Pearl Harbor Day

This is the 71^st anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, and our subsequently declaring war with them as a result.  But what I want to remember today is that we then stripped all Japanese Americans of their rights, property and wealth, without compensation, and put them in internment camps.  A wrong that hasn’t been fully righted, and the longer it goes on the less likely it is to happen.  We are not particularly good at saying that we have made a mistake.  Apology is not part of our national language.

Nor has welcoming incoming workers been a strength.  I have been reflecting on America and immigration.   We are a nation of immigrants.  My youngest son is taking a class on understanding American culture, and pointed out that less than 1% of the US population identifies itself as having Native American heritage.  The rest of us came here from somewhere else.  So given that common background, why are we so bad at welcoming the newcomers?  

Everyone comes for something, and a big key to our success as a nation is that we have been able to attract immigrants.  On the flip side, we have greatly benefited from the infusion of hard workers, brain power, and innovation that has come from other nations to our own.  Yet we continue to be stand offish to the newcomers.  Diversity is part of our cultural make up.  It makes us who we are. Let's value it!