Wandering Wonderings: Man's Inhumanity toward Man
On a road trip down the 395 in California, I made a sightseeing pit stop. I had passed this place on the way north. Totally missing it. Not even realizing it was there. If a dear friend had not messaged me about it, I would have completely missed out on a soul-searching, heart-growing experience. Where did I go?
Manzanar.
Never heard of it? Not surprised. This little tidbit of American history is mentioned in school, but usually only briefly. This place represents a less than shining moment in our past and forces us to remember the horrors of prejudice and fear-mongering.
So what is this place?
"In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II." --National Park Service
The men and women FORCED to relocate to this facility committed no crime. There was no due process and no legal recourse. They were business owners and professionals....parents and children....farmers and laborers. They came from every walk of life. Many were US servicemen and FOUGHT for us all, yet those they loved were essentially imprisoned for no other reason than being Japanese.
The conditions under which these people were forced to live were horrendous. And yet many who lived there worked hard to create a sense of community and something beautiful. They did what they could to hang on to hope — to persevere. Many died never tasting freedom again.
This place is free to visit, and I wish more people would. Yes, it is sad. No, you won't be all joyful when you leave. But you will get a swift kick in the feels and come out a better person. You will realize that the past is never really the past. You will see the echoes of what was in what is.
And you will understand that there is more to being patriotic and loving your country than flags, fireworks, and parades. There is ugly in our past — make you want to vomit and turn away in disgust type of ugly.
You will have a better understanding of what it really means to be human and what it means to overcome.
You will see that many of the things that make Americans who we are were born out of the strength of those we victimized. It is the strength of those people — who had every right to be angry and turn away ….who chose to stay...to build...to contribute — who make us who we are as a nation.
There is no "I'm sorry" heartfelt enough for what happened at Manzanar and other camps like it. The greatest tribute we can pay to these individuals is to know, to share, and to do everything we can to ensure it never happens again, so their sacrifices and struggles were not in vain.
