We live in an electronic age, and have so many choices to occupy our time.

On Demand, Netflix, and a DVR of our favorite shows are all immediate gratification for our entertainment needs.

And I have a terrible confession to make.

As a publisher of a magazine, I’ve been lazy with my reading!

So on a recent weekend trip for work, I found myself at an airport with a void in my electronic choices. So I started to read Bill O’Reilly’s (co-authored by Martin Dugard) “Killing The Rising Sun.” (Politics aside, I find his series of books a historical treasure.)

So much of life is about perspective, and this story brings us back to a day where our very existence was in jeopardy.

Hitler’s Nazi regime was defeated in WWII, but Japan’s Emperor Hirohito had bombed Pearl Harbor, invaded China, and was bent on capturing at least his part of the globe.

Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb weighed heavy. He knew that innocent civilians, including women and children, would pay the price for their country’s greed.

Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” on Hiroshima. Bockscar’s “Fat Man” obliterated Nagasaki.

Two nuclear blasts incinerated hundreds of thousands. The radioactive debris rained down and killed scores more with glowing and toxic ash.

The outcome of the book is well known, but I refer back to my sentence about perspective.

We are now living in uncertain times. And for the first time I can remember since the late 60’s, our future may be a bit cloudy.

But let us not forget the price our brave servicemen paid for our freedom, enduring horrific treatment in POW camps in Southeast Asia, and flying dangerous missions over hostile lands.

If we do indeed remember, it will help guide our current leadership to make the proper choices in the future.

History need not repeat itself, if we commit to learning from it.

So pick up a book, and read about America.

There may well never be a better time to do it.