From Pearl Harbor to Today

On December 7th, 1941, 64 years ago, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and drew the U.S. into World War II. While there must have been a number of anti-war fanatics in those days, this country recognized the necessity of shifting to a wartime footing. And, they did so with a determination to win the war despite numerous setbacks and failures. There must have been grit in my father’s generation. That something was lost to my generation when it came to the Vietnam War.

Despite the attempts to rewrite history, the U.S. military did not lose the war in Vietnam. The U.S. public, and consequently the members of Congress, lost their collective spine and abandoned the sacrifices of our soldiers and our Vietnamese allies. It was decidedly a disgraceful era in American history.

On September 11, 2001 the U.S. was again under attack; only this time it is from an enemy that fights an asymmetric war. Once again the anti-war crowd and their fawning representatives in Congress are beating the cut & run drum. Thanks in part to the liberal/left agenda of the mainstream media, a portion of the public is demonstrating well that spineless appeasement is not dead.

As we reflect on the significance of Dec. 7th, let’s take note that a portion of our populous no longer embodies, or is losing, the values and character that made this country great. The “it’s all about me” Vietnam generation is in power and some of us are not demonstrating much of the character of the World War II generation. They were a generation of survivors and community. What the heck went wrong with us?