It happened a few hours from now just sixty-nine years ago. The Japs attacked the US, killed 'bout 2400 and wounded another 1200 military, with just about a hundred civilian casualties. An unapologetic USA proceeded to open up an unprecedented can of whup-ass on Japan and everyone who didn't back away from them fast enough. "Awakened the sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve," the Jap admiral said. The attack led to us entering WWII, and I don't think there's anyone familiar with history who says that we didn't bring the war to an end a whole lot sooner. We managed to stop the Japs before they got all the Chinese, we stopped the Germans before they got all the Jews, and we followed it up by doing something no other power (to my knowledge) has done after they've effectively conquered half the world: We gave it back. We rebuilt as much as we could, and we returned the government to the governed rather than making Europe part of the United States. Arguably, we could have profited more from retaining colonies... but that would have been a violation of our ethics. It would have been against our principles as a Republic of, by, and for the people. To my mind, it strikes me that our principles are the only thing we Americans have to unite us. There's no idea of common blood, of much common history in this country. Instead, it's an idea that binds Americans together. It's the idea of personal responsibility, the idea that you are the one who decides your fate, that set America apart from her contemporaries. It's why we didn't want an empire, and why we still don't.
They're called the Greatest Generation for a reason. They protected and preserved the idea when it came closest to disappearing in a wave of fascism and communism. I'm tempted to draw parallels between Pearl Harbor and 9/11, but it seems a mite disrespectful. Allow me to sum up: We fall short. We ain't worthy heirs.
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