Sixty-five years ago today it was not Presidents Day. In fact, February 19, 1942 stands out as one of the low points for presidents in the twentieth century, if not one of the low points for presidents ever. On this day in 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which went on to make scapegoats and prisoners out of an entire group of citizens. Japanese Americans who lived on the west coast of the United States, as a result of the Executive Order, were rounded up with only what they could carry and forced into internment camps. They were eventually forced to prove their loyalty to a country that, up until that point, they loved unconditionally, and to a country that, at that particular time, didn't care much for them.
In the Japanese American community we call this the "Day of Remembrance." So, let us remember, and also let us learn.
The full text of Executive Order 9066 can be found here, and this was pulled from it:
I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action to be necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any persons to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restriction the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion.
[emphasis mine]
Know also that this is happening in some way, shape or form right now with prisoners being held in the "War on Terror" because of incredibly circumstantial and even nonexistent ties to whomever "the enemy" happens to be today. They have either committed no crimes or have not been charged with having committed any crimes, and are being held in prison indefinitely. This sounds awfully familiar.
What seldom got mentioned in the overviews of the life of Gerald Ford when he passed away was that he was the one that eventually repealed 9066. While I was not alive when he repealed it, and while President Gerald Ford and I have very little in common politically, I certainly appreciate that he did that.
My maternal grandparents were interned, so this day and this event as well as the aftermath have been stressed throughout my life. In my formal education, however, the internment did not play a big role, if any role at all. It seemed as though it just got a reference as an afterthought. It was mentioned only as sort of a "oh, by the way..." at the end of a lecture extensively explaining the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the US entrance into the war.
As liberals, as progressives, as Americans and as human beings, we are at the forefront of the movement that seeks to make sure that something like the internment never happens again. It is our job to educate, inform and lead.
So, remember February 19. Remember what can happen in a time when the country is vulnerable and elected officials are willing to imprison an entire group of people because of the origin of their heritage or because of the god(s) that they may or may not worship. Go and talk to the Nisei (second generation Japanese American), ask them questions, because they're getting older, and when they're gone an important part of American history will be gone with them.
Go and teach your children, your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews, your cousins, friends, anyone who might not know of these important event in the history of the United States. Explain to them that this is what could happen in a time of mass hysteria in the guise of "safety." As long as Michelle Malkin gets books published that defend the internment, we should be just as vocal saying that we won't stand for it. We need to stop the uncalled for imprisonments of innocent people that are going on right now, and we need to make sure that something like this never happens again.
Never again.