“A day which will live in infamy,” were the words delivered by President Roosevelt 68 years ago that jolted the nation into action. It marked the end of the desperate decade of depression and plunged us into war, fought on two fronts. We won in both theaters but lost the lives of many of our fine young people. The attack on Pearl Harbor was appalling to Americans because it was an unprovoked, sneak attack. That’s not the way we did things, so this act was particularly heinous. As a pre-boomer, I wonder how we would act to a similar situation today.

Many will claim we live in a different world. It’s smaller, yet more complex than before. There are a number of countries with nuclear weapons and some rogue nations trying to develop these capabilities. Those lusting to be world powers have their own clique of supporting governments, so getting world leaders to agree on policies is difficult, if not impossible. Our friends in Europe have their own agendas and seem unwilling to stand up for their sovereign rights let alone fight for the rights of others. These governments are reluctant to stop erosion of their cultures within their own boarders even though these fading remnants of their national identities are being eaten away from the inside out.

Come to think of it, this seems to be what’s happening here in the United States. Apparently, we’re becoming more like the Europeans when it comes to standing up for our nation and being willing to fight whomever tries to tamper with our freedoms from inside or out. This may be, in part, due to the simple fact that Americans have become too soft, too permissive and too self-centered. Unlike those thousands and thousands of young men and women who enlisted in the days following Pearl Harbor, most citizens want to avoid conflict at all costs. Luckily, there are still courageous patriots who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect this country.

Unlike the Vietnam era when we hated the war and despised the brave warriors as well, people claim to respect our service personnel even though they may disagree with the war and have an overall distain for the military. This is hardly what our parents would have called “supporting the troops.” This is simply lip-service and should not be a source of national pride, so let’s stop pretending it is.

We are at war with Al Qaeda, the group behind the destruction of the World Trade Center buildings on 9/11/2001 and other atrocities against the US. This event resulted in our Armed Forces being called, once again, to fight the forces of evil on foreign soil to make our homeland safe. Most of us realize the enemy is out to kill all the Americans they can and disrupt our way of life. There’s absolutely nothing to be gained from trying to make nice to these mad men. Such folly may make some folks feel better about themselves and bring faint approval from those in Europe, but it won’t protect us from future attacks.

Today we honor our dead and wounded from what happened on December 7th and beyond. Isn’t it time to develop a strategy to win the war against terrorism and commit the personnel and the money needed to get the job done? Then, no one who wears the uniform of the United States military will serve without cause or die in vein.