Down the Sights

[Kyle Moore]

The United States was plunged into World War II and out of the Great Depression by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. With over 3,600 casualties, it is one of the more prominent American memories. Mostly because it was so overwhelmingly devastating and sudden, but also because it propelled this country to the position it sits today. It became a matter of great national and familial pride to enlist on a scale unlike previously. Women entered the work place by the droves, and rationing and victory gardens became a place to enact your patriotic duty. Had Japan not attacked so swiftly, and with such force with their attack, I'm not sure the American rallying response would have been as strong or absolute, but then again, times were different during the 1940s.

What if the attack happened today, and another great threat loomed on another continent and had struck us from a distance? Wait, what about 9/11? No, no, that's not at all the same. Japan and the Taliban/Al-Qaeda can't be compared except in their devastatingly deadly surprise attacks (yes I know the Taliban was not responsible for 9/11, but they were/are in Afghanistan). Afterward however, I say the similarities end. What if China though made motions in the Sea of Japan with a "training exercise," and then leveled US military bases there. There are tens of thousands of personnel stationed throughout Japan, easily allowing a concentrated, surprise attack to catch a base unawares on an early morning. You might say it's not possible, but there were only a few who thought Pearl Harbor was.

Would the US rallying cry today be as great? Would the number of casualties really matter? Would the media? The media is actually what makes me question the idea. Movies like Pearl Harbor have shown us the horror of drowning inside a steel coffin just a few inches from fresh air, or being burned to the point where your skin will slip off. A gruesome sight, which can make your heart cry out. The cruelty of it all is that the reality is worse. Now we're able to see live footage from videos of firefights, and bombings. Read blogs posted by soldiers on the front line. How much has America's conscience changed since the 1940s I wonder? Would it be a quick and energetic flip, from commercial production to military, or would it be resisted? Could we even do it now, with the amount of goods created overseas? Is America capable of a full mobilization for war like it was in the 1940s?

You might have to turn up the volume, it's a little quiet.


The primary reason I like the attack scene in Pearl Harbor, is the completely and total surprise they were able to portray. The soldiers in their bunks and the men painting on the side of the ship were two images ingrained into my psyche. TORA!TORA! TORA! does a good job too with the surprise of it all, but I couldn't find any clips of it online.