{"id":43290,"date":"2021-12-05T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/patriotism-then-and-now-college-students-reflect-on-pearl-harbor-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:12:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:12:52","slug":"patriotism-then-and-now-college-students-reflect-on-pearl-harbor-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/patriotism-then-and-now-college-students-reflect-on-pearl-harbor-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriotism then and now: College students reflect on Pearl Harbor anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Students
Students in Andrew Gulliford\u2019s Recent American History class at Fort Lewis College talk about how the United States has changed since the Pearl Harbor attack 80 years ago. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Japan launched its attack the morning of Dec. 7, 1941 \u2013 80 years ago \u2013 on the Hawaiian naval base Pearl Harbor. The assault killed 2,403 United States personnel, including 68 civilians, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n

The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. By Dec. 11, Germany and Italy had declared war on the U.S., which responded in kind, and America was pulled into the thralls of World War II.<\/p>\n

\"Andrew
Andrew Gulliford talks with students in his Recent American History class at Fort Lewis College about the Pearl Harbor attack, which occurred 80 years ago. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A consensus quickly formed in the U.S. that Japan had issued an attack against America and that the U.S. would retaliate, Fort Lewis College professor Andrew Gulliford said Thursday during his Recent American History course.<\/p>\n

The Axis countries, Japan, Germany and Italy, were tangible threats to the United States\u2019 democracy.<\/p>\n

Today, in modern America, there is not a tangible, international and immediate threat for the country to unite against, Gulliford said. With different values and ideas of what is right and wrong clashing among the minds of Americans and across social media, it is difficult to find a consensus, he said.<\/p>\n

In a sense, tensions within the great melting pot that is America are heating up and starting to bubble over.<\/p>\n

In the shadow of the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack that catapulted the U.S. into \u201cThe Good War,\u201d Gulliford\u2019s students reflected on divisiveness in the U.S. and what it means to be patriotic.<\/p>\n

Students discussed the state of work, social media influence and political extremism in the U.S. today.<\/p>\n

What is American patriotism in 2021?<\/div>\n

As Gulliford illustrated, Pearl Harbor had united 1940s America against a common threat. A consensus was present to rise to the occasion and defend democracy.<\/p>\n

But the Recent American History students didn\u2019t think patriotism was quite the same thing under the reality of world war as it is today.<\/p>\n

Kaelani Hess said patriotism means different things to different people depending on their values. She said her grandfather, who served in WWII, risked his life despite how terrible war is because it was either that or do nothing at all. And should her grandfather have chosen the latter, what would have become of their family?<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s very hard to explain it,\u201d Hess said. \u201cThere\u2019s so many different values that other people have. So one thing that one person could think of as terrible can be something someone else is fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Simone
Simone Leonard said Thursday that \u201cpatriotism\u201d has manifested in modern times as something toxic and misplaced from its original definition. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Simone Leonard said she thinks the modern concept of patriotism has manifested into something toxic. She said the word itself is often misused.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It\u2019s) something that is an unhealthy version of the meaning of the word,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cI think people use the word \u2018patriotism\u2019 to uphold values that are disgusting and justify actions that are reprehensible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gulliford asked his students what the nickname for World War II was.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Good War,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat an odd phrase. The Good War, like war can be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Gulliford pointed out the United States\u2019 objectives then were clear. Americans were fighting Germans in Europe and the Japanese in the Pacific because they were defending democracy and freedom after a direct attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole idea of fixed objectives seems to have changed dramatically,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Kyle
Kyle Overtoom talks on Thursday in Andrew Gulliford's Recent American History class at Fort Lewis College. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Student Kyle Overtoom said many people are mixing up the definitions of \u201cpatriotism\u201d and \u201cnationalism,\u201d and acting like the U.S. is above any form of criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that criticizing the country is actually very patriotic, that\u2019s part of my definition, because it means you want the country to be better,\u201d he said. \u201cYou like it enough to stay and try to help it do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard agreed. She said there\u2019s \u201cnothing more patriotic\u201d than wanting better for the country one calls home. If that means confronting negative aspects of the country, she said, \u201cthen so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emilie Parker said the political divides about matters such as COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement have turned \u201cpatriotism\u201d into a representation of hatred.<\/p>\n

Parker offered what she called an extreme example in The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Proud Boys walk around with American flags and are supposed to represent the ultimate patriot, but really, they just represent hate,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re saying \u2018Get out of the country\u2019 if you don\u2019t represent these values.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do modern American values compare to the past?<\/div>\n

History student Matt Gooley imagines the U.S. might react differently today to a Pearl Harbor-like attack than it did 80 years ago. He speculated there might be more hesitation and a will to find an alternate solution to immediate physical retaliation. Why? Awareness, he suggested.<\/p>\n

Gooley said it is harder to get people to jump onto a movement of retaliation \u2013 that the idea of retaliation first doesn\u2019t work like it used to \u2013 and suggested it could have to do with how quickly information travels across social media.<\/p>\n

\"Kaelani
Kaelani Hess, a student in Andrew Gulliford's Recent American History class at Fort Lewis College, said on Thursday that patriotism may mean different things to different people depending on their values. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ian
Ian Warner said Thursday that society appears to be shifting from a more blue collar, work-centric lifestyle to one with more emphasis on education and technological advances. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Hess said the concept of the American Dream was simpler or more \u201cblack and white\u201d in the 1940s. She said from her perspective, people pursue personal achievement more than they used to and offered the example that more women attend college today, even surpassing the number of men going to postsecondary education.<\/p>\n

Student Ian Warner said the value of work has changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork was a big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople wanted to find work and jobs and it was a big (thing) everyone did.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 1930s, the era of the Great Depression, there weren\u2019t generally any jobs. By the time the \u201940s came around, people were excited and happy to have jobs, Gulliford said.<\/p>\n

The students talked about how society appears to be shifting from a more blue collar lifestyle focused on work to one with a greater focus on education and technological advancement. A consensus formed in the classroom among some of the students that work isn\u2019t as much a primary a goal as it used to be for young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no incentive to work,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cNobody wants to give their life for pennies. There\u2019s no reason to work like dogs. And everybody\u2019s realized that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overtoom drew a connection between the labor and worker shortage, or the \u201cGreat Resignation,\u201d to the fundamentals of economics. He said there\u2019s been a spike in demand for goods, which raised demand for workers. But workers have begun to realize that with that increased demand they also have more bargaining power.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if they quit, they\u2019re going to be missed more,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they just don\u2019t work \u2026 then businesses are going to be forced to increase wages to hire more workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kareena
Kareena Hoover participated in Andrew Gulliford\u2019s Recent American History class at Fort Lewis College. Class members discussed the evolution of American values, the concept of patriotism and more subjects ahead of the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Kareena Hoover said the current COVID-19 pandemic causes new stresses for people just trying to attend class or work.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack then it was just walking out your door and going to your job 9 to 5,\u201d Hoover said. \u201c(And now there\u2019s) the growing tension and fear of being around people and not knowing if you were going to get sick or make the people you love sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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