There are still a few things around that can be said are 100% real American. The idea of freedom at any cost, integrity to the flag, and respect for the men and women who fought for the United States. Both those who survived various wars and conflicts and for those who gave the ultimate sacrifices. These sacrifices were made to ensure that any American who wants to celebrate his or her religion, pray to the God they believe in and to cast their vote from their heart, the right to keep doing that.
There was a time, however, when people believed that things like that were to be applauded and not told to be careful not to let everyone hear how patriotic you are. Since the attacks of 9/11 when 2997 people died and over 6,000 were wounded, and an overwhelming n resurgence of nationalism and cries of ‘USA!’ 24 years ago, a shadow of political correctness has been present both overtly and covertly. Maybe we should start remembering how our grandparents, and parents pushed those shadows aside and created a level of American pride and patriotism we seem to be looking for. Not forgetting our past or sugar coating it, but reviving it and remembering what America was then.
Before Dec. 7, 1941 when the United States was forced into WWII by Japan, the game of baseball was the heartbeat of America. When Pearl Harbor was left in ruins and over 3,500 were killed or wounded, the blow hit the belly of every American like a ton of bricks. In light of that, weeks after the attack, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Commissioner of Major league Baseball wrote a letter to President Roosevelt letting him know tht if need be, he would put baseball on hold. However, if that was not what Roosevelt wanted, the president would have to make that call. Within a day of receiving Landis’ letter, Roosevelt responded with a letter of his own. It was known as ‘The Green Light Letter’. In the one-page letter Roosevelt told Landis, “I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going!’ Roosevelt saw the game and all that it embodied as way to give the people who were working tirelessly to keep the troops supplied and the country nourished a way to let out their frustrations and a venue to regroup. Landis encouraged the 6,000 players to continue with their schedules and for the next four seasons the game of baseball helped to bring people together and to prove that no matter what hardships we faced, even the horror of WWII, the country would survive. Is that putting too much credit on a game? No! That is giving credit where credit is due. Just ask your grandparents.
For the next 3 years, on January 15, major events took place that cemented the patriotism of the nation, helping to bring an end to the war both in Europe and in the South Pacific. In 1943, 1,000 workers completed the air conditioning system for the Pentagon and later that same year the world’s largest office building was opened to house the U.S. Military.
In 1944, on Jan. 15, General Dwight Eisenhower arrived in England to take up his mantal as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces also known simply as the Allies against the Nazi war machine. Then, same date in 1945, The Manhattan Project’s G-5 Group took the first ever beta Tron pictures of a nuclear implosion at the laboratory in Los Alamos. Manhattan Project was the code name for the secret organization behind the creation and development of the atomic bomb used to end WWII.
From baseball to the atom bomb, January 15 has played a very important role in the spirit of America, and now we know why. The things that we learn on a day-to-day basis could surprise us and, in some way, even inspire us to find that patriotism we may be looking for to reunite us as a country and to encourage us to reach deep into our heats and proudly proclaim the we are Americans! It’s not a dirty word, you know. It’s who we are is all.
What’s in a Day?
