CONGRESS IN ITS INFINITE WISDOM

CONGRESS IN ITS INFINITE WISDOM

by Robert Schneider
[email protected]

WW II ended 6o yrs. ago but the apology needed to conclude the conflict never came. It has been expected because civilized people do it and people expect it; it must be sincere, unambiguous and official.

The lack of an apology from Japan has been a daily topic since the war. The general feeling that I get is that China and Japan “needle” each other to keep the matter of an apology “on the front burner “. This includes China and other countries and Japan and other countries. When there is an opportunity to tone down the rhetoric; one country turns up the heat. Here is an example, an American sub. recently surfaced under a Japanese trawler and caused considerable damage. The US took quick action to apologize, make restitution and help with salvage.

That wasn’t enough, Japan claimed we should have done more . This sounds more like Japan and China………..

A Chinese sub sailed off course into Japanese waters at which time they were accused of all sorts of things and the words restitution and apology were heard more than once. We could continue, but isn’t it odd how often and quick Japan calls for an apology and yet the 60 years since WW II have slipped by unnoticed (to Japan)?

Many cases could be cited but the last one is a current one; it may not be totally accurate but it is to the extent possible. The next one involves the Congress of the United States and Japan but they are culpable in different ways.

An endeavor has been underway for about 7 months to get an apology from Japan. A bill was drawn up to be introduced into Congress, called: “Getting an Apology from Japan”. Letters to Congress and follow=up letters searching for a congressman to introduce the bill were ignored (except in two instances).  Communications on this subject from Congress suddenly ceased without explanation. This statement is correct but the reader is invited to make what he may of it.

Could it be that the logic is too difficult to try to explain supporting Japan as a Permanent  Member of the Special Committee of the United Nations, and, at the same time, try to negotiate to get an apology? In May 19-20, 2005, Secretary of State Condelleeza Rice informed Japan in a speech in Tokyo that they had the full support of the United States to become a permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations 

This move probably caught our veterans off guard even though they had been ignored by Congress for a long time. There is, however, an amusing side; consider,   the apology which I was trying to have Congress get, was for the 6oth Anniversary to honor veterans and all people who suffered through the war. It appears that the veterans outsmarted themselves , or knew something we didn’t know. 

In any case, it is clear that Congress chose Japan over our veterans but perhaps the vets were aware of other things and went ahead to stop the assistance we were  counting on.  I have never heard of Congress making a topic  that is valid “off limits” , but then, this is politics.
It is probably safe to speculate that Japan will become the permanent member of the Security Council and someone may show our veterans the appreciation they earned 60 yrs. ago.

HERE IS A PRESCRIPTION FOR SUCCESS

EVEN NOW

1. Remember the First Amendment; to avoid problems, forget your organization and become a “veteran”
2. Communicate with your elected federal officials and tell them that 60 yrs. have passed and now you expect them to work to gat an apology from Japan.
3. Forget that Congress locked us out; make enough calls and your elected official will find a way to accommodate you.. Many calls can be made to the same official; one call per person to each official. Since there are over 400 Representatives, distribution of the calls must be considered.
4. Suggested reading is :   www.veteranstoday.com    [  5 articles by Schneider ]
5. Don’t forget the 1st. Amendment applies to you

GOOD LUCK