Japanese Internment

In a country that prided themselves of being a melting pot of diversity, the idea of internment camps, similar to that of Germany's, seemed absurd.

However, during WWII, the attack on Pearl Harbor set in motion extreme measures by the military for fear of another attack.

In February of 1942, President Franklin D. Rooosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that ordered that anyone of Japanese ancestry resulted in forcible internment.

Considered an act of national security, thousands of Japanese-American families were forced to relocate out of their own homes and to be isolated from the rest of the country.

Thousands of Japanese owners' lost their homes and businesses.

Their new "home" resembled prisons, often held in harsh weather conditions, sharing one bathroom with 250 other families.

Even though thousands of Japanese Americans joined the U.S. Armed Forces against their home country, the U.S. questioned its Asian citizens in fear of expected outbursts.

Japanese Americans suffered greatly and were still considered themselves citizens.

Now, almost 60 years later, can the U.S. be expected to demonstrate another unethical act upon a particular race of people?

After 9/11, there was a stigma that was held against any Middle Eastern person regardless if they were citizens or not.

11 years later, people are still arguing that the creation of a Muslim mosque near the World Trade Center is a sign that terrorists win.

To say the U.S. has improved on their discrimination of races is a lie - it's clear when we observe the attitudes we have on anyone that is related to a Muslim belief.

Clearly, the stereotype still stands if you're Middle Eastern or of Muslim faith, you're a terrorist.

The U.S. could not physically remove populations and place them into internment camps as they did 60 years ago.

Anything resembling an internment camp, especially after WWII, would be considered and deemed unethical.

However, I do think that the U.S. does not interfere with American attitudes placed upon a race, so in essence, the U.S. has not evolved as much as we have liked it to.

The U.S. may prevent the occurrence of isolation of particular races, but with a society that fears of the unknown, stereotypes and accusations may take over and affect the country once again.

source:
http://www.nps.gov/manz/historyculture/index.htm
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1679.html