Friday was a very important day and is a “Day which will live in infamy.” It was the day I got my vasectomy. (Hooray for being a responsible adult). On a more serious note is was also the remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and with this single act, the US decided to officially go to war with the German, Italian, Japanese alliance. We, as Americans, realized our isolationistic policies were no longer going to work and we needed to become a global player once again. We could no longer hide on our continent, expected to be left alone.
It was a tragic day in our Nation’s history much like the Great Depression, the deaths of JFK, MLK, and RFK, and the terrorist attack on 9/11. While horrible, these tragic events helped to bring the nation closer together showing the best parts of ourselves. We weren’t a nation of individuals who didn’t give a shit about the guy next to us. We were a nation who realized we were stronger together then we were apart.
Now having served in the Navy and being a lover of history, I understand the importance of a day like December 7th. Now, I’m also the kind of irreverent asshole who would use these “said” events to make an inside joke to his friends and family on Facebook, which is of course what I did. I decided to post Franklin Roosevelt’s sound bite about the Pearl Harbor attack as both serious salute to Pearl Harbor and a joke about my vasectomy. (It’s called multitasking). This led to a comment about hoping youngsters will remember and understand the events of the past instead of dismissing them as unimportant.
Anyone who knows me well enough knows this type of comment pisses me off. For whatever reason, as we get older, we forgot what it’s like to be young and dumb. We forgot how FUCKING STUPID we were and how unimportant EVERYTHING was, which didn’t directly affect us. Comments like this are ignorant and detrimental. Of course, the younger generations don’t understand past events and will most likely dismiss them. Hell, I didn’t truly understand the significance of events like Pearl Harbor until I lived through 9/11. Up to this point, I had not lived through a national tragedy and didn’t understand much of anything.
The thing about history is it’s in the past and it’s difficult to truly understand it unless you’ve lived through something like it. We can never TRULY understand what people went through unless we’ve “walked a mile in their shoes.” The only ways I can think of to accomplish this are either build a time machine or experience a similar tragedy of our own. Unfortunately, I’m fresh out of DeLoreans.
My point is, of course, the youth today are going to dismiss these past events as unimportant, much like I guarantee most people didn’t realize Friday was the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. Instead of belittling or chastising the youth for not knowing or caring about “Past Events” we should be trying to educate them in a positive way. Explain the significance to them and help them understand why they should care.
It’s not about remembering that we were attacked by the Japanese 77 years ago but understanding why we were attacked. Taking the time to understand the Japanese’s motivations behind the attack has practical applications in the real world. Learning to take the time to understand other people’s motivations helps us have empathy for those around us. It helps us understand the bigger picture on a micro and macro level. We can learn why someone is being a bully or why an entire culture continues to threaten the US and Western Europe. Who knows? It could help prevent other terrorist attacks in the future.
Again, the important thing is understanding and remembering we are to blame for how the next generations turn. If we want to point our fingers at our nation’s youth and think, “Dammit, they are dumb,” not only are we lacking empathy but we aren’t teaching either. We are kicking the empathy ball down the road because it’s someone else’s problem. So instead of bitching about how today’s youth suck, we need do something about it to try to make this world a better place for us and them.