Help to keep the horrific surprise of December 7th, 1941, in the past, by remembering Pearl Harbor Day today

Remember to remember. Remember that while we're preoccupied with our concerns of the day, the worst lessons of our yesterdays - such as the unexpected attack upon us 82 years ago today - can return in an instant to consume our present. Remember that when such lessons are least expected, is always Today. Remember to remember the lack of awareness that shaped our past, so that today and tomorrow may be different for us.

Remember that December 7th, 1941, dawned as just another morning, when a world of change suddenly came upon the world from out of a clear blue sky.

Sometimes you need a bit of perspective... today, the 7th of December, is a fine day to get it. Don't just recall, which we all so routinely do, but mentally, spiritually, put them back together - Re-member what led to those events, re-member them, or we may be doomed to repeat our history again after all.

Remember that days like the 7th of December 1941, can bring with them a very different sort of crisis, than the sort of thing which our media calls a crisis today, and every other day. A real clash of cultures rang out eighty-one years ago today, that truly should live in infamy - but it can do so only if we remember to re-member that it was a day that saw two thousand four hundred and three people slaughtered, and which led us into four years of war and the loss of millions of lives worldwide.

Remember that the smoke that rose over our ships December 7th, 1941, led to the smoke that rose over Hiroshima and Nagasaki four horrifically bloody years later, as well as the age of nuclear war that hangs over our heads still today.

Remember that things can become infinitely worse than they are right now, in an instant.

Remember that on December 7th, 1941, in the midst of negotiations to preserve peace, those we negotiated with, attacked us. Remember that sometimes negotiations for peace are simply preparations for war.

Remember and re-member, the 7th of December, for if history becomes only about the past, it will lose all of its meaning, and your children will have to learn its lessons anew.

Remember also that those who serve in our military are always at risk of having the ultimate price demanded of them - and they have agreed up front to pay it for you.

Remember that at Pearl Harbor 82 years ago, Americans were reminded that the freedom to be on the left or right, is not free.

Remember to honor them, and to honor that which you share with them, the liberty and freedom of being an American.

These are lessons to learn, and to remember.

Remember... because it matters that you do.