Infamous

In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, today was a "day that will live in infamy". Today marks the 68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese, in a surprise attack, flew over the Pacific Ocean and wreaked devastating results on the US Pacific Naval Fleet in a manner of a few hours before returning to their base. In a flash, the USA was plunged into a war that it has previously tried to avoid with a national policy of isolationism.

With that attack came the inevitable feelings of shock and disbelief. These feelings quickly turned into renewed sense of patriotism and anger, which was understandably directed towards all things Japanese. Unfortunately, this anger also took aim at the Japanese-Americans that were living here, in Canada, and even throughout Latin America. These American citizens were quickly rounded up in the early months of 1942 and taken to internment camps to stay for the duration of the war. Their only crime was being Japanese or of Japanese descent. In the wake of the Pearl Harbor incident, government-sanctioned racism, civil rights violations and just downright ugliness ran rampant throughout the United States.

Are these actions that much removed from the beginnings of Nazi persecution of the Jews? I don't believe that they were. Thankfully, we didn't keep going down that slippery path. But nevertheless, we were no less guilty as a nation than the Nazis. Of course, it was all seen as justifiable because of what had happened and because of the fear that the Japanese-Americans' loyalty couldn't be trusted. What about the loyalty of any other American? Does color or ethnicity really have anything to do with loyalty to a particular country?

Fast forward a few decades to September 11, 2001. We all remember that day. Did we learn lessons from World War II? Even after 9 years, how do we react to people of Middle Eastern descent? Do we make fun of them and their dress? Do we wonder if everyone of that ethnicity we meet is loaded with guns or bombs? Do we just plain distrust them because of their heritage?

Don't get me wrong. I have some of the same feelings. But I also realize that they are just as American as I am. Many were born right on the same soil where I was born. Many of my ancestors came from Germany. Does that make me guilty for the sins Nazi Germany? Should my family have been locked up in internment camps during World War II? I do understand that acts of war and war itself are very uncertain times where black and white does not always come into view. May we always try to keep an open mind during these trying times in order to make sure that all who are innocent not be punished or destroyed for being similar to the enemy of the time.