This year's program entitled, "When Loyalty is Questioned... from Tule Lake to Guantanamo," brings together events from the past to compare them with the present. Then, as now, to have your loyalty questioned was a terrible thing. To be guilty simply because you were a Japanese American or to be suspected of being in league with terrorists because you are Middle Eastern or Muslim was and is a soul searing experience.

We have no quarrel with holding people accountable for actual acts of treason and criminal conduct, but  when people are held simply because of their race or religion, we know that the rule of law and rationality as a foundation of our American way of life is in grave danger.

We want to raise some questions today: How do you respond when your loyalty is questioned? What do you do? How do you show your loyalty to America and to the American way of life?

For instance, looking back at our experiences as Japanese Americans during World War II, was the fact that almost all  110,000 people complied with Executive Order 9066 and went into the camps an act of loyalty? It was easy enough to say that the Nisei men and women that served in the armed forces showed their loyalty by offering their lives in the service of their country, but what of others who refused induction by resisting the draft? Could this not also be seen as an act of loyalty, by challenging the system to hold true to the Constitution at the risk of imprisonment in a federal penitentiary?

And what does "loyalty" mean today if you are an American of the Muslim faith. Does it mean that you ask your mothers, sisters and daughters to not cover their heads? Does it mean that you avoid air travel so that you do not make people feel uncomfortable? Does it mean that you have to preface every statement with a denunciation of terrorism in order to assure others that you are a loyal American?

As we listen to our speakers today, we hope that we can gain some insight into all the things that can happen when your "loyalty" is in question. Some experiences, as in the case of Tule Lake, can be extremely traumatic. Tule Lake became the focal point for those who did not give the"right" answers, meaning "yes-yes" to questions #27 and #28 on the loyalty questionnaire required of all adult internees. Question #27 asked, "Are you willing to serve: in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty wherever ordered?" The loyalty question #28, "Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, to any other foreign government, power or organization?" Simply put, if your answers were "no, no" or you qualified your answer or you scribbled an obscenity, chances were, that you were on your way to Tule Lake. There were many reasons for the answers people gave and "loyalty" had little to do with it.

Those of us who remember Tule Lake or were interned there find an uncomfortable echo when we look at what is happening to detainees here and at Guantanamo. Reminiscent of the internment process that affected the Japanese Americans, those being held do not know what they are being charged with. What did they do and what sort of evidence is there against them? Even more basic, who are they and how long will they be held and what sort of law will apply to them? We hope that our speakers from the South Asian and Muslim community will help us understand what is occurring in their communities.

And what does "loyalty" mean to those of us who are here today - many who have been through the Vietnam War and Watergate? Does it mean that we are more "loyal" by not questioning the conduct of the war in Iraq? Are we "disloyal" to our troops if we sign petitions against the war or read books, newspapers, or movies that are critical of the policies of the government of the United States?

Perhaps, instead of questioning other peoples' loyalty, we might question the actions and decisions that we are being asked to follow or support. Our government made a mistake in 1942 and admitted its mistake by apologizing to the Issei and Nisei who were interned and paying $20,000 to each person. Perhaps, if more people in this country had questioned the actions of the government then, and had looked to the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and basic human brights as their guide, this mistake would not have happened. The campaign for redress strengthened our community and our country. We have another opportunity to remind our government and others that our "loyalty" is not to blindly follow but to question whether rights guaranteed by our constitution are being protected. instead of allowing our government to make mistakes as it did with the camps and to violate peoples' rights as it is doing today with the Patriot Act, in Guantanamo and Abu Graib, we need to speak out.

We hope that the program today will provide greater insight and foster better understanding of what happens to people when their loyalty is unfairly questioned and what we can do to protect all of our rights.