THE BLOG
Obama’s Hiroshima Visit Sparked an Important Conversation With My Kids
05/30/2016 10:18 am ET
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Updated
20 hours ago
Certainly, we are all on the shoulders of those who fought for our
country. But the first peoples of this land justifiably might feel
bitterness. I am of the Vietnam generation; therefore, I feel
mistrustful of the military. I can’t forget the 3 MILLION Vietnamese who
died, as well as our 60,000 soldiers. I do think if we had a draft
again, the United States would embark on fewer wars.
Our president just got back from Hiroshima, Japan, the site where we
dropped the big one — the only country to use it... so far. It struck up
an important conversation with my kids.
“Some people in
my parent’s generation say that it was necessary and good that we
bombed two Japanese cities because it saved many American soldier’s
lives and stopped the war.” My kids response was clear: “It was
insane... to nuke and entire city... that’s insane.” I was proud of his
response. “You’re right. Maybe we can learn from this. Maybe Obama’s
visit will jump-start another dialogue to try and defuse, at least some,
of the big ones.”
My comment was
cautiously optimistic — not only because I am older and seen a lot of
very slow progress, but because I had just heard a radio interview with a
research group that studies ways to head towards peace. I’m sure, in
this time of ISIS, some readers of this will immediately scoff at
listening to any peaceniks’ rhetoric.
Read more....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-densmore/obamas-hiroshima-visit-conversation-with-my-kids_b_10205414.html
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Thomas Williams ·
Obama is a ungrateful fool.
Of
course Harry Truman decision to drop two atom bombs on Japan was
correct, and saved more lives then lose, and made Truman's choice more
practical and necessary.
Barack Obama is a damn social mess who doesn't have Harry Truman's wisdom at all.
Yuku Raudie
In
addition to a generally fuzzy understanding of history, the author
makes the false claim that some defend the bomb because it would save
American lives. It's true that the projected toll of an invasion was
millions of American casualties You read that right - 1.2 million.
However, the most shocking cost would have been paid in Japanese lives.
Maybe as many as 6 million would likely have died in a mainland
invasion. That was the major factor in the decision - the loss of human
life, not American lives. Furthermore, the fact that the author didn't
know to tell his kid "The firebombings of Tokyo or Dresden killed many
more people than the bomb," shows that he giving his child an
indoctrination, not an education.
MET Port
100% correct. When people say "we were gonna win the war anyway" they never mention what the total cost would have been.
Johnny Bomers ·
Yuku
Raudi. I don't think she knows this. The casualty count of these fire
bombings is not something that is well known. I doubt that it is her
intent to indoctrinate.
MET Port
No,
it was not insane at the time. It was war. When you have the chance to
destroy the opponent, you do it. Japan attacked us, not the other way
around. TODAY would it be "insane" to drop a nuke? Yes. You need to
teach your kids history in the context of time. You're doing your kids a
tremendous disservice and I feel bad for them.
Annieke GeelAnd
yet plenty of people who have more experience with war than you (or
me), people like Eisenhouwer and McArthur felt that the decision to drop
the bombs had been unwarranted.
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