Remember Pearl Harbor

For those of you without much of an historical memory, it was 73 years ago today that World War II started, right? Wrong. It was 73 years ago today that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor (in Hawaii), and this incident was the catalyst for Congress to declare war on Japan on 8 December, and to declare war on the other Axis powers (Germany and Italy) on 11 December; later in June 1942, Congress also declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, and that finally got us fully involved in the war. You see, history isn't always (or even very often) in reality like it is presented in our history books. We tend to grow up pretty misinformed. But I suppose we like it that way.

We Americans, in particular (though the Brits and French aren't far behind), love World War II. That was really the last decent war when you think about it. Who the good guys and the bad guys were was perfectly clear. The reasons for fighting were understandable and communicable, and it took only the least bit of propaganda (there is to this day a bit of unclarity on whether the Americans knew the attack was coming and let it happen as it did for the greatest dramatic effect ... but that's sort of irrelevant, as it wouldn't have been the first time we were willing to sacrifice a few hundred innocents in order to wage war for the "greater good"), to get everyone on board. No, the big picture was clear; the threat had been made visible; the level of response seemed reasonable. No, they just don't make wars like that anymore.

What most people are not aware of or what a good number of people like to ignore is that the United States has been at war, with somebody, somewhere, ever since. The reasons have becoming increasingly fuzzy. We're not sure what Korea was really all about; Vietnam certainly didn't go over very well in the end; and that whole Middle East thing has been so messy that in the end, we had to blatantly lie and deceive the American public to get ourselves in there.

And it doesn't look like it's going to get much better any time soon. We've committed to a longer stay in Afghanistan even though we accomplished nothing. The pressure to get those infamous "boots on the ground" in what used to be Iraq is still growing. We're trying hard to ensure IS is the villain, but all those pictures with McCain and their predecessors just won't go away. And, let's not forget the heating up of the old Cold War. After all, someone has to put Putin in his place ... though some of us are wondering why we always think it has to be us.

I for one think we should remember Pearl Harbor, but not as a tragic travesty against America, but as a constant reminder that good, bad, or indifferent, for those who want to wage war, they will always be able to find a reason. Maybe there are good reasons for war, but I doubt it. There may be times when the it's the best bad decision you can make. What haunts me, though, is why America feels so compelled to make the decision so often.

Ooops, I almost forgot. June 1942 was the last time we actually declared war; these days we're apparently just more comfortable going ahead and waging them. At least that keeps you from making bad decisions, or so some must think.