Wherever there is an illiterate adult, a great cause exists. Wherever there are people for whom the basic rights of man are denied, a great cause exists. Wherever there is suffering, a great cause exists. My father's generation fought the depression and the Second World War. Mine fought the Cold War.
Noble causes give our lives meaning.
They give even the most obscure lives historical importance. They offer us a form of immortality. Even when our names have been forgotten the world will still remember that we were here. When I was a young man, I thought glory was the highest ambition, and that all glory was self-glory. My parents tried to teach me otherwise, as did the Naval Academy.