When the Going Gets Tough..the Minorities Get Internment

After Pearl Harbor, the country was terrified, especially along the West Coast. The proximity of the attack was exaggerated by the large presence of the  American Japanese in California. Since there was no evidence of any Japanese-American involvement in the attack, the argument was made that the Japanese were lying low, waiting to pounce. Thus, the absence of something was proof it existed. Executive Order 9066, ordering the  forcible removal of Americans of Japanese descent from the Pacific coast, was signed by the liberal Roosevelt in 1942. 120,000 American citizens--Americans--were moved out of their homes into squalid camps and ancient Indian reservations.

This serves as another example of a rule in politics that should give caution to anyone expecting government to do the right thing: "When the going gets tough, everyone loses their principles."