a day that will live in infamy
Today is the 65th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. Some people like to compare Pearl Harbor to 9/11. An estimated 1177 people died at Pearl, all but 75 of those died inside the USS Arizona. President Roosevelt implored Congress to declare war against Japan, and they did. The country entered WWII two years late, but made a spectacular effort nonetheless and both theatres were at peace by September of 1945. Of course, that was also after Truman gave the go-ahead to dropping two nuclear bombs on Japan. Comparatively, 2973 people died in the 9/11 attacks, and 24 are still missing. No official war was declared, unless one counts the ideological "war on terror." The country has certainly not rallied behind the government to stomp out the enemy. We don't act as though we're in a wartime. We don't ration anything or practice air raid drills. What happened? I suppose newer technology and today's economy has done a lot to change how we react. Was Pearl worse than 9/11? I don't think so, but they're also two separate events, two separate tragedies, and I don't know that they can, or should, be compared. I definitely do not think that Pearl should be overshadowed by 9/11, no matter how horrific the latter was. Over a thousand men drowned to death inside the Arizona. That's a hard thing for me to fathom.
Today's the last day of classes, effectively. I suppose that means I should study for that final I have tonight. I'm not really concerned about it. Of course, I don't really care about it either. I'm afraid I'm getting senioritis. (Although I really shouldn't, because I do have three more years of school left to go.) Last night dinner at Whitlow's was good. I sat at a table with Scott and my roommates. You know, as I'm realizing that after this weekend, there's a slim to no possibility of my ever seeing these four people again, I sort of don't want to go home. As much as we all annoy each other, I've gotten comfortable with them. I've picked up a lot of their habits. I think I've changed a lot because of living with them, and I doubt I'll ever be cognizant of how much. Everyone will be gone by Saturday night. I am really really excited to go home. But I also cannot believe that this semester has gone by so quickly.
Today's the last day of classes, effectively. I suppose that means I should study for that final I have tonight. I'm not really concerned about it. Of course, I don't really care about it either. I'm afraid I'm getting senioritis. (Although I really shouldn't, because I do have three more years of school left to go.) Last night dinner at Whitlow's was good. I sat at a table with Scott and my roommates. You know, as I'm realizing that after this weekend, there's a slim to no possibility of my ever seeing these four people again, I sort of don't want to go home. As much as we all annoy each other, I've gotten comfortable with them. I've picked up a lot of their habits. I think I've changed a lot because of living with them, and I doubt I'll ever be cognizant of how much. Everyone will be gone by Saturday night. I am really really excited to go home. But I also cannot believe that this semester has gone by so quickly.
posted by Kat @ 12:28
1 Comments:
At 9:20 AM,
Anonymous said…
TV changed a lot. FDR is considered by many Americans to be among our greatest Presidents, but I'm sure we're all aware that he would probably never have been elected if he ran today. America doesn't like to elect people in wheelchairs, even if they are eminently qualified for the job. That's why there was such a difference between sentiment toward the Korean War and Vietnam. Many people had TVs by Korea, but so many more had them by Vietnam. They had seen the horror, the killing, and they wanted nothing to do with it. And those protestors went on to become the parents of our generation and some the of generation before us. They taught us that there had to be a great reason to contemplate anything like that. That's why there was very little argument about attacking Afghanistan when evidence that the men who highjacked the planes on 9/11 had trained there came out, but when weak, faulty, or false evidence (depending on how you look at it) was used for the basis of invading Iraq, the American people began to protest and fight the government on it. That little box changed so much of how we think, and how much we as a whole trust the government to have our best interest at heart.
I'm glad that you got along with your roommates some at least. It's next to impossible to live with someone and not have them change you. It's just one of those things about life. For better or for worse, those with whom we spend that much time will inevitably change us in some way. (PS We're really looking forward to our Patwick coming home on Monday)
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