Thanks to all the people who have responded to my posting. I apologize if
the intensity of my concerns offended people. I did not at all mean to
express that eyewitness accounts are a less valuable historical source than
other types of documents. I merely meant to question whether the comparison
to Pearl Harbor would lead us in unfortunate directions (ie internment or use
of nuclear weapons). I appreciate fully that the comparison may seem as
Clifton Patrick suggested in his thoughtful post "natural and to be
expected." One of the reasons I always liked history is its ability to
illuminate how some things look natural and others look strange. We can only
hope that internment and nuclear bombs look as unnatural now as girdles do.