Reflections on Pearl Harbor and Propaganda

Americans need to know the truth and remember the lessons that should have been learned from such a deadly and costly tragedy

The Pearl Harbor attack was a very brutal act of war and is considered a horrendous atrocity. Of this, there is no doubt. In just two hours, over 2,400 Americans had been killed. 1,178 military personnel and civilians had been wounded, 188 aircraft had been destroyed with an additional 159 more aircraft damaged, and approximately 20 ships were either completely sunk or handily damaged. Such a vision is usually the limit of what citizens may recall about the horrific incident, if they are able to remember their history lessons, if they were even taught such history rooted in reality, rather than muddied by misinformation or disinformation. However, Americans need to know that there was much more.

Americans need to know the truth and remember the lessons that should have been learned from such a deadly and costly tragedy. Such a brutal attack is part of the historical record now. Contemporary military historians usually agree that the surprise bombing and torpedo assault on U.S. planes and ships on December 7, 1941, was one of the most successful in the history of warfare. Japan’s extremely belligerent, empire-building.

Many concerned Americans remember this as a “Day of Infamy” as Franklin D. Roosevelt made it clear in the speech he gave to Congress the following day. Thus December 7, 1941, is etched in history. Roosevelt received word by telephone that afternoon. Although Harry Hopkins, one of Roosevelt’s top aides, could not believe the report, the president was reported as explaining to Hopkins that "It was just the kind of unexpected thing the Japanese would do. At the very time they were discussing peace in the Pacific, they were plotting to overthrow it." The news of the attack activated Roosevelt and his advisers to focus on fragmentary reports about the severity of the damage to U.S. installations, ships, and planes in Hawaii.

This bold act of terror was designed to cripple the Pacific Fleet as well as generate fear in the U.S. and elsewhere

President Roosevelt decisively decided to go before Congress the next day and request a declaration of war upon the imperial nation of Japan. He crafted the words carefully, and his speech is reported to be one of the most famous speeches of the twentieth century. But, by the time the president addressed Congress on December 8, 1941, the Empire of Japan “had undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area.” F.D.R. reported to Congress he was aware that Japan had launched simultaneous attacks against Hong Kong, the Philippine Islands, Malaya, Guam, Wake Island, and Midway.

As news of the attack had spread by radio and word of mouth across the nation, millions of people were stunned and overwhelmed by anger, fear, or grief. Americans soon learned that Japan had attacked the U.S. stronghold in order to keep the only nation that could stop them out of its empire-building way. This bold act of terror was designed to cripple the Pacific Fleet as well as generate fear in the U.S. and elsewhere. This horrific attack was a powerful show of force – a demonstration of Japan’s military might, intended to instill terror in the American public, which it did.

Americans found such a devastating attack hard to believe, and had to grapple with their grief over so much loss of human life and such sudden and violent destruction. It was similar to public reaction after 9/11 in 2001.

Sometimes conspiracy theories are not theories, but sometimes they are pure propaganda

Additionally, similar to the concerns after 9/11, the Pearl Harbor attack concerned the public. And even though President Roosevelt went before Congress the very next day to firmly request a declaration of war on the Empire of Japan, some political operatives, media intellectuals, and scholars began to dispute whether the U.S. government was indeed responsible. This was so even though it was evident that the Empire of Japan had initiated the attack and was proud of the success. Americans were in such a state of shock, and as people mourned the tremendous loss of life, some citizens began to demand answers to know why the U.S. military had not been prepared for the attack. Rumors began to circulate that President Roosevelt was determined to draw the nation into war, and had baited Japan with a tempting target of an unguarded harbor.

In a similar manner, conspiracy theories surfaced after the terrible terrorist attacks on 9/11 in 2001. Conspiracy theories surfaced after Israel was attacked on October 7 regarding the Israeli government being responsible for Hamas’ attacks. The reality is that conspiracy theories can be quite harmful. Those who do not do their due diligence in performing the necessary research for the truth do harm. Sometimes conspiracy theories are not theories, but sometimes they are pure propaganda. Those sources of the conspiracy theory casting doubt or assigning blame upon F.D.R. or his Administration, it may have been the Empire of Japan or sympathizers. The purpose? To weaken trust in the federal government or to gain political advantage over an opponent’s misfortunes.

While contemporary historians and common American citizens today may disagree regarding a number of variations of conspiracy theories attached to the cause, it is an essential fact that the source of the attack on Pearl Harbor was the Japanese Imperial military. Nevertheless, this article is not a book and regardless of internal U.S. politics and sheer intellectual speculation (minus hard evidence), conspiracy theories need to be verified, especially now in 2023. 

There are enough conspiracy theories for everyone today. Much misinformation and disinformation is cascading through various channels of varied media sources today, and it is a challenge for average American citizens to sort the truth from lies. That is a purpose of disinformation to create confusion and sustain ignorance.

The preliminary cause of the attack on Pearl Harbor originated with the leaders of the Japanese Army as they initiated a coup against those politicians who opposed their tyrannical objectives.

Eventually, Japan’s civilian government collapsed and the militarists intent on world dominion took control of their nation. They had calculated the benefits of their outrageous attack, and yet remained determined to eliminate all obstacles in their way to build empire. The Japanese Imperial Army had developed a devious, destructive, and deadly dictatorship from 1921 to 1941. The leaders of this military dictatorship had deceived their own Emperor, the civilian leaders who promoted democracy, and their people. Deceit is the basis for propaganda and these militarists were very good at deception.

A major lesson the wise can learn from this moment in history is that a free people need to be extremely wary of deceptive, manipulative and violent militarists who clamor for power. However, free citizens must be quite vigilant to prevent too much power from concentrating in the hands of extremely determined and poorly restrained absolutist leaders. That is exactly why brave colonists were willing to risk their very lives to oppose elitist /British absolutists and create the United States. It is a lesson to be applied to the political divisions in America today.