Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Raven

(13,890 posts)
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 12:17 PM Feb 2022

I have a WWII ration card that I found in a drawer after my parents

passed away. Today, it is a reminder to me that we have yet to feel any real pain from Putin's war. I wonder if the American people are ready to make sacrifices...the same people who swooned at the thought of having to wear a mask or get a shot to protect their neighbors or their own family members. I think that the Republicans are betting that we won't be up to the challenge.

10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

peppertree

(21,630 posts)
1. And sadly, they're probably right
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 12:18 PM
Feb 2022

Anything over a further, 50-cent rise in gas prices (to say nothing of other items) - and we're cooked.

femmedem

(8,201 posts)
2. I said to Mr. Femmedem recently that we've lost our sense of shared sacrifice.
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 12:49 PM
Feb 2022

Biden has acknowledged that the American people will feel some pain in the form of rising prices and cyber attacks, but I would like to see him address the nation to inspire us to accept and welcome these sacrifices for the greater good. It won't be easy.

sinkingfeeling

(51,454 posts)
3. I have all.of my dad's gasoline ration cards. He was a farmer and
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 12:51 PM
Feb 2022

exempt from the draft. He got 'extra' gas for tractors.

 

Dial H For Hero

(2,971 posts)
4. My grandfather on my mother's side owned a chain of restaurants in Iowa during WWII.
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 12:56 PM
Feb 2022

Needless to say, food rationing wasn't an issue for them.

MichMan

(11,919 posts)
5. There was a huge black market for ration stamps back then
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 12:59 PM
Feb 2022

What is it that you think we need to ration right now?

sdfernando

(4,935 posts)
6. There are very few left that went through that and remember the sacrifices
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 01:01 PM
Feb 2022

Younger people have no idea what was required back then. I'm at the tail end of the boomers and have mostly lead a pretty charmed and easy life thanks to my parents and the hardships they endured.

Both were born in the 1920s and lived through the depression and WWII. Mom's family was dirt poor, and being one of 12 kids there was really not much for anyone. Dad's family was a bit better off, his grandfather was the town blacksmith and he was raised and lived with his grandparents. Mom told us kids many times about the rationing during WWII. How the kids would go out and collect tin cans; or how they would peal the foil backing off the chewing gum wrappers because the aluminum was in such demand; or how the women would use an eyebrow pencil to make a line on the back of their legs to simulate the way silk & nylon stockings looked because those 2 fabrics were crucial to the war effort.

Paying a bit more for gas or food is nothing compared to the past sacrifices. But RW radio and fux noise and the others will just keep on blaming things on President Biden and the Democrats...and the sick rethuglicans will amplify it and use it to futher divide in their quest to regain the House & Senate.

AngryOldDem

(14,061 posts)
7. No. We have no concept of or desire for shared sacrifice anymore.
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 01:09 PM
Feb 2022

We cannot tolerate any “inconvenience” or violation of our “personal liberties.”

It’s enraging, in light of Ukraine. Thousands now have nothing, and have left their homes with what they can carry, if that, add we bitch about paper masks and vaccines.

(My parents, too, had a ration booklet, I think for gas. I wish I knew what happened to it.)

former9thward

(32,003 posts)
10. The U.S. is not at war.
Sat Feb 26, 2022, 02:00 PM
Feb 2022

So no one will be "up for the challenge". Also the America of 2022 is not remotely the America of WW II. Ration books worked because most people did not have to travel much to get to work or shop. That country is long gone and will not come back.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»I have a WWII ration card...