Did You Forget Pearl Harbor? Protectionism is Alive And Well in U.S.

December 8th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

Before all this economic mess, I was satisfied with President Bush. No President is perfect but we haven’t been attacked since 9/11. I live in Northern Virginia. Too close to Washington D.C. not to care that the terrorist haven’t struck again………….

The Day That Will Live in Infamy

You’ve probably heard me say this before, War is not the answer, it’s the solution. It’s a nice thought that all people can live together in Peace and Harmony but history shows us the impossibility of such a dream. There will always be forces that would rather fight than give concessions to it’s people or the people of the world community.

The belief that sitting out a fight will bring it to close faster is ridiculous. Just ask the men and women stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Imagine waking up knowing your country is at peace. You get up, get your children ready for school, and yourself ready for work. It’s just another ordinary day, until you hear a report that bombers are flying over a U.S. Military base. Until you hear they have killed thousands of Americans in a strike we never saw coming. (Conspiracy theorist be damned. I got one coming for you though.) Until we are thrust into a War we thought had nothing to do with us.

Just imagine Pearl Harbor. Imagine that taking place in New York. Oh wait, you don’t have to, just remember Sept. 11. Imagine that taking place in Washington D.C. Oh, 9/11 again. O.K., imagine it happening in the middle of some country town. Damn, 9/11 again.

Are you getting the point?

Those who don’t know History are destined to repeat it.

Let’s get to know some of our history. The Japanese wanted to make sure America wouldn’t interfere in it’s War in the South Pacific. Japan wanted more natural resources and war was the way to get them. The United States placed many sanctions on the Japanese. Yet, talking did not cause the Japanese to stop.

And we had the power to sway. The Japanese were getting most of their supplies from the U.S. We were sending them planes and machinery up until 1940. The U.S. signed the Export Control Act, denying Japan any more assistance in building their arsenal.

We had another big card we didn’t play. We controlled the oil going into Japan. And we didn’t stop sending it. The U.S. thought it would be perceived as an act of War. When we did finally stop sending oil to Japan in the summer of 1941, it wasn’t because we were punishing them for their atrocities is the South Pacific. It had more to do with America trying to conserve it’s own oil supply.

That doesn’t matter though. Japan had a plan and we were a stepping stone in that plan. Japan gave us more credit than we deserved. They thought if they were to attack the the Philippines, America would come to the rescue. Japan thought we had the backbone and the will to fight. But Roosevelt didn’t. He was content in allowing the Japanese to wage war.

On December 7, 1941 America was attacked by the Japanese. We lost over 2,400 people and more than 1,200 were injured. We lost ships and planes, but we gained resolve. We strengthened our backbones and a sleeping giant was awakened.

And we still believe in Protectionism

We are one country out of hundreds. Yes, I believe we are the biggest and the best, but we still are one country. Our boarders are water and two unmilitarized countries. So yes, we can believe that we can’t be touched. But will our belief cause our ultimate downfall?

We are locked in this America were all we think about is what’s happening to us. Prime example, this economic crisis. Let’s take the car industry.

Americans wanted S.U.V.’s. Come on and take your place at the blame table. We played a part in this mess. We watched video’s with stars pulling up in huge Hummer’s and we wanted one. (If you are one of the assholes that rides around in your hummer by yourself, you sit at the head of the table.) If we didn’t do anything else, say save money or invest wisely, we were going to ball.

Now that the crisis is in full effect, it’s the governments fault. They should not allow any other country to sell cars in the U.S. That’s protectionism. Thinking we can exist by ourselves. We forget that other countries build manufacturing plants in our boarders that supply thousands of Jobs. But more that, think about the decision you’ve made.

Did you buy American when you had the chance? I’ll admit, I bought my current car before I cared about any of this. I only cared if the car could get me from point A to point B. It didn’t matter if Americans would lose their jobs if I didn’t buy a Ford. GM’s bottom line wasn’t a concern. The thought of an entire industry failing never crossed my mind. Did it cross yours?

Now, we want to protect. Now, we want to bail out. Now, we want to place blame elsewhere. We want to blame and punish Toyota for diversifying their cars. It can’t be the American companies messed up and made unwise decisions.

We will die trying to protect our own. In some cases, that’s a good thing. But when it comes to the world economy, we can not be content operating within our own boarders. There is at least one car in each American household. In China, about 1 in 7 households have a car. Same in India. If we are going to compete globally, we have to have products in those markets.

If we start telling other countries they can sell in the U.S., they won’t let us sell in their countries. And we will lose.

Just as we lost so many men and women in Pearl Harbor because we thought all we had to do was protect our homeland and we would be all right. Our strength comes with our allies and business partners. Punish them and we only end up punishing ourselves.

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To The Pearl Harbor Victims and Survivors

Thank You. I always try to come up with something to say but it always comes back to those simple three words. A uniform doesn’t make a solider. It takes a man or women with the mind to fight and protect to build a strong military.

You are one of those people that gave me the freedom to write my thoughts freely. Thank You. I know with out your sacrifice, my life would not be in my own hands. So once again, all I can say is Thank You.