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| USS Arizona Memorial - Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
As the title to today's BEST YEAR YET blog, the word INFAMY means: FAME GONE BAD.
President Roosevelt gave this speech the following day, December 8, 1941, to a joint session of Congress.
The now famous speech was given for 2 reasons:
- To urge Congress to formally declare war on Japan (which they did minutes later)
- To rally the American people to support the war effort
Both those reasons were realized.
As someone who wasn't alive when this happened, all I have are the history records that tell of that day.
With that in mind, here are a couple of thoughts. First, I am NO expert on anything military, history.....really, not much of an expert on anything!
What happened on December 7, 1941, had a huge affect on our Country.
Let me say, when I was a teenager, people tried to get fake IDs so they could buy beer. At the start of WWII, some that were below the age to enlist, got fake IDs so they could serve their Country and go to war....to lay their lives on the line for the American Way! That is FAR different than the culture we live in today.
People rallied together.
Women, for the first time, had a prominent role in the work place (and still do today!).
Industry boomed....and after the war so did the population..thus the 'baby boomers.'
It was a tragic day for sure...but so much GOOD has resulted from the tenacity of those who didn't just take it lying down.
We saw glimpses of this type of cultural attitude during Desert Storm in the early 1990s and again after the Terrorist attacks on our Country on September 11, 2001. But it didn't last as long.
Do you remember those in Washington, from both sides of the Isle, locked arm-n-arm singing "God Bless America" on the steps of our Nation's Capital?
What would it take to have a unified country? I hope that it doesn't take another national tragedy to rally us all together.
To me, the FAME GONE BAD is what we have now...not what happened that day on December 7, 1941 or September 11, 2001.
If you regularly read this BEST YEAR YET blog, you know that last month I talked about and challenged all of us with "PROJECT 52." I turned 52 in November, and since there are 52 weeks in the year, what positive act could we do each week that makes an impact on someone else?
How about we ALL do something of kindness to another person?
Here's my challenge to you: Starting tomorrow, do a random act of kindness for someone that you don't know.
Maybe it's someone who doesn't look like you.
Doesn't have the same political view as you.
Isn't the same religion as you.
But they share the same air as you!
Let's promote FAME GONE GOOD. Or better yet, GOOD GONE GOOD!
BEST YEAR YETs are INTENTIONAL!
BE INTENTIONAL!
FINAL NOTE:
If you ever have the chance to go to Hawai'i, MAKE the time to go to the WWII and USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor on the Island of Oahu. It is a very moving experience and will make you very grateful for the Country we live in.
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