Tuesday, December 7, 2010

How Time Errodes Everything

Now seriously, I look back 69 years ago (not that I was born) and think about the men and women who rallied around our country when attacked.  The years that followed plunged our entire country into hardships.  Families were torn apart, women had to assume new roles in the workplace- not for personal fulfilment or money (although I'm sure many did need the money) but to keep our country going, producing food and goods and a stable economy.  Everyone's life was touched that day by an attack on a base in Hawaii.

Look at us today.  Not to many years ago we were attacked, out of the blue, and for a time we rallied together.  But then it got too hard.  Public sentiment shifted to blame our leader and question the policies of retaliation and war.  Days go by where we don't think about our men and women serving.  We certainly don't sit down and knit socks for the boys overseas.  In fact, we aren't even allowed to say anything disparaging about the people who are prisoners of war.  They should be given the same rights as those fighting to protect ours.  We forget to put our flag out. 

Sixty nine years ago, we, as a country, put everything on hold to defend the best country in the world.  We were outraged that Japan bombed us.  We didn't couch it as "Japanese extremists".  Yes we screwed up royal by interning our Americans of Japanese descent.  But how many of them put up with it because they wanted to prove they were good Americans?  Now if our government doesn't provide us with a job, health care, food, income, etc... we're pissed.  Those men and women who were taken from their homes and businesses and interred had a right to complain. 

Sixty nine years ago we were a country who knew that there was something worse than death. 

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