No cupcakes there

It has been 75 years since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

With the signal, “Tora, Tora, Tora,” Japanese warplanes swooped down on the sleepy naval port. After the two waves of attackers finished their work, the U.S. Pacific fleet was devastated. Twenty ships were damaged or sunk. Hundreds of military planes were destroyed or damaged on the ground. More than 2,000 Americans were killed.

That fateful attack galvanized the country. Up until December 7, the country resisted getting involved with the conflicts around the world. This “dastardly” act changed all that. When four days later Nazi Germany declared war on the U.S., World War II was fully formed.

And, the greatest generation was born.

Few events have so galvanized the country. The end of the wars in Europe and the Pacific did. Then came the assassination of John F. Kennedy. More recently, the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, brought the country together.

The nation should not need a catastrophe to unite us. Common history or common purpose should be enough. They just aren’t.

They may never be. In fact, more than ever they may be needed to unite the country. There is a great difference between now and 75 years ago.

American flags have been taken off some college campuses recently because the sight of them reportedly disturbs students. One commentator called these young people “cupcakes.” These students are the future of the country, but the mere sight of the American flag distresses them. Apparently, some administrators think they should be protected from seeing it.

Fortunately, there were very few cupcakes when the nation fought back after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Then, the flag was a rallying point, not a departure point.

In our past, citizens have come forward and taken the future of the country upon their shoulders. It is one reason the country has survived.

We can be thankful that cupcakes were not dominant in our past.

We must hope they will not be in our future.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher