From The Editor
Remembering the Days of Infamy
These are the days of infamy, but remember them now because infamy does not last quite as long as it once did.
The other day I asked a group of college students if they knew the significance of the date Dec. 7, 1941. They looked at me blankly until finally one of the young women in the group shyly responded, “Is it the day Pearl Harbor was bombed?”
“How about Nov. 22, 1963?” I asked.
“Is that the day the Vietnam War began?” one of the young men said. “I know we just discussed something happening on that date in history class, but I can’t remember.”
The same young woman hesitantly asked, “Was it the day Kennedy was shot?”
I told them about FDR’s proclamation that Dec. 7, 1941, would be a day that lived in infamy. Even though I was not alive on that date, the generation before me made sure we remembered the day that changed this country forever.
Until that November day in 1963. Until 1968 and the assassinations of first Martin Luther King Jr. and then the second Kennedy. Until Sept. 11, 2001. One young man said he found it disheartening and already noticed among his peers a selective memory regarding 9/11.
“No one even talked about it much this year,” he said. “It’s like we’ve already forgotten it happened.”
As we head into the holiday season the time is perfect to remember the stories of the past. Talk to those who recall the days of infamy and discuss the impact it had on them. Those stories make up a colorful quilt of our lives and sharing those stories keeps us warm and comfortable.
Recently I sat with a group of women as we shared our experiences on 9/11. One woman thought the world had ended and tried desperately to reach her son via telephone to bid him farewell. Another thought a friend was playing a cruel joke when she called with the news. And still another watched the coverage on television with the sound muted and classical music playing in the background creating a surreal, out-of-time experience. And in sharing we all felt joined in a common experience, and the pain lessened.
This issue of Senior Times is full of stories about holiday activities and active Seniors. I enjoyed reading the article on Santa’s history because it reminds me of what this season is really all about, and it is one we can all celebrate regardless of our religion. It is about giving of oneself freely to help others. As stories appear in the media about people hurting one another for a video game, I think this reminder is particularly important.
In the life of an individual many days become days of infamy, so we should live each day as if it will be remembered forever. When these days of infamy are long gone from the collective memory, what will remain important? It will not be whether or not a playstation was purchased or given; it will be the quality of the giving, and if it took harming another person to get it, then the lesson has been lost.
I wish you all peace and happiness every day of your life.