August 6th 1945. One of the darkest hours in human history. On this date the United States dropped a Nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan killing about 100,000 people instantly. This was followed a couple of days later by dropping another nuclear bomb, this time on Nagasaki.
The total number of casualties is listed at over 260,000 people with Hiroshima alone accounting for almost over 200,000. Just think about that number for a little bit. The attacks of 9/11 killed 2,900 people. Now we read all sorts of stuff in our history books and even in conversation with a bunch of people. We hear and read all sorts of justifactions. None of them to me are legitimate though.
The most common one of course is that "they" attacked us first at Pearl Harbor. Fair enough. Yes, the Japanese military did attack US military bases at Pearl Harbor but using that logic since the United States started the current Iraq War it is perfectly alright for the Iraqi military to come and destroy New York and Los Angeles with nuclear bombs? Sounds silly when you put it this way right?
Another one is that the Japanese were arming their citizens and the ground war would have been bloody. Isn't that what the United States did though? Why do people forget about the draft? Somehow it is perfectly alright for one side to do it....but not the other? Kind of silly don't you think?
Another one I hear is that a ground offensive would have been deadly for both sides. Again, really silly. Over 260K people died. Anytime that many people die in one place you CAN NOT use the "saving of lives" as a justification. You sound like a fool when you do.
To this date survivors are effected by the radiation and get sick as a result of it. It is quiet easy for most Americans to dismiss Hiroshima and Nagasaki but think what the reaction would be like here to this date if that many lives had been lost here? For a while I've been calling this the biggest act of terrorism ever. This of course gets people mad. Time to look at the world from a broader perspective. What would your reaction be today if the town you lived in was struck by a Nuclear bomb that killed that many people around you? Just look at how Americans treat 9/11 and the amount of people that died that day is microscopic compared to how many died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs served one purpose. Strike some fear into Russia in the aftermaths of World War II.
A recent Quinnipiac University Poll shows some interesting numbers in reference to what Americans currently think of the Nuclear strikes.
This country has a lot of dark moments in its history. The treatment of Native Americans, African Americans and the events of Hiroshima & Nagasaki just happen to be at the top of the list. Again....think about it.
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