Pearl Harbor Day

Today is the anniversary (if such a happy sounding word can be applicable) of the attack on Pearl Harbor that marked the United States entry into World War II. I have been to the memorial twice, once when I was 11 or twelve, and the second time last year. Both times I was so moved by the experience that I thought of nothing else for several days. It's the closest I've ever come to war, and the encounter was one of the most emotionally confusing things I have ever experienced (both as a child and adult). That the most shameful acts of humanity somehow always manage to produce the greatest acts of valor in humanity is beyond my ability to rationalize. It was shocking to learn that most of the seamen killed at Pearl Harbor were kids. 17, 18 or 19 or so, just boys really. I saw photos of them.
War is...there isn't even a word I know of that describes it adequately. A terrible, awful, sad, tragic, regrettable, devastating, unnecessary, gut wrenching thing. And that's just how I felt as a tourist to the memorial on a beautiful, sunny Hawaiian day. I can't even watch movies about it because of my sensitivity to the senselessness of it all. It gives me nightmares. I know in the past war has often been a necessity, and I do not mean to disrespect the men and women who have given their lives so that I may sit here and expound upon this. Rather, I just wish that no one, not a single person, ever had to die in war.
The fact that it happened right before Christmas makes it even more sad (if that is even possible). It's been an unusually somber day for me amidst all the holiday cheer I've generally been feeling. But I don't want to ignore it or overlook it. I think that  too few people these days really understands what war is. I feel like too few people despise it truly. If we did then no one would be playing video games, and enjoying movies that depict it. It's a sad day. And while I have holiday cookies to decorate tonight, and company coming over,  my thoughts will be with the boys still aboard the USS Arizona, at the bottom of Pearl Harbor.