Our paternal grandmother, born in Naches Mississippi, never forgave two peoples, the Yankees and the Japanese. While the woman went on to marry the first Yankee that showed up in her hometown of Waterproof, Louisianna during the war (no, the other war) and eventually moved to New York, she never owned a Japanese car.
The Pearl Harbor raid was 80 years ago now. That's as much time that passed than between Fort Sumter and Pearl Harbor. Forgive this blog a bit of nostalgia, but 30 years ago the United States was commemorating the Pearl Harbor raid's 50th anniversary. We watched the ceremonies in which president Bush spoke and then played football with some buddies.
Japan bashing had reached its apogee. We owned a used Toyota Celica GT and felt bad about it. Our next car was a Saturn SC2. Japan bashing produced a few disgusting movies, see Rising Sun. But the best film of the genre is about coming together. Ron Howard's Gung Ho tells the story of a Japanese auto manufacturer opening a factory in the US, billed as the Midwest meets the Far East. The film is funny and sweet.
Even back then we were writing. This was a never-ending novel about the United States at war with a newly imperialistic Japan. At 18 years old we were a product of our time. We wrote in spiral notebooks at home and in school. 'Instead of reading someone else's novel, we're writing one of our own, ma,' we pleaded. We filled up several spirals and still have one lying about.
We were listening to a lot of Queen even before Freddie Mercury died that year. Our album was A Kind of Magic. Our songs were One Vision and Gimmie the Prize, which we listened to just yesterday on the treadmill. That's at once comforting and disquieting.
Anyway, here's Praeger U's new video about Pearl Harbor:
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