The World War II generation created the quality of life we have enjoyed — and are now losing. When America was threatened, they willingly went to war. When they came home to rebuild their lives, they also worked to make America the leader of the industrial world, with education as the foundation. They simply saw it as their duty: sacrifice, work for the common good and loyalty to country. That's why they're called the "greatest generation."

Now, our nation is facing a new challenge — the ability to adapt to a world that is undergoing rapid change. And a new kind of education is needed, one that prepares knowledge-workers rather than assembly-line workers.

Unlike the greatest generation, some of us are now walking away and finding other ways of educating our children. Many have worked hard to make education better, but the bureaucracy ignores them. Experts tell the public and lawmakers that all they need is more money to fix education. But it's not necessarily broken; it's just old. We should put it in the Smithsonian where we can recall how the greatest generation made America an industrial giant.

Other nations understand the importance of building their education systems to produce the knowledge-workers needed to compete in a digitized global economy. Some are already surpassing us. However, we continue to be in denial, living off our past accomplishments and letting special interests keep the status quo. Rather than trying to fix an outdated and costly education system, we need to restructure it to produce the knowledge-workers necessary for the new economy.

Utah is no different. We know other nations are passing us by, yet those charged with managing our public education seem content with mediocrity. When asked by lawmakers to create world-class math standards comparable to nations such as Singapore, state administrators responded that Utah is above average on international standard tests. Education administrators seem content with 60 percent effort. We need excellence!

All too many of us are busy benefiting from the largesse of our society, with few promoting our nation's well-being and that of our grandchildren. This generation is blessed with talent and a "just do it" slogan that cuts both ways. We have the gift to get things done; however, we don't seem to have the patience needed to bring about social change. We live in a nation with many comforts where the values of the greatest generation are being replaced with a culture of self-interest.

It's not that this generation doesn't care. We know it's our grandchildren's future that is at stake. Yet some of us fail to become informed and involved in trying to make a difference. We spend much time looking for a single problem and one great fix and tend to look for someone to blame. There is plenty to go around. What we need is to look for the goodness and kindness in each of us rather than exploiting the fears of people. Our generation has become disappointed in our leaders and learned not to depend on them, and so we need to look to each other to solve our problems. "In her hour of agony, America needs physicians, not executioners" (John W. Gardner).

What we need are individuals willing to work to renew education rather than societal dropouts lacking the patience for change. If we are to rebuild our nation, we must recommit ourselves to the same values of the WWII generation — sacrifice for the common good.

We have a duty to perform.

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Utah native John Florez has founded several Hispanic civil rights organizations, served on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch and on more than 45 state, local and volunteer boards. He also has been deputy assistant secretary of labor. E-mail: jdflorez@comcast.net.