Sotomayor assails WWII Japanese-American internment

While I don't agree with every thing Bush said or did over the years, he was "on target" with that set of statements, whether he was responsible for their writing is neither here nor there. There were isolated sections of "hate" against all Muslims, just because they were of that faith, that is sad, but not nearly as widespred as the anti-Japanese sentiment that flared after Pearl Harbor was attacked. In that case we were attacked by a nation/empire, not a fundamentalist religious sect. Different scenes entirely. Unlikely to result in wide-spread removal of foreign nationals, or American citizens of foreign decent.

 

BTW, Hugo Black was a member of then Ku Klux Klan so of course he would vote for discriminatory measures.

Actual and alleged Ku Klux Klan members in United States politics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Bob -- I can't agree with you. My father is a first generation American. His parents were from Lebanon but he was born here in 1927. He is a veteran of WWII, although he never saw combat. I am 50% Lebanese by blood. At no time in the past decade do I feel that any US president has fostered any hatred of Arabs or any other group.

Rather, President Bush sought to distinguish the heinous acts of religious extremists from the peace loving beliefs generally held by the followers of Islam. I live about 3 miles from a mosque that is across the street from a synagogue. When their respective high holy days do not coincide, they share overflow parking so that everyone can attend their religious services. I have never heard anyone in my community or in the extended community of co-workers across the USA express any hatred of Arabs.

For that matter, the most populous Islamic country in the world, if I am not mistaken, is Indonesia -- not an Arab state. Directing bigotry at Arabs would be foolish.

I do not believe we will ever see internment based on religious belief as that would squarely conflict with the First Amendment and I do not believe any court in the USA would support it. Jurists of either party would be unanimous in that regard. Moreover, in assessing current legal principles, it is not truly on point to compare circumstances 70 years ago. The law evolves with public opinion and even lower courts today would likely throw out the precedent set by the high court in Korematsu.

Lastly, Americans are not as prone to paranoia today as they were in 1941 and that is principally because of 1941. The fear of the early war years was sewn by American unpreparedness and isolationism -- a set of conditions which I believe we are unlikely to encounter ever again. Yes, we were shocked after 9-11, but when one considers how quickly we are able to mobilize thereafter, I think most Americans realize that while we may occasionally be sucker punched, we are always going to win the fight. That gives the USA the luxury of reacting to crises in a far more organized way than we did following Pearl Harbor.

 

DGMitchell,

Considering your Lebanese background and your proximity to a Mosque, you are probably correct and I am truly glad to say that.

I must admit that I have perhaps too much of a tendency to worry about minorities. I guess that's the liberal in me.

Is your avatar a picture of your Dad?

By the way, I don't believe that Eisenhower ever saw combat and, as you can tell from my signature, he is one of my historical favorites.

Bob Guercio

 

Bob -- My avatar is Sargeant Saunders, as portrayed by Vic Morrow in the wonderful 1960's television series Combat!. I loved the series and was in the middle of watching it on DVD when I joined the forum.

Ike is also a favorite of mine. If you ever have the chance to visit Abilene, Kansas, the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is an outstanding place to visit!

 

Of course! I should have recognized him as "Combat" was also a favorite show of mine also.

It brings back happy memories because it was also a favorite show of my father who is no longer with us and we used to enjoy it together!

Bob Guercio

 

And after that, why not condem the Spanish Iquisition as well....Why stop there? She might as well "Monday Morning Quarterback" her way all through history.