They knew that they, along with the rest of the country, were in for hard times, as relocation proved to be. Studying the Doolittle Raiders trophy case at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where a silver cup of each flyer is turned upside down as time takes its toll. Pearl Harbor, the history, teaches us not to fear the burdens of freedom. Pearl Harbor , the film, would teach us that our diversity is a strength. Not quite so.
Diversity is a challenge.
Our strength lies, rather, in our common love of freedom and the insistence that everybody have it. But freedom also imposes conditions, often harsh, on those who would cherish it. That duty is what civilized nations forget and their statesmen are continually obliged to etch into the national memory. Ken Masugi is Director of the Center for Local Government, at the Claremont Institute. He has served as John M. Olin Distinguished Visiting Professor and Olin Visiting Research Scholar at the U.S. Air Force Academy.