Pearl Harbor Remembered

Posted: December 7, 2009, 7:24 pm

December 7, 2009 is the 68th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's entrance into World War II. (It's also my son's birthday)

Rabbi Morris Rubenstein made an interesting comment on our show today about the anniversary. He said, "the anniversary isn't observed in schools today as it once was. In my day, students revered the day and the sacrifices made that day and throughout the war."

That's true. Something else is true, too. The students in school immediately following Pearl Harbor were part of America's ascent to a superpower; its coming into its own. Today's students are part of an America that is on the crest of the wave. America is the only remaining superpower following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Today's students don't understand the euphoria, even pride, the earlier students felt as America's power increased. And, as we get farther and farther away from the event, today's students appreciate less and less the sacrifice others made for their freedom.