Pearl Harbor - Who Speaks for All Americans?

On today's NYT front page article called As 9/11 Draws Near, a Debate Rises: How Much Tribute Is Enough?:

Few Americans give much thought anymore on Dec. 7 that Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941 (the date to live in infamy). Similar subdued attention is paid to other scarring tragedies: the Kennedy assassination (Nov. 22, 1963), Kent State (May 4, 1970), the Oklahoma City bombing (April 19, 1995).

I didn't know that! "Few Americans give much thought anymore" to Pearl Harbor? I must spend too much time on Daily Kos.

The New York Times made an extraordinary claim on its front page today - that "few Americans give much thought anymore" to Pearl Harbor, the Kennedy assassination, Kent State, or the Oklahoma City bombing. The writer, N.R. Kleinfield, an established NYT writer with a 10 page list of articles, makes the claim with no documentation and no supporting data. S/he insults Americans, readers, the US Military, and the casualties and their families of all of these tragedies without giving even a second thought. Are there no editors left at the NYT?

I did a quick search here at Daily Kos and found 363 references to Pearl Harbor this year alone. I guess here at Daily Kos we give quite a lot of thought to Pearl Harbor.

For example, johnnygunn, reminded us of what America was like in those innocent days before the war. America Before Pearl Harbor - Early Kodachrome Images:

On December 6th, a very different America prevailed.
After December 7th, that America would be changed forever

In contrast, cityduck gave us this stunning tribute to the post-Pearl Harbor times from December 7, 2006.

Like bookends, diaries help us memorialize, grieve, understand, and sort through that earlier attack on our nation. But also, history helps us struggle through today and what our accountabilities are to those men and women who died in service to their country at Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor becomes one measure of time as Darksyde marks the milestone when George Bush's unilateral invasion of Iraq and the ensuing occupation lasted longer than World War II.

Here we are once again reminded of Pearl Harbor in order to better understand today, a post-9/11 world, and tomorrow, as this "president" markets his war.

And don't even get me started on Kent State..

Since Daily Kos is populated by (arguably) more than few everyday Americans (>135,000), visited by many more than a few, then since we think about Pearl Harbor, ponder on and discuss the events that led up to the attack, the impact on our country, and its historical relevance to today, I believe the claim on today's New York Times is officially debunked.

Some of us at Daily Kos are no better than a front page writer at my favorite daily, the New York Times. But most of us at Daily Kos are much better. I'm glad to be reminded by people more sensitive than I, more historically literate, and more knowledgeable than I, so everyday I come to Daily Kos. I also read the NYT everyday.

I came away from the morning paper with two lessons. One, document your wild ass claims. Duh! And two, don't try to speak for Americans, don't even try, don't speak for Democrats, for Independents, for Republicans (oh my!), for voters, for Kansans, for gays, for soldiers, or for bloggers. At least, if you presume to speak for others besides yourself, don't do it in public without a poll...