Today is the 69th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii which took place on December 7, 1941, or as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called it in his Presidential Address radio broadcast, a "...a date which will live in infamy..." Sure, I could go right ahead and provide all the details regarding the Japanese's premeditated attack on our country so many years ago but why rehash a particular piece of history which all Americans should already know quite well by now? After all, chances are if you didnt pay attention to it in your history classes in grade school and high school you sure as hell arent gonna wanna hear me repeat it all over again.That's fine because today, I'm not gonna be writing about the basic facts or bare statistics of that tragic date in history anyways. Instead, I'm gonna write about some of the viewpoints I have regarding what happened on that day as well as the relevance between what happened back then and the way the world is now.
Please feel free to read through this piece and agree or disagree with whatever you choose but there is one point I shall make for starters that is undeniable. I'd like each and every one of you out there to pay very close attention to it as well as reread it more than once if you so desire. I never state bottom lines in any of pieces until close to the end of them but this is one time that sucha an exception must be made. Here it is...
Whether you live in the United States of America, in Canada, over in Great Britain, France, Australia and so on and so on there is something you need to understand and accept right here and right now. Had the Allied Powers of World War II, which were formed as a result of attacks such as the one which took place at Pearl Harbor, not won World War II, not one single one of us would be here today to talk about it. Or to talk about anything, period. Yes, it's true. So many of the younger generations of today have all these new-fangled concepts of what really happened at Pearl Harbor and that this-or-that didnt really happen but trust me, truth doesnt get any more truer than it did on December 7, 1941. There are many records that need to be set straight regarding Pearl Harbor and I would like to step up to the plate and address a few of them,
First, what happened at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was NOT because the United States was at war with Japan. The United States did NOT declare war on the imperial forces of Japan until AFTER the Japanese launched their premeditated attack that early morning on December 7th. So many of the younger generations - even to this friggin day - say "Oh, well that was okay that that happened because we were at war, and that was okay." No. No, it wasn't okay. America did not want to end up in the middle of World War II anymore than any other country wanted to at that time but once Japan (backed by Germany and soon thereafter followed by Italy) attacked Pearl Harbor, what else could we do? Let me tell you, every single time I have heard people say that over the years, whether a group of high school students or even a bevy of college students making such statements, I just wanna haul off and smack them into tomorrow! I would love to round up every human being who perpetuates such preposterous garbage such as that and say to them "Tell the thousands of mothers, fathers and families who lost their sons & daughters at Pearl Harbor that and then waita second to see how happy they are to see you!"
Second, the generation of World War II which has been aptly called "The Greatest Generation" was indeed great and not just because former NBC newscaster Tom Brokaw wrote a book about them, as well as coined that phrase; but, because it's the truth. Yeah sure, every individual who has ever served in the armed forces of our great country is also great and I am truly thankful to them as well as extremely proud of them for all the brave work those in the past have done, as well as all the brave work that our millitary forces in the Middle East and beyond are currently doing. However, something needs to be pointed out here. The reason why those who served in World War II are called "The Greatest Generation" is because it is one of the extremely few times in the history of our nation that people actually wanted to serve in the US Armed Forces, one of the extremely few times that the young people of this nation knew that if they didnt make the supreme sacrifice, this country and the rest of the world would be controlled by evil monsters such as Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini; and, one of the extremely few times that the patriotism of this country was at its highest peak ever. All these factors combined together are what formed "The Greatest Generation" make no mistakes about that.
Oh sure, there will be folks out there who served in other wars and military conflicts who will piss-n-moan that I just said all of this but perhaps they need to reread what I just wrote in the previous paragraph for I am in no way demeaning or belitting their unselfish sacrifices to the USA, I'm only reclarifying what is meant by the term "The Greatest Generation." Yeah, it's really that simple and even more importantly, that all needed to be said, no if's, and's, or but's.
Third, September 11, 2001 affected each and every one of us here in America and the world-over; however, this bullshit of comparing Pearl Harbor to 9/11 and even going as far as to say "Well, 9/11 is our generation's Pearl Harbor" is just that, pure bullshit. Excuse me, but what exactly does that statement mean? That now that 9/11 has happened the significance of what happened at Pearl Harbor is much lessened, that what happened there is no longer important and should be swept under the rug? Such rhetoric is not only purely irrational in nature, but is totally unacceptable. Hey, for you folks out there who really feel that way, guess what? There was far much more damage done to that military base and thousands of more lives lost there at Pearl Harbor than there ever was at the World Trade Center Twin Towers. So if you wanna go tit-for-tat on the statistics alone, step up to the plate anytime, cause I am beyond ready to bat on this one. Again, dont start with the whining and say "Well, we were at war with Pearl Harbor!" because that is not the truth. We weren't at war with anyone when 9/11 took place either. In fact, while we're on the subject, let us reclarify the similarities between the two incidents.
Here's what Pearl Harbor and 9/11 have in common. First, both were premeditated attacks against the USA by another foreign country and/or foreign individuals. Second, thousands of lives were lost in both attacks. Third, a great deal of physical damage and destruction was brought about in both incidences. Okay, any other angles that I am missing here? Are you sure, are you most certain? So there you have it. Dont cry to me, dont whine, dont say "But oh this-n-that happened and it was just horrible!" cause guess what? Y'all just stumbled upon yet another reason why "The Greatest Generation" was just that - they didnt whine and cry about it. They knew what was at stake, they knew there was a job to be done and dammit, they went out and did it. No, no, dont get me wrong, people did cry and become upset and millions of hearts were broken and saddened the world over back then, just like they were when 9/11 took place; however, people did not piss-n-moan about it. They did something about it. And, that's the difference between those who were around when Pearl Harbor took place and our contemporary generations of today - a totally different mindset.
For months, hell, even years, after 9/11 everyone I knew, including myself, said that they could not imagine being in the Twin Towers on that horrible, tragic morning and it's the truth, I cannot fathom it myself. But quite frankly, let's call a spade a spade here - what those people went through was not any more tragic nor any more upsetting than what the boys who were on the ARIZONA went through when their ship was sunk and they tried their damnest to get out but no matter how hard they tried all they could hear were others trying to cut into their ship to let them out and save them, all the while knowing that it was pointless, no matter how bad they wanted to live. And even though I am writing about the differences between two of the most horrible things that have ever happened in the history of the United States of America, I can tell you right now that no matter how much I pay respectful homage to both, when it really boils down to it, there really isnt any difference between the two because let's face it, death and destruction are things that none of us ever wants to deal with, not ever. But, as we all know, sometimes there are things that happen in life in which we have no control over and the two aforementioned incidences are such things.
Look, we all are entitled to react and feel the way we do about the events that take place in the world, both as individuals and as a collective whole; but, when people intentionally attempt to devalue one event for another, then I have a real problem with that. As pro-Pearl Harbor as I may have come across in this piece that really wasnt my intention. I justed wanted to make it clear that all the things that folks have said about what happened on December 7, 1941, as well as all the comparisons that folks have made between it and what happened on September 11, 2001 arent always correct, arent always fair. When even one single act of violence is committed, when even one single human life is lost, I think those two things right there are beyond reason enough to raise holy hell, regardless of the circumstances. Perhaps to a degree what happened on both dates is truly a matter of personal interpretation. One thing is for certain though - we must learn the lessons from each incident and remind ourselves that the only way any of us can prevent either such incidents from ever happening again is by pulling together and making certain our voices are heard so that our leaders will work together to make a change for the better for all of us. Thank you for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment