Product of Pearl Harbor

Quote of the day:
“Not everybody has the mental elasticity to be a fideist, believe in Genesis and Galileo at the same time. There is always a conservative party, and by a kind of Newtonian law of the mind, action is matched by an equal reaction; one branch of the conservative party turns reactionary and clings more intensely to the old convictions.”
--Jacques Barzun

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. 66 years ago on Sunday morning, December 7th, our parents/grandparents heard the news that our naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was under attack.

Everyone who was more than five years old at the time bore the imprint of December 7th, 1941 for the rest of their lives. The attack continues to affect how some people think about America and the rest of the world.

This was so much more than a sepia-toned movie starring Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra. Though I do love “From Here to Eternity.”

We can watch film of the actual bombing, and we can hear FDR’s voice as he declares war on Japan. But it’s hard to imagine reading about the attack in the next day’s paper, or hearing events unfold on the radio in real time. The shock, bewilderment and fear must have been enormous.

I remember my parents often talking about Pearl Harbor through the 1960s. My father joined the Army during the war, and met my mother at a USO event.

So I guess, in a way, I am a product of Pearl Harbor.