Many acts during wars throughout history have reflected the worst sides of humanity, and vividly represent the depths to which we can sink.
Irreverence towards international rules of military engagement, and a dearth of respect for decency and fair play have often characterised clashes and conflicts from the level of skirmishes to that of full-blown wars.
Recent and ongoing wars that reflect the reprehensible disdain for rules of engagement include the Russia vs Ukraine war and certain elements of a proportion of the Arab world war against Israel.
Few events in the litany of reprehensible acts of aggression can match the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on June 7 1941. This ‘sneak attack’ brought the US into World War 2 and changed the way that this cataclysmic event panned out.
Some powerful quotes from the time reflect the passion and commitment to right the wrongs and to protect the ‘free world’ from domination and subjugation:
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the US was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan … We will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Everybody knows about Pearl Harbour. The thing that really fascinated me is that through this tragedy there was this amazing American heroism.” — Michael Bay
“Pearl Harbour caused our nation to wholeheartedly commit to winning World War 2, changing the course of our nation’s history and the world’s future.” — Joe Baca
Apart from the freedom, which the ultimate victory of the Allies over the Axis powers ensured for humanity, the ‘Pearl Harbour’ tragedy still resonates in some ways through the generations in the thinking and experiences of man as he travels the highways and byways of life’s journey.
In many ways, we all have our personal ‘Pearl Harbour’ challenges and situations during our lives. Unforeseen events that are beyond our control often occur.
Sometimes, these are as cataclysmic to us on our level as the threat to the survival of a nation and its way of life was to the US in June 1941, and to the Ukraine and Israel in recent times.
In essence, the mechanisms for coping are universal, and the resilience, fortitude, dogged determination and self-belief that prevailed then, can do it for us in our testing times.
Perfectly understandably, literature abounds with quotes from leaders and other outstanding people over the generations regarding resilience and fortitude of the human spirit. Two are included:
“When we tackle obstacles, we find hidden reserves of courage and resilience we did not know we had. And it is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.” — APJ Abdul Kalam
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela
Life was never going to be easy, but we can take the lead in pursuit of fair play and its enjoyment.
Concomitantly, we do not have any control over the ‘Pearl Harbour moments’ that will come our way, but we do control how we handle them and the way in which we recover.
