Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

Bill O'Rights · 08-06-2005, 10:16 PM

I spent eight years in the United States Air Force, all of it in the Strategic Air Command. I am a member of the American Legion. I mention this only to qualify that my patriotism, even though I refuse to display magnetic ribbons on my car, is not to be questioned.

Although I concede the possibility that ulterior motives were at work when Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I choose to believe that it was done in an effort to expedite the end of the war, thereby saving untold Japanese and American lives. Given that we are certainly capable of such subterfuge...that may be naive on my part, but that is what I believe.

What I know is that the world was so horrified, by what it saw 60 years ago, that it has never again gone nuclear. We have come close. More times, and closer than, most of you want to know. But, we've not done it since. To me, that makes the sacrifice of those two cities worth it. I know...that's easy for me to say. I was born 17 years after the bombs dropped. I lost no reletives in the bombings. I'm not even of Japanese descent. But I do know that that the memory of those mushroom clouds, and the unholy destruction of two cities, has kept fingers, although perilously poised, from pressing that horrible button...again.

All of that said...wouldn't it be better to celebrate how Hiroshima and Nagasaki have risen, like the proverbial pheonix from the ashes, than to bash 60 year old political motives?

08-06-2005, 10:16 PM	#18 (permalink)
Bill O'Rights will always be an Alyson Hanniganite Location: In the dust of the archives	I spent eight years in the United States Air Force, all of it in the Strategic Air Command. I am a member of the American Legion. I mention this only to qualify that my patriotism, even though I refuse to display magnetic ribbons on my car, is not to be questioned. Although I concede the possibility that ulterior motives were at work when Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I choose to believe that it was done in an effort to expedite the end of the war, thereby saving untold Japanese and American lives. Given that we are certainly capable of such subterfuge...that may be naive on my part, but that is what I believe. What I know is that the world was so horrified, by what it saw 60 years ago, that it has never again gone nuclear. We have come close. More times, and closer than, most of you want to know. But, we've not done it since. To me, that makes the sacrifice of those two cities worth it. I know...that's easy for me to say. I was born 17 years after the bombs dropped. I lost no reletives in the bombings. I'm not even of Japanese descent. But I do know that that the memory of those mushroom clouds, and the unholy destruction of two cities, has kept fingers, although perilously poised, from pressing that horrible button...again. All of that said...wouldn't it be better to celebrate how Hiroshima and Nagasaki have risen, like the proverbial pheonix from the ashes, than to bash 60 year old political motives? __________________ "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony "Hedonism with rules isn't hedonism at all, it's the Republican party." - JumpinJesus It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt. Last edited by Bill O'Rights; 08-06-2005 at 10:19 PM..