USS Decatur renders honors to the USS Arizona
December 7th, 2023
"We in the present are the keepers and custodians of the past.
It is our responsibility to convey those memories into the future."
--Ralph Couey
Copyright © 2023
by Ralph F. Couey
December 7th, 1941, a day which President Roosevelt called "a day which will live in infamy" is one of those dates on a calendar which are deeply meaningful. For most of the current generations, September 11th, 2001 is the point that divided "before" from "after" in their lives. Both dates mark a moment when the world changed, and as a result, lives changed as well.
William Gibson once wrote, "Time moves in one direction, memory in another." For people who were alive and aware when a particular event took place, the feelings generated at that time keep remembrances fresh. The emotions, whether ecstatic or devastating, remain fixed in the mind and the heart. For new generations, those events are history, remembered in a colder, passionless manner. The old saw, "You had to be there" applies. If a person did not experience such an event, they will not feel the same impact. And in that transition, the impact and meaning of those life-changing moments is lost.
Each generation lives within the bubble that envelops the span of their lives. When great events happen, we experience those moments in a personal way, how it affected us, our family and friends, even the smaller world immediately around us. As I alluded to in my quote above, it is our responsibility to pass those experiences to the next generations. It is not only important that they know that events like 9/11 and December 7th happened, but how it felt to us. It is those feelings that help to convey the import the meaning of those events into the future, ensuring they will never be forgotten.