Pearl Harbor

Today is December 7th. It is Sunday. And, it is Pearl Harbor Day. On a Sunday morning in Hawaii, a force from Japan attacked the US Navy at Pearl Harbor. The country was shocked. We were attacked by another country. The next day, we declared war on Japan and then Germany, and thus began World War II for us. Everything about our country was dedicated to the war. There was nothing we could do other than fight for our country. It was a Day that will live in Infamy. That is what President Roosevelt said. We were all in agreement. There were some things we probably shouldn't have done, such as the Japanese camps, where we inprisoned Americans, but at the time we did it because we were at war. It is easier to look back on the war and see what was right and what was wrong, but not so much at the present time. I suppose that we can make parallels with the events after 9/11. Until that date, every school child learned about December 7th as the date that changed our country. Today, the children are learning about 9/11. After that date, we looked at Arabs differently. But, there is one stark difference between the two dates. We were all gung ho about going after those people responsible for killing our people. After all, we were attacked. We gave blood for the wounded. We wanted revenge. More than seven years later, we are still looking for those responsible. We have gotten some of them, but not all. Not the big prize. Our country is not all consumed with getting the big prize. We are not interested in winning. We just want to survive another day. Make no mistake. We are at war. We have been at war for a long time. Even before 9/11. That date was a wake-up call, much like December 7th was for our parents and grandparents. But, I fear we have gone back to sleep. I don't want another wake-up call, but maybe we need to wake up on our own and finish the job. They say history is a cycle. What goes around, comes around. Let's end it now.