Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2004 - 62

my near constant companion. The parallel with the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was obvious, and the feeling that we had
been called to war was overpowering. We all agreed that immediate steps needed to be taken to preserve our safety, protect our freedoms, and safeguard our way of life. However,
even in the moments of my most righteous anger, I felt the
memory of Al temper that anger with reason. I understood that
the actions we took would be a reflection of our American
character in the eyes of history and the world.
Thus I began to feel a new apprehension with the passage
of the Patriot Act, and it has grown steadily. With each new report of privacy invasion, suspension of civil rights, and violations of due process I have felt my dread grow. With the
reports of the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison and the Military Intelligence interrogation sites in Afghanistan, I've sensed our fall
from the moral high ground.
Within each of us, as within our American society, there
is a constant debate and negotiation between our fears and
our better instincts. One of our greatest strengths and most
cherished freedoms is that this debate can happen openly in
our democracy. This is never easy, as the obligations of freedom are difficult, and living up to our ideals is tough work.
But if we are to be the real Americans that Al believed in, we
must find the strength and courage to remain true to our ideals even during the toughest trials.
If I could have a wish for our country today, I would wish it
were possible for each and every one of us to spend a few minutes

in solemn conversation with a certain small, modest, and dignified
man who had, long ago, been down this road before us. ❖
Note: more information about the Japanese American
relocation sites is available in the excellent book,
Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II
Japanese American Relocation Sites, by J. Burton, M. Farrell,
F. Lord, and R. Lord. The full text of this book is available on a
National Parks Service Web site at http://www.cr.nps.gov/
history/online_books/anthropology74/index.htm.
THE LIVING HISTORY PROJECT is jointly sponsored and
funded as an all-commission project by the Commissioner's
Fund and the commissions of the Institute. The objective is to
videotape interviews with those individuals who have had significant involvement with the history of the Institute from its
founding to the present. This process was initiated at the 1999
conference in Toronto. It is envisioned that over the next few
years some 75 to 100 individuals will be interviewed. The ongoing project will then continue to record the Institute's history as it unfolds.
The Living History Project is chaired by Richard D.
Stephens, who authored the above article. He wishes to thank
Richard Arnold, Sarah B. Faszholz, Justin E. Johnson, David
Rodger, Hank Schwemmer, and Bernhard R. Works for editorial suggestions, and the USITT office staff for research
assistance.

TD & T

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http://www.cr.nps.gov/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2004