower.

You only get one life, and it’s always going to be filled with adversity. Every life will be. Every. One.

You can either cower in fear in your home hoping you’re not one of the .0005 percent of adults in the United States who catch a COVID-19 and die, or you can get busy living your life.

One of the things that made previous generations great was not only the fearlessness, but also the will to carry on. The refusal to be stopped. Previous generations took things in stride and found creative ways to adapt.

Today’s generation recoils in fear at the slightest sign that something isn’t going their way. About the only thing they don’t fear is breaking the law.

Previous generations also took comfort in getting through things together. They took for granted that they were all Americans and knew that differences would be put aside when unity was required.

This generation is simply too divided. We can’t even agree on whether or not freedom is really the best foundational element for a society. They’re too busy looking for the next thing that offends them instead of being inspired to look for the next hill to climb.

Coronavirus is real, but so are hundreds of other diseases and causes of death, and none of those have gone away. God only knows what things would be like if the nightly news posted a daily running total of how many people have died from smoking, diabetes, depression, suicide, car accidents, building fires, lightning strikes, breast cancer, and heart attacks.

We’d be paralyzed.

Death is inevitable, and it used to be people longed to look back at a life full of accomplishments, experiences, and good deeds.

Nowadays, it seems we’d rather live 100 years alone in our homes than 50 years like Teddy Roosevelt. (One of the most accomplished people in the history of the country.)

To quote Shawshank Redemption, “Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin.'”