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When the United States was attacked 71 years ago on December 7th, the United States was united by the words of then President; Franklin Roosevelt. His speech, which began with “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941…A date which will live in infamy.” had the unenviable task of uniting a nation that at the very least was divided along party lines. FDR knew that the only hope to prevail in the coming war, was to present a united front to the Japanese. His speech was very effective, and the recruiting posts were open 24 hours a day after his speech as they attempted to sign up all of the volunteers who were willing to fight on behalf of the United States. The attack acted as a catalyst, and without it, the United States may have never entered World War II.
When the next major surprise attack found the United States in September of 2001, it is said that imagery of Pearl Harbor was used by the government to help ensure a united response to the Presidents newly announced war on terror. Subtle (and perhaps not so subtle) references to the past, were used to support the idea of the inevitable victory of the United States. In the wake of the attacks, the American people flocked the blood banks in droves, resulting in almost 500,000 pints of blood being donated. Pentagon statistics suggest an 8% rise in military recruiting inquires in the 4 months following the events of that day.
We have always used tragic events to rally behind as a country. Cries of “Remember the Alamo” and “Remember the Maine” predate the events at Pearl Harbor, and were used to unite people who would be called upon to defend the union. To a lesser extent tragedies like the Challenger explosion have also drawn the country together, but without an enemy to unite against, tragedies seem to have less shelf life than attacks on our nation.
The U.S.S. Maine, a rallying point in the Spanish American war.
The common denominator for all of these terrible events is a renewed sense of national unity. I remember the assembly following the acts of 9/11 as a moment of togetherness at our school, which was not a normal feeling. The national anthem suddenly had meaning again, and the pledge of allegiance was taken very seriously, as we realized that many of our upper classman would probably be going to fight in the war we all knew must be coming. I don’t remember how many days it was before school got back to normal, but we all knew that something had changed on that day.
One of my friends dressed up as Rosie the Riveter for Halloween this year, and when I saw her tastefully executed costume, I remembered reading of the hardships the people of the 40’s lived through to support the war effort. Fuel was rationed, women were suddenly thrust into manufacturing jobs, metal was recycled to help the war effort, and even chocolate and sugar were rationed. The American people endured great hardship to support their troops overseas. They were unified in a desire to defeat a common enemy.
An adorable little fella with a ration card.
As we look at the ineffectiveness of our current congress, I wonder what terrible event will be used to draw us together again. As we are in the most racially charged time I recall in my short 30 years, will tragedy have to strike before we begin effective discussion of solving the problems?
I submit for your consideration, that the world does not need war to redraw borders or eliminate the dangers of a despotic leader (of whom there seem to be a few hanging around). I personally think that we have had plenty of time as thinking humans to figure out how diplomacy works. Imagine a world where those guilty of war crimes are promptly punished, and those who take advantage of their own people are removed from power. I also submit that until we learn to live in unity, the cycle of war will continue.
It isn’t an innate need for violence and bloodshed that draws our world towards war, but a need to be joined with our fellow man in a common cause, fighting to achieve a common goal. The romanticism that surrounds war seldom focuses on the death and bloodshed found in battle, but rather on the remarkable lengths some men (and women) go to in order to protect or rescue their fellow man. The comradery portrayed in TV epics like Band of Brothers is something we lack in our age of computers and Facebook, and something we thirst for dearly. The bonds of shared hardship are strong indeed.
My own brother who has spent two combat tours in Afghanistan has expressed these views, that life away from his unit seems to lack a certain vitality that is found in the bond of brotherhood. Many of the veterans who have returned from these recent conflicts have a deep sense of loss and mourning. Much of this mourning is for the dead, the friends they have lost, but some of this mourning is in remembrance of a fraternal bond that has been severed. I suspect my other brother, an Iraq veteran, has experienced these feelings as well.
The Bible tells us of 3 men who broke through enemy lines in the dead of night, not to defeat the enemy, but to retrieve a drink of water for their king, who had expressed a nostalgic longing for water from the well outside of his childhood home. When the men returned, David, their king, poured the water out on the ground as a demonstration to the 3 men that their lives were far more valuable than any desire of his for water. We still tell that story today.
We seek unity with those around us, sometimes at the cost of the lives of other men, who may pray or speak differently, but who, were the full truth known, are often not that different from ourselves. It is this that drives us to war.
Some might argue that we pursue war in the interest of justice. They argue many wars are waged to eliminate leaders who do wrong. Ask the Syrians if that is the case. I would remind you that World War II had already been underway for more than 2 years when the United States entered it. Perhaps you could ask those who fought in the Great War, the war they had hoped would end all wars (World War I) why the United States was absent until almost 3 years after the war had begun. They would likely point you to the sinking of the Lusitania, a British ship full of American passengers.
If we could learn to unite around common goals, perhaps our nation can avoid the next war. If we can not avoid it, perhaps we will enter for the right reasons. Imagine a world focused on finding ways to stretch our resources, so that everyone has a chance at a decent life, instead of focused on protecting what is ours, and attempting to secure more for ourselves. What if we decided to pursue space colonization as a united world, to put in place resources for the future growth of our species? If just the United States made a united decision to end the world water crisis, the money could be raised by the end of this little project of mine.
As our young nation becomes increasingly divided, the desire for unity, fraternity, comradery increases. What will be the next catalyst?
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25 days of peace (An Introduction)
