Enter Into History The Atomic Bomb

Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary that the world changed forever. As you all know, on August 6, 1945 the United States army dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing thousands and leaving behind radiation that made many people sick long after. 3 days later on August 9th, the city of Nagasaki was also bombed in the same fashion, leaving behind the same results.

There was coverage of the ceremonies around the world and profiles of survivors, but few Western media outlets openly denounced those acts for what they were; war crimes. Japan was on the side of the Nazis, and was thus enemies with the Allies, but the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki themselves did nothing to warrant the destruction of their entire cities with the lethal effects to boot. They were a civilian population, and there was no excuse for targeting them in that fashion. Many people believe that dropping the atomic bomb wasn't even necessary, and many scientists who worked on the bomb project had second thoughts once they saw the destructive potential. That's just the tip of the iceberg, as there's practically no discussion whatsoever of atrocities committed on German and Japanese civilians (minus brief mention of the suspensions of the civil liberties of Japanese Canadians while the war was on) at the hands of Allied soldiers.

Some are going to accuse me of being either anti-American or a Nazi sympathiser. In the first place, what's relevant is not who dropped the atomic bombs, but the fact that the bombs were dropped at all. In the second place, Hitler's crimes were atrotious, and even people who have pacifist leanings believe that WWII was necessary to stop Hitler. It's frightening to think about what would have happened had Hitler won, but let's be honest about something. The reason we are taught historically that Britain, France, and Canada (and 2 years later the US) were white knights out to rid the world of the evil Hitlerian menace and that the Nazi war criminals were quickly brought to justice is because our side won that struggle. Funny, few people realise that before the war, the business community on this side of the Atlantic admired Hitler and wanted us to go in that direction. Few people also realise that Canada, the United States, and many European countries turned their backs on Jewish refugees trying to escape from Hitler.

What's despicable about Hitler is that he manipulated his own citizens to keep his grip on power; those who disagreed with him risked abbreviated life expectancies. Yet, out leaders also manipulated us in that conflict. People shot at one another and bombed cities because that's what they were told to do, and it left behind massive devastation, death, and brokenness throughout Europe and Southeast Asia. Wars have thoughout history been started not by citizens but by elites looking to advance their own power without regard to the costs on others.

That leads into another problem caused by the dropping of the atomic bombs. Since that time, military technology has advanced, and weapons far more lethar are being researched. What's the point? 100 years ago, if you wanted to kill someone in a war, you had to do so up close and witness the brutality of it. Now bombs land on cities and cause their destruction out of sight of the pilot who dropped them, and you don't even have to set foot inside of a major city in order to destroy it completely. Again, what's the point?