It’s the end of August again, and in DeKalb, as in many university communities, that means two things: Wal-Mart is setting up Christmas displays and the students are returning to school.

But in all my years of returning to school (and believe me, there have been more than I sometimes care to count), this year has been the most surreal.

We are, as the president often reminds us, a nation at war.

Ask your grandparents what that means for civilians, and they’ll tell you stories about growing their own food in Victory Gardens, about government rations on foods like meat and sugar, and even on gas, tires and clothing.

They’ll likely tell you, ever conscious of the troops overseas, most Americans were glad to make the sacrifices.

That is part of why Tom Brokaw labeled them the “Greatest Generation.”

Sixty-some years later, we are again at war.

Rather than ubiquitous reminders, like rations and Victory Gardens, war seems to be the farthest thing from many minds, especially here at NIU.

This weekend, for example, with students returning, you’d never know there was a war on: police broke up numerous fights, tracked down vandals and issued more than 60 drinking fines.

What makes this year’s return to school so surreal is to look around at partying students and realize people our own age are sweating, bleeding and dying in Iraq.

And for many, it’s little more than luck – like being born to a wealthier family (as the military historically draws from poorer areas) – that allows us to be doing shots instead of ducking them.

It’s hard not to be reminded of the stump speech John Edwards gave in 2003 while pursuing the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Edwards criticized, “There are two Americas, not one: One America that does the work, another America that reaps the reward.” And although Edwards was criticizing class division, it’s easy to imagine him talking about one America that is asked to sacrifice its sons, daughters, fathers and mothers, and another America that is oblivious to it.

To be fair, some college students may merely be following the example of their leaders.

President Bush, for example, has been on vacation at his ranch in Texas all month.

He has yet to attend the funeral of any soldier killed in Iraq.

It’s also important to point out that few civilians of any age have been asked to make sacrifices, like paying higher taxes, to support the war (many have actually received tax cuts).

This isn’t to call for round-the-clock candlelit campus vigils.

Part of the college experience is about having fun. But that fun needs to be balanced by a certain level of awareness and activism – especially at a time when so many of our would-be classmates are overseas, worried not about their next drink, but their next breath.

The Greatest Generation taught us how “support our troops” means more than bumper stickers, flags and yellow ribbons.

If this weekend is any indication, and some of our generation, here and across the country, continue, like Nero, to fiddle while Rome burns, then we are not likely to be counted among the “greatest.”

Rather, we may be remembered with the label poet Gertrude Stein applied to the post-World War One generation: “une generation perdue” – a lost generation.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.