Finneran: Pearl Harbor As Prologue

Friday, December 23, 2016

Tom Finneran, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

Two weeks and two days ago---December 7th---the papers were filled with pictures and stories about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

It was the 75th anniversary of that “day in infamy’. And with an ever dwindling number of World War II survivors in our midst, the papers seemed to go all out to tell the stories of that storied time. It was journalism well done.

The United States was a different country back then---a country very poorly prepared for a violent and hostile world, still struggling with the Depression, largely and fortunately insulated by two massive magnificent oceans. Don’t ever underestimate the importance of those two oceans. Had we shared land borders with either Japan or Germany in 1941, we would likely be speaking one of those languages today. Such was the fate of many nations whose people were distracted, whose armies were non-existent, and whose weapons were obsolete. Those oceans gave us precious space and crucial time, each being essential in getting America’s armed forces ready for total global war.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Today our language, happily, remains English and our interests, happily, are global. Even more happily, among our nation’s best friends and allies are Japan and Germany. Once they were our deadly antagonists. For many years now they have been our staunch partners in peace.

Seventy five years---essentially three generations---is a long time. And as the Bible tells us, time heals all wounds. Such is the case today, making it utterly impossible to summon the killing rage that animated young American boys to fight and to grimly and unapologetically slaughter our Japanese attackers and our German foes.

Time has healed those horrific wounds...................

It is with that thought that I ponder the issue of race relations in America today. As President Barack Obama prepares to leave the presidency, race relations remain a work in progress. Older African-Americans, having lived through and still remembering many of the horrors of the past, are astounded at the forward progress that has been achieved. From slavery to Little Rock, from Little Rock to Selma, and from Selma to the White House is the stuff of dreams. Do they hope for even more progress, even more ground to be gained? Of course they do, as does an overwhelming majority of white Americans on their behalf and on behalf of a better society.

And yet one would have to be truly blind to pretend that the tensions and suspicions of the past have been erased. Younger African-Americans are understandably tired of waiting. Younger African Americans see no need for further “patience”. Justice, real justice, should be impatient with injustice. While every day might be a little bit better, all days pass too slowly and any progress seems utterly imperceptible when you’re holding the short end of the stick.

While I remain hopeful, I find myself wondering whether we’re going to need 75 years—another Pearl Harbor gestation period-- for us to reach the mountain top of racial harmony.

Government policies---contract set-asides, affirmative action, federal dictates---can often be counter-productive, exacerbating tensions and hardening hearts. I don’t think that I’d be a happy Asian student when I learn that my Ivy League application has been denied due to an informal but very rigid quota. When I’ve busted my butt and earned my “privilege”, only to have it set aside by dictatorial federal officials or by race-crazed bureaucrats, a resentment is created.

Much happier results can flow from personal relationships. Neighbors, friends, teammates, classmates, and business colleagues, engaged in common purpose, can quickly demolish every negative racial stereotype in the land. So too can personal relationships.

I’m seeing more and more evidence of inter-racial dating and inter-racial marriage. These racially mixed relationships and families must be intriguing at many levels, forging macro-social progress by way of micro-activity. Most intriguing to me would be the family bigot---you know the type, be he black or be he white, always mouthing off about “those folks”---now forced by family pressure to sit at table with one of “them” and finding a genuinely loving and caring human being. Note the shards of the shattered stereotype................

Maybe, just maybe we can do better than 75 more years of struggle. If we can do it for Japan and Germany, we can do it for ourselves. If soldiers who once tried to kill each other can now shake hands in honest friendship, fellow Americans might do the same.

Peace on earth, goodwill to all.

Finneran: Pearl Harbor As Prologue

Related Slideshow: 25 Ways to Celebrate Veterans in RI & New England - 2016

Related Articles

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast