This Happened
September 11, 2012 at 9:32pm
On
December 8th, 1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a
speech in which he stated that "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date
which will live in infamy" (listen to the audio here: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5166/)
with regard to the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was a powerful
speech, one that closed with FDR stating "But always will our whole
nation remember the character of the onslaught against us."Within one
hour's time, Congress had passed a declaration of war that plunged the
U.S. headlong in to WWII, and the rest became our history.I think about
that quote a lot every year as we approach and pause to honor the
victims and heroes of September 11, 2001. I think about it, because I
know far fewer people who take even a moment out of their day in
remembrance of the thousands of Americans who lost their lives on
December 7, 1941.
Seventy years hence, and the actions of that day are nearly forgotten, and with each member of the Greatest Generation that passes, we lose more of our physical contact to the horrors of that day.
September 11th is nowhere near that point. In fact, I think that thanks to social media, the realization of what actually occurred may be stronger than at any point since the first couple of years after it happened. To all of us now, it would seem inconceivable that the horrors of that day could ever be forgotten, but I'm confident that those who were alive when the Pearl Harbor attacks occurred.
To the men and women who read the news of the murders that occurred at Auschwitz and other German concentration camps, it would have seemed impossible that 70 years in to the future, there would be those who would deny that such camps ever existed.
History is often malleable, memories are fleeting, services such as YouTube and news organizations are subject to censorship at the whim of whomever controls government. I don't expect anyone who lived through the terror of that day to ever forget the images that they saw, or the loss of life and family they may have gone through.
I do think it is important to say that this happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKZqqSI9-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3iKLz4oatY&feature=fvwrel
It's important that it is done without political or religious connotations, because that is not what is important on this date. This day should always exclusively be about the loss that we suffered as a nation, and as individuals throughout the nation. We should never forget those who perished, nor should we forget those who risked everything to save strangers. It is a day that should be kept hallow. Politicians should not be allowed to use anything that occurred on that day for political gain, and those that attempt to do so should be tossed from office.
It is a day that belongs to Americans, and while the feeling of loss should never go away, there is also reason for celebration. We still stand, through it all.
It is a day for Americans, wherever we may be, wherever we may have come from, to come together. It is a day we must never forget.
Seventy years hence, and the actions of that day are nearly forgotten, and with each member of the Greatest Generation that passes, we lose more of our physical contact to the horrors of that day.
September 11th is nowhere near that point. In fact, I think that thanks to social media, the realization of what actually occurred may be stronger than at any point since the first couple of years after it happened. To all of us now, it would seem inconceivable that the horrors of that day could ever be forgotten, but I'm confident that those who were alive when the Pearl Harbor attacks occurred.
To the men and women who read the news of the murders that occurred at Auschwitz and other German concentration camps, it would have seemed impossible that 70 years in to the future, there would be those who would deny that such camps ever existed.
History is often malleable, memories are fleeting, services such as YouTube and news organizations are subject to censorship at the whim of whomever controls government. I don't expect anyone who lived through the terror of that day to ever forget the images that they saw, or the loss of life and family they may have gone through.
I do think it is important to say that this happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKZqqSI9-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3iKLz4oatY&feature=fvwrel
It's important that it is done without political or religious connotations, because that is not what is important on this date. This day should always exclusively be about the loss that we suffered as a nation, and as individuals throughout the nation. We should never forget those who perished, nor should we forget those who risked everything to save strangers. It is a day that should be kept hallow. Politicians should not be allowed to use anything that occurred on that day for political gain, and those that attempt to do so should be tossed from office.
It is a day that belongs to Americans, and while the feeling of loss should never go away, there is also reason for celebration. We still stand, through it all.
It is a day for Americans, wherever we may be, wherever we may have come from, to come together. It is a day we must never forget.
