Pearl Harbor

[DJEVANS]

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. Sometimes it seems to have been forgotten since 9/11 and our current war situation, but I wanted to post a reminder anyway. There will never be another generation like that of the men who fought and died that day or those who fought in the following days of WWII, and they are fast disappearing and their incredible stories go with them. If you know or see any veterans today, thank them for their service and ask them to tell you a story--make the time.

[sailingdog]

Well said DJ... A day that shall live in infamy...

[wiseleyb]

Seriously, those guys were unbelievable examples of what humans should aspire to (with the exception of getting into world-wars). My grand father was in the Pacific and they're just really great guys and super humble. Unfortunately rare these days. I wish I'd been alive to verify that it's not just history, but everything I've read has convinced me that they really were the greatest generation. I think about them every day as I read more about the current quagmire.

-ben
Not normally very jingoistic - especially lately

[sailaway21]

I thought about the 7th earlier in the week. On the 7th I was surprised at the general lack of acknowledgement.

I'm starting to sour on the notion of the "greatest generation". As those who've read my other posts will know this has nothing to do with my feelings about mt grandfather and the millions of others who served. It perhaps is similar in thought to the reason so many of that generation who fought did so and then promptly forgot about it and went about the rest of their lives.

This generation of American military men is just as great. American society might not be though. I recently had a conversation with an old friend who has two young men as sons. She is adamant about not wanting them in the military or serving, not only in an Iraqi war, but any other. This is from an otherwise sensible woman. She is hardly alone. And, let it be said, I understand exactly her position, even though I disagree with it. What is most disturbing is that it reveals a thought process that indicates a belief that there are no wars worth fighting and therefore calls into question the notion that there is nothing worth dieing for.
\
I am sure that had I asked her if she was willing to die for her son's lives she would have answered in the affirmative. Where does the disconnect come form that makes her son's lives worth her own death and yet the lives of others unknown not worth dieing for in a greater cause? We call it a "greater cause" because we need words to refer to those titanic struggles that are used to determine the ultimate course of human history and the overall condition of man.

It used to be accepted wisdom that dieing for the freedom and liberty of mankind as a whole was a noble act. That men could live or be placed into slavery was reason to believe that the diminishment of their lives was the diminishment of our own. Yes, we are our brother's keepers, for better or worse. The universal draft made universal purpose more tangible. One of the unfortunate side effects of the all volunteer military is the view that the military is just their job, requiring no involvement of the rest of us. You can see the same results of this attitude in your very own neighborhood, where the police and the courts are increasingly becoming the solution of first resort. In a prior life, the drug house on the block would not have been tolerated and there would have been no waiting on the police to impress that fact upon it's inhabitants. This used to be called, in the big picture of things, culture. It led to a society that while it allowed all to believe any old thing they wished and to practise those beliefs wihin their lifestyle, just not on the same block in which we all live. A collection of those communities made up a nation that knew exactly what it was and what it stood for. A nation that had a self-awareness. We live in an era where right and wrong are merely cultural relativisms subject only to their holders beliefs or fancies. little wonder that such a culture finds it sporadically difficult to see "greater causes".

I am not pessimistic. The great Lincoln was racked with doubts that the nation could sustain and triumph in the great civil war. The WWII generation was not the greatest generation, merely the heirs to those called to the battles of Antietam, the Marne, and Inchon. And they stood upon the shoulders of those who stood at Concord, Bunker Hill, and eventually Yorktown. The American nation is just not truly pressed today and so we can engage in cultural frivolities that may not be healthy for our long term growth. But I have little doubt, if not complete understanding, that what might be one day called the greatest generation still lies within the heart of the American soul, ready to answer the call as required. While I am less than thrilled with the lack of cultural awareness exhibited in our nation today, I am also confident that it is an inevitable sign of a successful democracy, a shining city on a hill, and hardly a permanent malaise or even cancer that is inalterable.

Let us freely acknowledge that our troops cause is just and their will to the greater cause of good for man is well placed. I support our troops, the greatest generation of the new century, because their cause is just and without that just cause I could only see them as duped mercenaries. That others are seemingly able to say that they support the troops while decrying the cause I find no more convincing than their saying they support the cause of bus drivers. In my opinion it is not possible to support the troops when you remove from them their very raison d'entre. They exist to serve. Remove the nobility of the cause they serve and you remove their own nobility, one by one. I doubt that those who see no greater cause within the middle east today would have seen one either at Gettysburg, Bellau Wood, or Tarawa. Certainly not one their sons should serve.

[DJEVANS]

Sway, I agree wholeheartedly that we still have a "greatest generation" amongst our troops today. Saying that those who lived during WWII were "the greatest generation" does not detract from that. Yes, those soldiers came home and got on with their lives, because that was expected of them. They were not allowed to have post traumatic stress disorder. That whole generation is honored, not just its soldiers, because they pulled together as one people, one country, and did extraordinary things.
Can you imagine people in this country today rationing food and gasoline? Can you see them doing so with little complaint? Would they invest in war bonds? The things they accomplished as a unified front and the fact that they did so without the expectation of applause--that it was just what was expected to be done--is what made them great.

[sailaway21]

No DJ, it's what made us as a nation great, they were just the brightest symbol of that greatness. I only wish to dispel the notion that their like cannot or will not be seen again, without in any way diminishing the rightful pride of association we have in having lived in their presence. I doubt we'll disagree on that point very much. Thanks for starting an important thought of remembrence.

[uspirate]

I thought about it yesterday as well, then spotted DJ's post. last time i visited the memorial was Dec 2002. puts you in a hypnotic trip back in time.