Hiroshima

                I would have to agree with Akihiro Takahashi’s view on the atomic bombs. While they forced a surrender from Japan, it was done in a morally impermissible way. Takahashi was 14 when the bomb was dropped almost 70 years ago but is “chronically ill” today because of the long lasting effects. Kinue Tomoyasu was 44 years old when the bomb was dropped. She tells of how her daughter died in her arms because of the immediate effects of the bomb. She felt the bombs effects a few months later starting with her hair falling off and the appearance of purple spots on her skin. There are a multitude of different reasons that using an atomic bomb is wrong and much worse than using a normal fire bomb. For one, a fire bomb doesn’t have that large of an attack area, it is generally controlled. An atomic bomb’s effects can span the area of an entire city, like it did in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Atomic bomb effects are for the remainder of the survivor’s life because of the radiation. In a sense, an atomic bomb is like a form of torture, it is painful and drawn out. Those affected by it are forced to feel the repercussions of it every day. With a fire bomb, while I don’t condone dropping it on a town filled with civilians, the effects are immediate, barring any necessary healing time. But the difference here is it does have healing time, an atomic bomb, on the other hand, is constantly negatively affecting a person’s life and health. In addition to these readings, I had the opportunity to read Hiroshima by John Hersey. The book is filled with harrowing stories from survivors about the day the bomb was dropped and how they coped with it. I feel as though that in order to support the decision the United States made in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, you also have to be able to morally accept the pain and suffering they caused on the innocent citizens of the two cities.