For those not in the know, this past Wednesday was December 7th, also known as Pearl Harbor day. It’s the day when the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor in O’ahu, Hawaii. The attack killed 2,403 military servicemen and 68 civilians and drew the U.S. into WWII. It had history altering consequences and would change generations of people around the world.
The anniversary of Pearl Harbor got a small mention hidden in the interior of most newspapers and maybe a 15 second blurb on the national news.
Yesterday, December 8, was the 25th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. It received frontpage coverage on most major newspapers in the U.S. and probably around the world and was the headlining story for some news reports. Does anyone see a problem with this? Yes, John Lennon’s death deserves mention, but more so than an event that pushed this nation to war? I am not trying to downplay what Lennon did for music, I think he was a genius when it came to music, but he did not alter history. His music did not end up dropping an atomic weapon on its enemy. His music did not end tyranny in 1/3 of the world’s population.
I see this as a sign of the times that we live in. We are more focused on the death of a man who changed music than we are on the deaths of many men and women (and children) who’s demise led this country into the largest armed conflict the world had ever seen. It’s all a little unsettling.