My mom never failed to remark every Dec. 7 morning at the breakfast table what happened on that date in 1941. It was one of those dates, like Nov. 22 and Sept. 11, that never passed unnoticed. Not so much today, though:
The passage of time – 67 years today – has diluted the nation’s emotional connection to that Sunday morning when Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, says Henry Weisser, a professor emeritus of history from CSU.
“For older people, such as myself, who remember that day, it will always carry great meaning,” he said. “But otherwise, for younger people, it’s been supplanted by 9/11. That is Pearl Harbor to them.”
I think the fading of Pearl Harbor Day in significance is more than just the passage of time. Perhaps it’s political correctness and multiculturalism that are to blame. Have they retarded our ability to be outraged? There seems always to be an extenuating circumstance, a mitigating factor, that absolves of guilt those who do even the most outrageousthings. Rather than get angry, we ask, “Why do they hate us?” and seek blame in ourselves.
For people who think like that, going to war against Japan for the lives of a mere 2,400 Americans probably seems like typical irresponsible American overkill.
