Our view: Did you forget it’s Pearl Harbor day?
December 6, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day gets lost, forgotten. The mail comes just like on any other day; all government offices are open; and no one pegs a mattress sale or some other promotion to the holiday, never mind how close it may be to Hanukkah or Christmas. On a calendar with squares already devoted to Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Sept. 11 and more, today, Dec. 7, the “date which will live in infamy,” as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once so boldly declared, risks being forgotten entirely by time.
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“Ninety percent of the young people today don’t even know Pearl Harbor. ”
He is charging the Duluth School District with malfeasance.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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we don’t teach history anymore, the kids are now taught social justice instead and that American exceptionalism is a farce. We get what we pay for and people not understanding what today is or what it means is a direct result.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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First two comments are blaming kids, who have no control over “celebrating” the events, and teachers who are teaching about Pearl Harbor. Both my kids 14 and 15 reminded me this morning about Pearl Harbor because they are learning about it in school.
I wonder what actions the other commenters took to help remember this day? My guess is none.
Perhaps, and I know this is going to scare you guys, this time we will need to blame ourselves and not the usual scapegoats.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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You claim the writer doesn’t know what he’s talking about, that the premise of the editorial is false.
Fine. I’m pretty sure my sons know what happened at Pearl Harbor. I don’t know what “9 out of 10″ of the other kids know or don’t know about it.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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You mean the anecdotal comment from 2000 by a guy that most likely had not spoke with a child he is not related to in decades. You know what, yeah, I think I might be a little skeptical as to what the accuracy of that comment may be.
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I don’t blame the kids, you obviously misunderstand my point. In plain terms , our society doesn’t care as much as it did in the past to emphasize the importance of national historic dates. Hence we as a society don’t teach them about these things like I was when I was a kid many moons ago.
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Nick, I think it is you who missed Not Sure’s point. S/he cited a direct source, students currently enrolled in schools, to demonstrate that our society does indeed still teach kids about significant national holidays. What is your source for the arguement that the schools do not? Can you point me to the history textbook you saw in a school that doesn’t include information about Pearl Harbor? Anyone else get sick of this nostalgic BS where everything was perfect when we were kids and its all crap now?
As for “American exceptionalism,” it isn’t the schools that shattered that belief, it is the unexceptional Americans I meet every day. Not saying your one of them, but…
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Why argue who’s at fault? Just that the article written uses historical reference verse going out to find any local survivors tells me our journalists feel something else is of more importance.
Yet I will thank the DNT for at least having this but ask for more in coming years. I can only hope!
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So how long is long enough? Do the English still bemoan Hastings? Do the French still weep over Agincourt? When Custer lost his regiment at Little Big Horn, the nation was as shocked by the news, as much as the news of Pearl Harbor shocked its generation. How long do we hold each event in singular focus and when can we allow it to slip into the blend of cultural meme? I other words,at some point you must let the singular event go, or we could just make every day a holiday to celebrate our exceptionalism?
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I like your idea. Since there are only 365 days in a year, something memorable undoubtedly happened on every single day at some point in history. Let’s make every day a holiday (with pay)! PARTY AT CHET’S!
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Chet, this reasoning of yours is the best explanation of why we must remember, as it seems you want to forget.
Forgotten history does repeat itself.
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Well yeah, but we’re still partying at Chet’s, right?
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I mentioned itto a group of 6 year olds today. Tried to keep it simple, asked if anyone had heard of Pearl Harbor. One raised his hand and said he had been there, and before I could ask if he had been to the Arizona, he offered that he was actually going there this afternoon. (Kindergarten and first grade teachers know how that goes.)
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