Born in 1939, I was too little to realise the significance of the announcement, but my life was from that time on affected seriously with deprivation, concern and worry. Today I see and hear those who have no idea of what war can mean in theirs and others' lives. Those are the ones who now threaten our hard fought democracy with carelessness and ignorance.
What a different world we live in today! The war, (WWII) provided a reason for all Americans to unite, to pull together to accomplish a goal. All Americans had to make sacrifices for “the cause” and although it was hard, most didn’t mind making those sacrifices because it was the right thing to do.
I wasn’t alive then, I was born in the 1950s. My parents had just graduated from high school when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Living through the Great Depression and WWII shaped who they were for the rest of their lives.
The post war era of the 1950s was nearly idyllic compared to everything that has transpired since then, from the mid-1960s forward. But, I think it’s important to understand that the hippy era of the nineteen sixties was a mind-set born from the prosperity & optimism of knowing on some level that America was, at that particular time, the most powerful, most modern nation in the world, but also knowing not all Americans benefited from it.
So began the era of Martin Luther King and the civil rights legislation he made possible. As usual, it takes two to tango and President Lyndon Johnson was MLK’s dance partner in the quest for advancing the rights of Black people in America. President Johnson was vilified for how he handled the war in Vietnam, nevertheless he achieved what no previous President could for the advancement of civil rights & that’s a very big deal.
Let’s fast forward to where American culture is today—we are broken. We are broken because many of us have taken our relative prosperity and our way of life for granted. Yes, I realize there are millions of homeless people, not every child gets a decent education or enough food and millions of people aren’t making wages they can live on, and all of that is utterly disgraceful.
American society isn’t working anymore. We
are at a crossroads. Each of us has to make a momentous decision. Do we give in to the greed & overwhelming self-interest that’s been steadily eroding our government, our culture and our way of life, or do we fight that corruption with everything we’ve got?
Dear Dan, I have watched and listened to you since you were the crisp ambitious CBS New reporter angling for and winning the top job to replace our Walter...then to your years as anchor through to some of the struggles in the aftermath until now as you share the hard-earned wisdom of your is it 90? years.
You are one click older than me, and I'm just going to school on how you're aging. Beautiful. It's a beautiful thing you're doing. We are all so lucky to have you.
Thank you for this eloquent and timely reminder that America has faced major challenges before--and been victorious. When the threat of authoritarianism was from the OUTSIDE, it caused Americans to unite in opposing that threat. We now face a threat from homegrown authoritarianism, one espoused by a MINORITY of Americans. We must remember that the majority of our fellow citizens are decent and honorable believers in democracy--and we will prevail.
Having been born 36 years after the "day that will live in infamy", I am hesitant to make any comment that involves me personally, but getting the opportunity to visit the USS Arizona touched me in a way I wasn't prepared for, and Mr. Rather's incredible way of making us all feel a part of something bigger than ourselves brings that home again. I grew up with 2 wonderful Grandfathers, both of whom fought for our country in WWII, and many times I wish I had been mature and understanding enough, when they were still alive, to tell them thank you for saving the world that I, and now their great-grandchildren, are blessed to live in.
The day that my lovely bride and I were lucky enough to take the tour of the Arizona, I was so appreciative of the reverence and appreciation shown by all of people there and was moved to tears, thinking of the sacrifice of the brave souls here and how the events of that day changed my family's, and so many other families, lives forever. Both my grandfathers turned 26 just days after the Pearl Harbor attack, and though they were older for service and committed to careers of their own, they enlisted and shipped off to the Pacific. I have often wondered if I would have done the same, had I been in their shoes, thanks to their bravery, patriotism and what they accomplished, I never had to find out.
Thank you Elliot and Mr. Rather, for all that you do and share.
"And even when the future seems bleak, we should not succumb to pessimism."
Thank you for this reminder Dan. I enjoy your thoughts and perspective on the many issues of our day. I viewed the video link of FDR's speech in your article and found it powerful. Again, thank you.
I was a freshman in high school on that day. On Monday there was both fear for the future and confidence that we would prevail. It was a geography lesson that followed. We heard of places we never knew about, Pearl Harbor, Midway Island, Coral Sea, Corrigidor, and so many more. The war so dominated the news for the next years that we wondered what the papers and radio would cover without a war.
My parents said the streets were silent. My father headed to a Navy recruiting station. He would be in the battle of Leyte. You hear all this as a kid and you don't think much about it, but when I think the planes were sending down bombs and the ocean was mined, well, I'm glad I'm here. Dad rarely talked about the war, but you knew it stayed with him. But there were people at home; Dad's mother had two sons - one in Europe and one in the South Pacific but she never knew where they were, and the letters were so slow in coming. She took to drink and depression. One story I remember is that my father did not like FDR and was disgusted FDR won a fourth term. But he stayed at his post because - well, where could he go, yes - but he was there to defend the right to criticize the government. He accepted the results and believed there would always be a next time. But victory was not assured. No one knew we would win. It's taken me a while to realize how awful a time that must have been at home and around the world. I can only think that so many of us haven't the foggiest notion of what all this means - and worse, that they don't care. I hope I'm wrong.
When I read about the resolve of what Americans sacrificed and accepted to defeat an enemy and tyrant leader, I know we could not not have won WWII with our current climate. The selfish, me first, don’t limit my freedom, anti masking, anti vaccination attitude would not have been able to be victorious during WWII. The weaney whiney attitude that has driven nurses from the bedside, teachers from classrooms, family from family, attacking public health officials. Our public health crisis has become a crisis of selfishness.
No one wants to gets a shot let alone 3. It’s what I can do to make things better. Put my fellow man, my conspiracy theory neighbor, my hard headed friend first. It’s how I say I care. My good nature is waning and I know we are definitely NOT the greatest generation or generations.
Have thought about this all day as I always do. My parents became engaged to be married 80 years ago today on Pearl Harbor Day. My brother and I might not have been born but for the power of this day in history .Americans declared Love and War , both, on that Day. Love of one another , love if Country and War with our enemies. Americans who loved one another parted not knowing if they would see one another ever again . But the cause was great and no sacrifice too large.Roosevelt had led a nation through the Great Depression and up from it’s knees. The power of his leadership was second to none in the eyes of our parents .
This. Day will live in “infamy” but also in inspiration that we were , and must be , a people who will rise to the challenge , and fight, those who would threaten democracy and the core of our Constitution.
As deeply moving as it is to reflect upon the losses of those years and a fight against external forces ,which threatened democracy , we must always be inspired by our
triumph ,with our Allies. I am concerned that the next challenge to our Constitution is coming not from outside but from within .
Having spent 28 years as a member of the board of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute at Hyde Park , I am grateful that you caused us to hear , again, FDR’s request of Congress for the Declaration of War. There has not been such a request of Congress since that day. Thank you for having reminded us of all of that history .
I grew up hearing my parents stories about Pearl Harbor and the state of the world at that time. My parents would share their stories about those that went off to war, some never came home and those that did, were changed. My parents were from a very small town in New Jersey and they said that every person in town clung to the information in the newspapers and media because everyone knew someone who was affected by the war.
Thank you Dan for writing this. Your words are eloquent and moving. As always.
Thank you for putting in perspective so eloquently this significant event in US history. Although some gifted and creative people try, it is difficult to recreate the sensations felt by those who experienced the event directly and indirectly at the time. The date of December 7th became prominent in my life because it is the date on which I met my husband 55 years ago. We celebrate the date with cards as well as a discussion of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Today, we went to view the exhibit of JMW Turner's art at the Kimbell Museum. Turner lived during a time of chaos due to wars and the econmic upheaval brought on by the application of the modern steam engine. Turner had a sensitivity to the plight of people's suffering due to unpredictability of the world. In his paintings, the sky, sea, and weather dominated the people in terms of size and detail. I couldn't help but feel the power of Turner's art in defining how I feel in our time of unrelenting, global pandemic, deteriorating democracy in the US, and growing racial, religious, and ethnic violence.
My uncle recalled Grand Pa making them memorize Bible verses, sometimes whole chapters, because he feared Germany was going to over run the US as it had run over Grand Pa's father's home land, The Netherlands, and take away our Bibles.
Born in 1939, I was too little to realise the significance of the announcement, but my life was from that time on affected seriously with deprivation, concern and worry. Today I see and hear those who have no idea of what war can mean in theirs and others' lives. Those are the ones who now threaten our hard fought democracy with carelessness and ignorance.
What a different world we live in today! The war, (WWII) provided a reason for all Americans to unite, to pull together to accomplish a goal. All Americans had to make sacrifices for “the cause” and although it was hard, most didn’t mind making those sacrifices because it was the right thing to do.
I wasn’t alive then, I was born in the 1950s. My parents had just graduated from high school when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Living through the Great Depression and WWII shaped who they were for the rest of their lives.
The post war era of the 1950s was nearly idyllic compared to everything that has transpired since then, from the mid-1960s forward. But, I think it’s important to understand that the hippy era of the nineteen sixties was a mind-set born from the prosperity & optimism of knowing on some level that America was, at that particular time, the most powerful, most modern nation in the world, but also knowing not all Americans benefited from it.
So began the era of Martin Luther King and the civil rights legislation he made possible. As usual, it takes two to tango and President Lyndon Johnson was MLK’s dance partner in the quest for advancing the rights of Black people in America. President Johnson was vilified for how he handled the war in Vietnam, nevertheless he achieved what no previous President could for the advancement of civil rights & that’s a very big deal.
Let’s fast forward to where American culture is today—we are broken. We are broken because many of us have taken our relative prosperity and our way of life for granted. Yes, I realize there are millions of homeless people, not every child gets a decent education or enough food and millions of people aren’t making wages they can live on, and all of that is utterly disgraceful.
American society isn’t working anymore. We
are at a crossroads. Each of us has to make a momentous decision. Do we give in to the greed & overwhelming self-interest that’s been steadily eroding our government, our culture and our way of life, or do we fight that corruption with everything we’ve got?
Dear Dan, I have watched and listened to you since you were the crisp ambitious CBS New reporter angling for and winning the top job to replace our Walter...then to your years as anchor through to some of the struggles in the aftermath until now as you share the hard-earned wisdom of your is it 90? years.
You are one click older than me, and I'm just going to school on how you're aging. Beautiful. It's a beautiful thing you're doing. We are all so lucky to have you.
May you thrive as long as you live.
Thank you for this eloquent and timely reminder that America has faced major challenges before--and been victorious. When the threat of authoritarianism was from the OUTSIDE, it caused Americans to unite in opposing that threat. We now face a threat from homegrown authoritarianism, one espoused by a MINORITY of Americans. We must remember that the majority of our fellow citizens are decent and honorable believers in democracy--and we will prevail.
Having been born 36 years after the "day that will live in infamy", I am hesitant to make any comment that involves me personally, but getting the opportunity to visit the USS Arizona touched me in a way I wasn't prepared for, and Mr. Rather's incredible way of making us all feel a part of something bigger than ourselves brings that home again. I grew up with 2 wonderful Grandfathers, both of whom fought for our country in WWII, and many times I wish I had been mature and understanding enough, when they were still alive, to tell them thank you for saving the world that I, and now their great-grandchildren, are blessed to live in.
The day that my lovely bride and I were lucky enough to take the tour of the Arizona, I was so appreciative of the reverence and appreciation shown by all of people there and was moved to tears, thinking of the sacrifice of the brave souls here and how the events of that day changed my family's, and so many other families, lives forever. Both my grandfathers turned 26 just days after the Pearl Harbor attack, and though they were older for service and committed to careers of their own, they enlisted and shipped off to the Pacific. I have often wondered if I would have done the same, had I been in their shoes, thanks to their bravery, patriotism and what they accomplished, I never had to find out.
Thank you Elliot and Mr. Rather, for all that you do and share.
"And even when the future seems bleak, we should not succumb to pessimism."
Thank you for this reminder Dan. I enjoy your thoughts and perspective on the many issues of our day. I viewed the video link of FDR's speech in your article and found it powerful. Again, thank you.
I was a freshman in high school on that day. On Monday there was both fear for the future and confidence that we would prevail. It was a geography lesson that followed. We heard of places we never knew about, Pearl Harbor, Midway Island, Coral Sea, Corrigidor, and so many more. The war so dominated the news for the next years that we wondered what the papers and radio would cover without a war.
Excellent.
Thank you for sharing your memories of experiencing Pearl Harbor and the struggle of those times.
Thank you Dan for being such a wonderful writer, reporter and human being! GOD bless!
My parents said the streets were silent. My father headed to a Navy recruiting station. He would be in the battle of Leyte. You hear all this as a kid and you don't think much about it, but when I think the planes were sending down bombs and the ocean was mined, well, I'm glad I'm here. Dad rarely talked about the war, but you knew it stayed with him. But there were people at home; Dad's mother had two sons - one in Europe and one in the South Pacific but she never knew where they were, and the letters were so slow in coming. She took to drink and depression. One story I remember is that my father did not like FDR and was disgusted FDR won a fourth term. But he stayed at his post because - well, where could he go, yes - but he was there to defend the right to criticize the government. He accepted the results and believed there would always be a next time. But victory was not assured. No one knew we would win. It's taken me a while to realize how awful a time that must have been at home and around the world. I can only think that so many of us haven't the foggiest notion of what all this means - and worse, that they don't care. I hope I'm wrong.
When I read about the resolve of what Americans sacrificed and accepted to defeat an enemy and tyrant leader, I know we could not not have won WWII with our current climate. The selfish, me first, don’t limit my freedom, anti masking, anti vaccination attitude would not have been able to be victorious during WWII. The weaney whiney attitude that has driven nurses from the bedside, teachers from classrooms, family from family, attacking public health officials. Our public health crisis has become a crisis of selfishness.
No one wants to gets a shot let alone 3. It’s what I can do to make things better. Put my fellow man, my conspiracy theory neighbor, my hard headed friend first. It’s how I say I care. My good nature is waning and I know we are definitely NOT the greatest generation or generations.
Have thought about this all day as I always do. My parents became engaged to be married 80 years ago today on Pearl Harbor Day. My brother and I might not have been born but for the power of this day in history .Americans declared Love and War , both, on that Day. Love of one another , love if Country and War with our enemies. Americans who loved one another parted not knowing if they would see one another ever again . But the cause was great and no sacrifice too large.Roosevelt had led a nation through the Great Depression and up from it’s knees. The power of his leadership was second to none in the eyes of our parents .
This. Day will live in “infamy” but also in inspiration that we were , and must be , a people who will rise to the challenge , and fight, those who would threaten democracy and the core of our Constitution.
As deeply moving as it is to reflect upon the losses of those years and a fight against external forces ,which threatened democracy , we must always be inspired by our
triumph ,with our Allies. I am concerned that the next challenge to our Constitution is coming not from outside but from within .
Having spent 28 years as a member of the board of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute at Hyde Park , I am grateful that you caused us to hear , again, FDR’s request of Congress for the Declaration of War. There has not been such a request of Congress since that day. Thank you for having reminded us of all of that history .
I grew up hearing my parents stories about Pearl Harbor and the state of the world at that time. My parents would share their stories about those that went off to war, some never came home and those that did, were changed. My parents were from a very small town in New Jersey and they said that every person in town clung to the information in the newspapers and media because everyone knew someone who was affected by the war.
Thank you Dan for writing this. Your words are eloquent and moving. As always.
Thank you for putting in perspective so eloquently this significant event in US history. Although some gifted and creative people try, it is difficult to recreate the sensations felt by those who experienced the event directly and indirectly at the time. The date of December 7th became prominent in my life because it is the date on which I met my husband 55 years ago. We celebrate the date with cards as well as a discussion of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Today, we went to view the exhibit of JMW Turner's art at the Kimbell Museum. Turner lived during a time of chaos due to wars and the econmic upheaval brought on by the application of the modern steam engine. Turner had a sensitivity to the plight of people's suffering due to unpredictability of the world. In his paintings, the sky, sea, and weather dominated the people in terms of size and detail. I couldn't help but feel the power of Turner's art in defining how I feel in our time of unrelenting, global pandemic, deteriorating democracy in the US, and growing racial, religious, and ethnic violence.
My uncle recalled Grand Pa making them memorize Bible verses, sometimes whole chapters, because he feared Germany was going to over run the US as it had run over Grand Pa's father's home land, The Netherlands, and take away our Bibles.