Pearl Harbor changed the world’s future
Dec. 7, 1941 is beyond personal memory for most Americans, but its branding as a “date which will live in infamy” must endure. The events remain shocking. The United States had mostly stayed on the sidelines until Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That was no longer possible after 2,403 U.S. personnel were killed. America was at war.
The nation’s future changed overnight. The United States would not experience such a level of immediate national disquiet again until Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorist attacks killed 2,997 victims.
Such moments always demand the dignity of reflection when the anniversaries fall on the calendar. Not just for those who witnessed such days, but for future generations.
There were national tragedies before Dec. 7, 1941, but modern communication made it possible for Americans to be unified by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “infamy” soundbite. Similarly, each 9/11 tolls reminders to “never forget.”
It’s not easy to recognize historic moments as they are unfolding. We are living in a frame of history right now, and still learning from dates that serve as bookmarks to epic moments of the past.
Dec. 7, 1941. Sept. 11, 2001. Dec. 14, 2012. March 2020. These aren’t just dates in which an event passed. They each lit a fuse on a nation’s anxiety. While Americans tried to sort out what had just occurred, they were also fearful of what would happen next.
Eighty-one years ago, what happened next was that the United States could no longer ignore the rising volume of the drumbeat of war, which would occupy the national consciousness for the next four years.
Twenty-one years ago, the immediate fear was that more landmarks in major cities would be attacked.
A decade ago, we wondered if an incomprehensible tragedy at an elementary school could be the last of its kind.
Three years ago, everyone tried to project when life would return to normal. By summer, autumn, New Year’s?
The attack on Pearl Harbor propelled Americans into service. Many enlisted, some made the ultimate sacrifice and millions sought ways to volunteer to help strangers.
In 2022, we are still eyewitnesses to the history that began unfolding with the arrival of COVID-19. How will we contextualize for future generations the ways the pandemic changed daily lives for all Americans in a way few events possibly could?
Yet memories of the pandemic already seem unreliable. The loss of 2,403 fellow Americans unified the nation on Dec. 7, 1941. By the last Memorial Day, it didn’t even seem to register in the national consciousness that the number of COVID victims in the nation had lapped 1 million. Even last month, between 300 and 400 Americans died with COVID every day.
There are many reasons we must pause to ponder the consequences of Pearl Harbor. Had the tragedy not occurred, the United States might have remained out of the war long enough for Germany and Japan to dominate the Allies.
The world’s fate pivoted that day. When history becomes visible, we must never look away. Generations later, it still demands our attention.
There are many reasons we must pause to ponder the consequences of Pearl Harbor. Had the tragedy not occurred, the United States might have remained out of the war long enough for Germany and Japan to dominate the Allies.