Weekly Opinion Editorial
GREAT
TO RELIANT IN 80 YEARS!
by
Steve Fair
Tuesday December 7th will mark
the 80th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the
Japanese. The United States was a
neutral country at the time. The attack
led to America’s formal entry into World War II the next day. The attack started on a Sunday morning at
7:48am and involved 353 Japanese aircraft, launched from 6 aircraft
carriers. There were 8 U.S. Navy
battleships in the harbor. All were
damaged- 4 were sunk, including the USS Oklahoma. A total of 188 U.S. aircraft
were destroyed. 2,403 Americans were
killed and 1,178 were wounded. There
were 15 Congressional Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses, and 53 Silver Stars awarded
to the American servicemen who distinguished themselves in combat at Pearl
Harbor. The attack united America. The call to ‘Remember Pearl Harbor,’ had men rushing
to sign up to fight in the war.
The day after the attack, President Franklin
Roosevelt delivered his famous ‘Day of Infamy’ speech to a Joint Session of
Congress. He called for a formal
declaration of war on Japan. The vote in
the Senate was 82-0, the House 388-1. The
lone dissenter was Rep. Jeannette Rankin, a women’s rights suffragist advocate
and lifelong pacifist from Montana. Rankin
was the first woman to hold federal office in the United States, elected to the
U.S. House in 1916. Three observations:
First, the attack backfired on the Japanese. America and their leadership had remained neutral
before the Pearl Harbor attack. Britain
was losing the war in Europe and while it was a great ally, America was staying
out of it. Sir Winston Churchill, British
Prime Minister, said his first thought when America declared they were entering
the fray was, “We have won the war.” Japan attacked because they feared the US was
going to intervene in their attacks in Asia, but history has shown that was not
being considered. Japanese Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto said, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him
with a terrible resolve." The
average Japanese citizen was shocked to find out about the attack and were
dismayed they were at war with the United States. Japan won the battle, but lost the war
because they awoke that sleeping giant.
Second, those who fought WWII were a
special bred. Tom Brokaw wrote they were
the ‘greatest generation.’ They were born between 1901-1927. They had survived the economic depression of
the 1930s where unemployment reached 30%.
They believed in personal responsibility, had a strong work ethic, were
frugal, committed, displayed integrity and were self-sacrificing and self-reliant.
They fought in WWII, not for fame or recognition, but because it was ‘the right
thing to do.’ They put their country before
themselves.
Third, if Pearl Harbor were attacked
today, would Americans respond the way of their great grandparents? It’s highly doubtful. Many Americans, across all political spectrums,
believe the country is so flawed, it isn’t worth fighting for. Many of our best and brightest apologize for
America’s past, don’t appreciate the sacrifice of their forefathers, and don’t
understand our system of government.
The government of Afghanistan fell overnight
because their citizens didn’t believe their country was worth fighting
for. Could that happen in America? Americans in the 21st century are narcissistic,
self-centered, spoiled individualists.
They want government to provide personal and financial security and exercise
no personal responsibility. They want free
education, free rent and food, and free cell phones. No way would they dare risk their life to
fight a war they didn’t believe in.
In two generations (80 years), America has
went from the greatest generation to the reliant generation. Thank God, the ‘greatest generation’ believed
in a cause greater than themselves or the official language of America would be
German or Japanese.
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