Pearl Harbor and the Art of Politics
The American Story
Christopher Flannery
4.6 • 941 Ratings
🗓️ 6 December 2022
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
December 7, 2021 is the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought America into World War II. It is one of many days in the American year that inspire reflection on the most violent and determinative human event: war—and the art of war that aims to control and direct that most uncontrollable human undertaking.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the American Story. We are grateful to all of you for tuning in each week and sharing |
| 0:07.5 | these stories with family, friends, and neighbors. And we're grateful for your generous support. |
| 0:13.0 | Thanks to you at Years End, we will have 129 Evergreen episodes, a collection of stories about the |
| 0:19.3 | things that make America the country we know and love. |
| 0:22.8 | We will release our final episode on December 28. |
| 0:26.6 | I hope each story contains some beautiful truth about our country that is worth hearing again and again. |
| 0:32.5 | This is Chris Flannery with the Claremont Institute. |
| 0:35.7 | I call this one Pearl Harbor and the Art of Politics. |
| 0:42.5 | December 7, 2021 is the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought America |
| 0:50.8 | into World War II. It is one of many days in the American year |
| 0:55.7 | that inspire reflection on the most violent and determinative human event. |
| 1:01.2 | War. |
| 1:02.3 | And the art of war that aims to control and direct that most uncontrollable human undertaking. |
| 1:10.0 | It has always been the case, and will always be the case, that some |
| 1:14.8 | nations will choose to make war for what they think is their advantage. On December 1st, 1941, |
| 1:22.9 | Emperor Hirohito met with Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and his cabinet. Tojo argued that Japan's aims |
| 1:31.0 | could not be achieved peacefully, and the cabinet voted unanimously for war. So at 7.55 a.m., Hawaiian |
| 1:39.3 | local time, on December 7th, Japanese dive bombers began their attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet, |
| 1:46.6 | anchored at Pearl Harbor, on Oahu Island, Hawaii. |
| 1:50.8 | Simultaneously, Japan attacked Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the U.S. territories of the Philippines and Guam. |
| 2:03.0 | It is part of the human condition that God gives the world to men in common, |
| 2:07.9 | but every political community must begin by acquiring and establishing dominion over a particular part of the world. |
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