Pearl Harbor Day

As a kid my Mom used to always announce, "Today is Pearl Harbor Day." She and my Dad would recall where they were and what they were doing when the news came that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. They would usually then recollect the many personal hardships associated with wartime. The discussion always included the Japanese families they knew who lost everything as they were relocated to internment camps for the duration of the war. Accounts of World War II in my childhood home included discussions of events and conditions that led to war but certainly gave emphasis to the cost of war as measured in terms of human suffering, loss of life, and the interruption of peacetime lifestyle. We didn't get much in the way of nationalistic glorification of battle. We received volumes speaking to the social and human cost.

A recent article in our local paper featured an interview with Pearl Harbor survivors from that December 7th 70 years ago. In it they describe the terror experienced in the events of that day, the loss of colleagues, the grotesque injuries, the disturbing memories which have lasted a 90 year lifetime. "I'd like people to stop and think about staying away from wars" says one of those interviewed.

I've never been in a war. Most of my family has been spared the experience as well. Reading these accounts, however, leads me to the following three thoughts:
1.)  In spite of the hatred and horror inflected by both sides on the other, I am amazed and grateful that today we count Japan among our most dedicated friends. The bitter pill of war appears to have dissolved with time.
 2.)  In spite of a chorus of stories along with modern media reporting that graphically conveys the terror, destruction, and inhumanity of war, we are still, in 2011, unable or unwilling to find any other recourse than to send young people to die in order to confront differing political, economic, and religious agendas. There still seems to be no limit to what we as a nation are willing to spend, measured in both dollars and lives, to wage war.
3.)  In spite of the terror and inhumanity of war, one of the most popular and sought after entertainments today is "Call of Duty Modern Warfare," a video game that brings realistic action, death and destruction into millions of homes-- as entertainment. One would hope that people would have lost their appetite for "playing war"at this time in world history. It's beyond my comprehension how the explicit violence of war has become palatable entertainment amassing an enormous following of enthusiastic "players." I wonder how many veterans of Pearl Harbor would enjoy the game.  How many veterans of any conflict who have had to literally scoop up the remains of a buddy, retrieve a severed limb, or have felt the searing heat of a battle injury?

Then again, perhaps we should promote and encourage war gaming. Going forward perhaps we should advocate a change in the way in which wars are conducted, letting gamers worldwide fight our battles virtually via interactive web based conflicts and give real conflict a rest. It should be obvious by now the real thing doesn't work.