Forty years ago, former US President Ronald Reagan gave one of his most famous speeches at the Pointe du Hoc Ranger monument on the French coast. The occasion was the 40th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings during World War II. The monument that provided the backdrop was erected by the French in order to honor the American Army Rangers who captured Pointe du Hoc from the Nazis on that eventful day.
Reagan’s speech was filled with modernist themes that aligned with his earnest political outlook. He intertwined the nature of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union with the Allied struggle against the Nazis 40 years earlier. For Reagan, the common thread between the two was a conflict between freedom and tyranny. Or quite simply, a struggle between good versus evil.
The 40th anniversary of D-Day fit nicely within the Reagan ‘mystique’. As a political and cultural force, the Reagan presidency sought to revive conservative ‘traditions and values’. As with many old, reductionist, modernist notions; many of the values or traditions Reagan sought to restore were either empty or hypocritical. Yet when it came to D-Day, or anything dealing with World War II veterans for that matter, Reagan’s words were not only earnest, they were true.
Even the most cynical soul would be hard pressed to not acknowledge ‘the Good’ when it came to the heroism and character of those that stormed the beaches on D-Day. The Army Rangers described in Reagan’s speech literally had to scale vertical cliffs under Nazi gunfire in order to complete their mission. The only words you can use to describe their actions are words like ‘heroic’ or ‘courageous’. Their actions are framed within the cultural framework surrounding the legacy of World War II. A just war where the line between right and wrong was clearly defined and self evident.
If you grew up in America in the 1980’s and 1990’s, you were probably no stranger to the cultural waters surrounding what became known as the ‘greatest generation’. In the 1990’s the greatest generation were reaching old age, and their children had grown into positions of prominence in media and culture creation. The admiration the younger generation had for their elders led to numerous cultural products that celebrated the wartime experiences of the greatest generation. The apex of this was probably Steven Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’ which was released in 1998.
Spielberg captured the realistic horrors of war in a way none had done before. He also created a film that was totally earnest, and wrapped in authentic patriotism and reverence. Considering the 90’s were a time of burgeoning, widespread cultural cynicism, and self indulgent hedonism; this was no small feat. ‘Saving Private Ryan’, along with other World War II cultural products, were like islands of intense authentic feeling amid an ocean of rising apathy. It was almost like they existed on a separate plane of existence. One where everything was ordered, simple, and morally clear.
Over 25 years after ‘Saving Private Ryan’, and 40 years after Reagan’s speech, 2024 saw the recognition of D-Day’s 80th anniversary. Unlike the veterans that were in attendance 40 years ago, the ones in attendance now were in their 90’s and up. It was acknowledged by many that this might be the last D-Day anniversary ceremony with living participants in attendance. The aged veterans were greeted warmly by US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron awarded the US veterans with France’s highest distinction: the Legion of Honour. Despite the awards, the entire proceedings felt more like farewell to the past - rather than an annual remembrance of it.
Again, even the most cynical person would have a hard time dismissing the authentic feeling emanating from the interaction between Biden, Macron, and the elderly veterans. Most (if not all) the veterans were in wheelchairs. Yet as President Macron met each of them to present their award, they seemed to insist on standing. Though they required aid to rise, the willpower of the veterans was a display of the very honor they were being recognized for.
The whole display was a pure example of ‘the Good’. ‘The Good’ in this case meaning pure, authentic feeling that is almost impenetrable to cynicism, or allegations of kitschiness. The metaphysics surrounding the event stood in steep contrast to the nature of reality today. A time where faith in government institutions, grand patriotic narratives, or ‘just wars’ has become scattered, or even non-existent. There is no real place in the current culture for something that is emotionally equivalent to what transpired in France on D-Day's 80th anniversary.
Like most news stories in our modern times, the 80th anniversary of D-Day came and went. Confined to the 24 hour news cycle, and digital attention spans, the anniversary was just another noted event. Yet in a quiet sense, it was the end of an era. The end of living connections to the greatest generation. The end of the post World War II geopolitical order marked by the emergence of China as a superpower, and America’s decline. And the end of one of the last widely agreed upon, authentically ‘good’ cultural items.
Like President Reagan 40 years ago, President Biden used the D-Day anniversary to weave the historical struggle against tyranny with a current one. Yet unlike Reagan, Biden’s message seemed empty and ineffectual. However it was not his fault that his rhetoric could not coincide with the authentic weight of the occasion. Biden’s words were dissolved within the deluge of our daily information overload. While the authenticity of his message was halted by the modern walls of cynicism surrounding all things governmental or political. Sadly, it was probably a fitting way to mark what seemed like the ‘last D-Day’. A speech meant for an earlier time, concerning an event that will probably soon be forgotten.