Every media outlet that won’t be blathering on about the “shifting” GOP ass race (they’re not horses in my opinion, horses are practical) or the Kardashians, will be focused on the Japanese attack.
I don’t want to waste the electrons on conspiracies (the “FDR let is happen” crap has been debunked too many times), the Japanese’s motivation and the nuclear weapons America used to end the conflict. I want to discuss how the relationship between the two nations has evolved from nemeses to friends, especially in my own life.
Seventy years ago, my paternal grandfather was in the US Navy. The details of his career are threadbare at best for me. Mom did say WWII was about the only thing the man talked about until his death in 1970. I’m confident he had no love of the Japanese which is war’s ugly consequence…de-humanizing the opponent. The maternal grandparents also used epithets whenever Japan came up despite they’re being stateside the whole time; the propaganda worked on them.
Today, many Americans under 50 (maybe a tad higher) don’t see the Japanese as our enemy anymore. There was some demonization in the Eighties but overall the American people like the Japanese while animosity remains with other ethnic groups the US fought: Mexicans readily come to mind.
Me? I have three Japanese co-workers who rock: Ayako, Tomoko and Yuichi. They make my job easier by assisting me. Plus they’re patient with my questions about their homeland. During my University Towers days, I met many others: Yuriko, Eiko and a Miss Tanaka (a very prestigious surname I’ve been told). These friendships were likely pseudo anathema to my grandparents given their feelings 70 years ago. However, I would like to present one bright side to today’s remembrance…from the ashes of death and hostility, a flowering bush of friendship blossomed years later.