Opaque Lucidity

Sulu

I heard an interview a few days ago with George Takei, the actor best known for his portrayal of Lieutenant (later Captain) Hikaru Sulu in the original 'Star Trek' series and movies. He was born in Los Angeles in the 1930's and as an American of Japanese descent (he was born here---his father came from Japan), he was one of tens of thousands of US citizens sent to live in detention camps for the duration of the war.

Stop and think about that: the US government sent Americans to camps based on nothing more than the fact they looked like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. Today, we fight over the rights of terrorists. But those 1st and 2nd generation Americans went to the camps, almost without incident. No lawyers, no riots---just compliance. And it wasn't pretty; anyone with a private business lost it unless he could turn it over to someone trustworthy. When I think about this, I remember a picture I saw of a bare storefront with one sentence painted on the glass: I AM AN AMERICAN.

Takei gave me something else to remember. He was five when his family went to a camp in Arkansas and lost everything. When he began his education, he went to a tar paper shack that served as the camp's only school. Every morning, he and his classmates recited the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag mounted on a wall. Next to the flag was a window through which could be seen the high fence and a manned guard tower. Takei said that he used to stare out the window as the pledge was recited and think, "...with liberty and justice for all."