Today is a solemn day in American history. For many of us, it is something we heard told at our grandparents’ and parents’ feet, not fully grasping what it truly meant.
We may have heard the speech, seen the documentaries or a bad Hollywood movie on the event, but we seldom stop to think about what it meant for the psyche of a nation that had largely drawn in on itself.
We were an angry giant, slapped awake, as a Japanese admiral realized, and this date in history became one of the lynchpins on which history turned.
As comic book fans, we are blessed to be possessed of a veritable avatar of this time in history. Steve Rogers, whose origin reminds us every time we pick up one of his books that he represent this spirit of national pride and resistance to tyranny.
On this day, I hope we can all remember the sacrifices made by the generation of heroes who answered the call to sail, march, fly, and fight halfway across the world, not just for revenge, but so that we and our children could live in a world made safe for democracy.
Filed under: COLUMNS, COMMENTARY Tagged: Captain America, History, Pearl Harbor, World War II
