As I write this, the United States is remembering the Day of Infamy. It is the date, in 1941, when Japan launched an attack on the U.S. ships in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
So what does that have to do with character?
In 1981, the U.S. Navy commissioned me to write a book about the Day of Infamy: “Remember Pearl Harbor”. They gave me access to a number of military sites in order to research the book. I had access to a number of articles and books. The best research, however, came from a few hours spent at the Arizona Memorial Visitors’ Center. It was there that I first linked character and the Day of Infamy.
The Day of Infamy was being recalled by both U.S. and Japanese tourists touring the site. I was able to understand them all, having spent 11 years in Japan – and here is what I heard.
U.S. tourists were, for the most part, talking loudly about the terrible thing the Japanese had done to our people. Many still held a grudge against Japan 40 years after the event had taken place. Several swore loudly about the evil enemy of 40 years before. They used racial epithets against the Japanese. Most of them had barely been born when the event took place. They had no relatives on those ships, but they proudly and stubbornly vented their hatred for the people who had dared to do this. Many glared at the visiting Japanese tourists as though they, personally, had committed the attack on the U.S.
You might suppose that the Japanese were discussing their brave men who had given their lives in suicide bombings. You might think they were talking, in turn, about the hateful Americans who had shot some of their men from the sky, swearing at the dastardly deed. You might imagine they also were glaring at the descendents of the enemy. You would be very wrong.
The Day of Infamy was being remembered by the Japanese tourists as a terrible thing that their country had done. Their low-pitched voices held no grudge against the United States. They exhibited no pride in the mighty victory their country had achieved on December 7, 1941. They, too, were young enough to view the war as history, not personal experience, but they did not swear at the people who had later crushed their nation. They spoke, instead, of how sorry they were for the Day of Infamy.
Character and the Day of Infamy are linked in this.
On one hand, the Japanese tourists had moved into the present. They no longer lived in the past. They held no grudge against the descendents of those who had conquered their nation and forever changed its religion. On the other hand, the U.S. tourists still lived in the past. They held a strong grudge – against Japan and against these descendents of the descendents. Even though the U.S. had come out victorious in the war, they refused to forgive present-day Japanese for what had happened.
There is a lesson in this, I believe. Men and women of character do not hold grudges. They exercise forgiveness, a strong quality in the list of character traits. They exercise tolerance, another entry in the list of character traits. They exercise love, friendliness, discernment, respect for others, self-control, and a host of other character traits.
Too many in our country and other nations lack these traits of character. They live their lives in the past. They carry strong grudges against those who have descended from people who did wrong to their ancestors. If their ancestors were taken as slaves, they refuse to forgive and move on. They continue to speak harshly against those who held slaves; blame present-day people for the actions of their ancestors; and demand that the descendents pay for what their ancestors did.
Those Japanese tourists showed far more character!
That’s the view from my chair. What’s your view?