December 7th, 2015
A much different day than December 7th, 1941.
As I type this, I hear the distinct hum of an airplane flying over my house. That’s a bit unnerving.
I’ll admit, growing up, Pearl Harbor Day was just another bit of history, another date I was supposed to remember & give observance to. Like Columbus Day, or Washington’s birthday. But, September 11th, 2001 changed the way I feel about it.
I was 22 years old & hadn’t seen much of life. I certainly hadn’t known fear of flying or traveling in general. I hadn’t been scared to drive home, afraid of what I might see, or what I could run into. I hadn’t ever wanted to stay at work, to simply be in the company of other familiar people before. I hadn’t ever wanted to watch the news to learn of something beyond my line of vision, to prepare myself for the evil that was no longer lurking, but actively seeking to destroy life as we knew it.
1941 was 38 years before I was born. So it’s sometimes hard to understand why we should hold this day in reverence. But then I think of September 11th & remember. And I think to all the people I know, that were alive on that day we were attacked, but how few memories they retain. My primary emotion when thinking back on that day is one of fear. And I would say that the people who remember this day in 1941 share that with me.
We should be proud, we should be brave, we should be proactive that those days should NEVER be repeated. But the further away we get, the fewer people that recall, & it just starts to seem like a bad dream, or a piece of history that has nothing to do with us. I assure you, it has EVERYTHING to do with us. It is how we are shaped, how we believe, & how we move forward. The Japanese no longer hate us, or fear us. We dropped a bomb on them, which is devastating, but made our point: “See it our way or death to your soldiers, your families, your leaders.” You have to show people you mean business, & that massacring OUR people isn’t going to be tolerated. We will fight until the evil is eradicated. Furthermore, it makes me sick to hear the President of this great nation say, “Fellow Americans…” He is neither an American or a fellow of mine. One of the definitions of fellow are as follows: “belonging to the same class or group; UNITED by the same occupation, interests, etc. Being in the same condition.” We share astonishingly little. We are not united, & I assure you he does not have the best interest of Americans at heart.
So please keep Pearl Harbor Day in your minds & prayers today. For our soldiers who still fight. For the leaders who still care. For the Americans that will NEVER FORGET.
Signing off from America, where the stars & stripes and the eagles fly. Good day.
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