Remembering Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor - Battleship Row
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Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

It's unfortunate, but I think we can to relate to what Americans felt when they heard the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. It reminds me of the same things we felt after 9/11 - disbelief, horror, and the utter heartbreak at so much death.

While it is sad and difficult at times, it is good to remember our past. There was so much hate, suspicion, and prejudice as a result of Pearl Harbor. Not just Japanese and Japanese Americans were put into internment camps, but starting the same night of Pearl Harbor, many Germans and Italians in America were arrested and put into camps as well. Anyone who looked Asian, no matter their ethnicity, were hated, ridiculed, and sometimes harmed with violence. There is no doubt it was a terrible and mournful time in our country's history, and we would benefit so much from examining those events and ourselves today. 

I don't think I have to tell you that history repeats itself. We, as humans, ultimately don't really change, no matter what the day and age, unless we decide to make change. What better way to honor our ancestors and the memory of their sacrifice than being that change.

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