It was 75 years ago today

Last updated on: December 7, 2016 at 10:35 am by Dave Griffey

It was 75 years ago today 2016-12-07T10:35:01-04:00 Dave Griffey

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

That all hell was unleashed on a sunny, Sunday morning on Oahu, Hawaii. By the end of the day, thousands of American servicemen would be dead, as would some civilians. American plunged headfirst into the war with a resolve never to be repeated. In the days after 9/11, some thought we might see that unity and resolve again. But by then, the rot had set in, and the divisions were too deep.

On one side you had those who believed America has always been great, though imperfect, and can be greater still. On the other, you had those who felt there was an American idea that was great on paper, but America has never really been great, but we can finally make it great. Those two are at odds and unable to be reconciled. A little thing like the falling Twin Towers and thousands dead was barely a hiccup in the ongoing debate.

Nonetheless, we still imagined in those early days of 9/11 that we would at least see unity. After all, in 2000 many were saying we’d never seen the country as divided as it was then. Just as we heard following 2012. And as we’re hearing now. Notice a trend? Fact is, we’ve been torn asunder for some decades. It’s as much generational as it is anything.

A torch was passed to a new generation. But the one following imagined that it was their generation that was called to set it right. Not fix a great and wonderful nation with a rich and amazing, albeit flawed, history. But to right a great wrong. To renounce a nation not founded on liberty, freedom and equality, but one founded on racism, imperialism and genocide. Joining those in Europe who responded to the ashes of WWII with a desire to jettison almost everything that had defined Western culture, this generation set about tearing away at almost every stone of the foundations that made America what it was. And that conflict continues.

Still, 75 years ago by now, the bombs were dropping and the American causalities began to stack. There would be hundreds of thousands by the end of the war. And there would be tens of millions more who would die, mostly civilians, mostly at the hands of the Axis Powers. What lessons did we learn then? What lessons can we learn today? That remains to be seen.

Here are a couple posts I did on the anniversary over the years.

Over at the American Catholic, Donald McClarey undertakes the unenviable task of trying to get our generation to learn some lessons from this day.

On a good note, Prime Minister Shinzo becomes the first Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbor. Whether this leads to a formal apology or not I don’t know. Many have said we should apologize for the bombs. The case can certainly be made. But I’ve always felt that first should come an apology from Japan for starting it in the first place.

Previous Post

December 6, 2016

Remember when it was bad to spend billions of dollars on a single plane?

Next Post

December 8, 2016 Yes there are bigots in America

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Atheism Awesome things Bigotry for the hip American Blogging Books Catholic Catholic Teaching Catholics on the Internet Christian Persecution Christian Unity Christianity and America Christianity in the Post-Modern World Christianity in the world Culture of Death Culture of Life Current Events Decline and Fall of the Christian West Defending Liberty Fun Stuff Global Warming Good Causes Good News Gun Control Health Care History Holidays Homeschool Humor Important things Inspiring Stories Interesting Insights Interesting Stories Islam and the West Liberal "Tolerance" Liberal observations Life in a post-Christian world Memorial Movies Musings News Other Blogs Our Big Politically Correct Bother Politics Popular Culture Post Modern Values Prayers Pro Life Promoting LGBT Protecting Liberty Racism in the world today Scientism Social Observations Sports Strange Stories The Boys The Catholic Church and the Left The Decline and Fall of the American Dream The end of liberty The Faith and the Left The Faith and the Right The Family The Greatness of God The Internet The Leftist Juggernaut The LGBT Question The Media The Pope The post-liberal Left The Power of Propaganda Tributes Twilight of the American Experiment Uncategorized Uneducating Postmoderns When the Church is wrong Why learn from history when we can repeat it instead Wisdom in the Post Modern Age World Events

Select a Month August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was worn as a sign of mourning in biblical times?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Purple robe Sackcloth Fur Linen