Japanese American Internment sample essay

The terrorist attack of Pearl Harbor struck the world on December 7th, 1941 and instantly sparked off the war between the USA and Japan, which entailed not only chaos but also the forcible imprisonment of thousands of innocent people. I suppose that it was definitely not a solution and in no way could alleviate the problem or compensate human or financial loss. However, thinking back to the situation there is a really profound insight needed in order to work out what was correct and crucial then.

The actions the American government moved into right away were a foreseen reaction in order to prevent further attacks. On the other hand, it was obvious that detention of thousands of the actual residents would not lead to the detection of the perpetrators of the crime as it was hardly possible for them to be legal and law-obedient residents of the United States. Although there were some understandable reasons for the steps the government took, the isolation of the people of Japanese descent should have been peaceful and should not be against the human rights, even if the latter were articulately outlined and stated not until the World War Two was over. The Japanese might have been registered, interrogated, expatriated, even isolated to the specially designated areas, but under no circumstances shut off in the internment camps without any human conditions of existence. The Japanese have been kept without passable cooking, washing or heating facilities for four years, with the last internment camp closing down in 1948. They suffered from cold and thousands didn’t pull through various diseases without proper treatment. From my point of view, these measures were downright unacceptable and appalling as thousands of innocent people, who had nothing to do with the terrorists, were put in charge for the strategic steps and political intrigue of the Japanese government and were made to pay for them at the price of their lives, welfare and freedom.

The media images and stereotypes that ensued certainly didn’t do any good to the Japanese who had already been treated with suspicion. The Americans were persuaded to feel hostile towards the Japanese just because of their nationality, with the firm foundations for this hostility laid by Pearl Harbor attack. In fact, there was little difference between the USA and Nazi German which the whole world still censure for its terrible atrocities committed to the peoples of Europe, which date back to the same time when the Japanese were stranded in the internment camps, cut off from their families and means of communication. Besides, it is worth mentioning that once the prejudiced attitude is raised, it is hard to ditch, especially if it is based on some permissible reasons. The disregard and prejudice some people still demonstrate towards the German is a vivid example in support of my argument.

Both the matters of Pearl Harbor and September, 11 are extremely disputable and their consideration depends on the side they are viewed from. But as far as I am concerned, the policy of the United States in relation to Iraq and the Iraqi serves as a confirmation of the fact that the humankind has made a great leap towards realization and evaluation of the human dignity. I presume that my statement is disputable as well because the matters of abuse, cruelty and ruthlessness still do take place from both sides. Nevertheless, the internment camps were not set up and both countries may have a say and present their point of view concerning the conflict. A lot of Americans expressed the view that they didn’t want to take revenge on the Iraqi as it was not the population of the whole country that was to blame but the people who managed the country. On the other hand, the USA broke the war with Iraq which many people were against, thus demonstrating that there still is a long way towards establishing true democracy.

To sum up, I would like to stress that both the issues of the wars with Iraq and Japan may not have a single opinion about and neither of the sides was absolutely innocent or guilty. The only thing I would like to point out is that, in my opinion, no measure, even rush and justified, can be vindicated, if it concerns the detention of the population and the undeserved deprivation of its basic human rights for freedom, life and security.

Bibliography

1. Japanese American Internment. Retrieved October 1, 2005, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment

2. Weglyn M.(1976). Years of Infamy. Morrow Quill Paperbacks, New York, p. 33-53.

3. Mukay, G. Teaching about Japanese-American Internment. Retrieved January 12, 2000, from ERIC Digest. Website: http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/japanese.htm

4. Boer, J. Japanese-American Internment during Pacific War Instructive Analogy for Protecting Civil Liberties Today. Retrieved November 12, 2004, from GLOCOM Platform. Website:

http://www.glocom.org/special_topics/us_report/20041112_usreport_s18/

5. Kieda, T. Japanese American internment not justified. Retrieved August 12, 2004, from Seattlepi. Website: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/185873_densho12.html
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