never forget

 We will never forget. How many times has that been said? I've forgotten. The first thing that comes to mind in that regard for me is 9/11. We would never forget! Quickly now, what year did that happen? Sadly, many will not know that answer. Many will say 9/11 and repeat what events took place that day. Many today only know that as history. Twenty one years after the fact, it is being forgotten. But I remember the intense feelings experienced by the nation. That is what will be forgotten. It will be forgotten because you can't remember what you didn't experience for yourself. It's not your fault, it's not a conscious thing, it's nothing that can be taught. Even those that remember their history lessons will not remember that. In much the same way I don't remember anything about the civil war, the war of 1812, World War One, World War Two, and Korea. I know nothing of any of that except the historical facts, and stories told to me. I haven't forgotten, I never knew.

 When we say, we will never forget, it is the emotional response we are thinking about. It's true for the ones that are there, it is not true for those that were not. I often find myself wondering about that. Why did my second great grandfather go off to fight in the civil war? What was his emotion? Patriot, to preserve the Union, to abolish slavery, or was it something else? To impress his girlfriend, prove his manhood, or was it an opportunity for an adventure? I'm certain he never forgot! He may have questioned his response the rest of his life, but I'm certain he never forgot.

 Each of us will remember historical events in a different context. 9/11 for me was an attack upon the nation. I remember where I was, what I was doing and what I thought.  I was angry, very angry and wanted revenge, immediately. It was the prevalent emotional reaction at the time. Those in this country that appeared to be of a certain race were threatened and, in some cases, attacked! In an historical context it was my Pearl Harbor. I had heard my parents and others of their generation speak of that day, the horror and the anger that followed. I had read about gathering up the Japanese citizens in the country and putting them in Internment camps. 

 That is what they were called then, today we say concentration camps, which carries a more ominous meaning. Many gasp and shake their heads at that today, asking how we could have done that, in America! They have no understanding of the emotion. And yes, it was an emotional response disguised as a common sense reaction to what had just taken place. It may have been the best thing when you consider it, when you think of the danger any Japanese, or even anyone thought to be Japanese was in at that time in America. I don't say that as justification but rather as an explanation. In the context of time, it may have been a reasonable thing. Yes, they were interred. They were not made to work, subject to physical abuse or exterminated, that happened in concentration camps in German held territories. Later on, many Japanese that were American citizens joined in the fight and served with honor and dignity. That happened after the initial emotional shock and anger subsided just a bit, once cooler heads prevailed. 

 As for my generation what will be forgotten? I'd say Vietnam and 9/11 are the major historical events that will be forgotten about on an emotional level. Already we see documentaries about those events with views much different than we heard at the time of the events. At the time when everyone was decrying, we will never forget! I participated in Desert Storm/Desert Shield. How many remember that today? Shock and Awe! Today just a footnote. With each generation a little bit is forgotten. We tell the tales of the patriots that fought for our freedom and gained independence. The emotional tale of America, indeed the heart of the nation. But that emotion is being lost, a generation at a time. Today the flag is disrespected on a daily basis, protests against America are common, disparaging comments about the President, the Congress and America in general broadcast every day. Patriotism now called fanaticism or worse, nationalism. Statues and monuments erected in an emotional response removed and forgotten, placed in dark rooms or exhibits as examples of past injustice. 

 We will never forget, but the reason for remembering has changed. We are to remember what? The emotional response formed today by those that were not present at the event. We are to remember that in the past there were inequities and injustice. No longer are we to honor those that fought for a cause unless we agree with that cause today. It has to conform to today's sensibilities! And the next generation will forget about and start anew. That generation will do the same, perhaps restoring some of the past for a brief time, at least on an emotional level. Ah, but a lesson many still fail to understand and accept is a basic one, you don't miss something until it is gone. While we are busy changing things, correcting the past and making progress, we will forget. Then we remember but it is too late, it's gone. We again will say, never forget.