tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post5048308717399533245..comments2023-06-11T06:38:39.879-04:00Comments on Child of a Frosty Morning: Musings of a Well-Traveled Southerner: Remembering NagasakiCarolina Lintheadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335905555994442416noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post-5931876621087154512010-08-09T19:00:12.322-04:002010-08-09T19:00:12.322-04:00Thank you for stopping by, Dominic. That is power...Thank you for stopping by, Dominic. That is powerful testimony against the use of atomic weapons. My father, a teenager in North Carolina at the time, has the opposite view, and we've had a few heated arguments about it, to be sure. In the summer of 1945, the case for using the atom bomb was not as clear-cut as most think these days. The numbers Truman received regarding potential death tolls were inflated, there were factions in the Japanese government willing to seek terms for surrender, and a number of high-ranking military men, not to mention some of the leading scientists involved, did not want Truman to use it. He did, at least in part for the reasons Anne T. suggests, and so that he could close out the Pacific war before the Soviets got involved. In the process, he let a genie out of the bottle that both of us wish he hadn't. Some abominable things were done in that war, and I happen to agree with you that this was one of them.Carolina Lintheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16335905555994442416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post-37542656237219185062010-08-09T18:39:55.291-04:002010-08-09T18:39:55.291-04:00Those two bombs were abominations. My father - a J...Those two bombs were abominations. My father - a Japanese prisoner in his teens who was close to death at the end of the war- probably owed his life to the A-bombs, but always maintained afterwards that he'd rather they hadn't been dropped.Dominic Rivronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02618013365521035400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post-47465116642944452822010-08-09T15:34:52.532-04:002010-08-09T15:34:52.532-04:00Dear C.L.,
I also have read all the reasons why ta...Dear C.L.,<br />I also have read all the reasons why taking Japan by conventional forces would have been costly and dangerous.<br /><br />Yet I always also suspect that<br />a. they had to justify that funding<br />b. there was this toy, and everyone wanted to see what it would do.<br /><br />Likewise, I get somewhat enraged (oh, I can't stop myself, but neither can I live in permanent dudgeon) when people consider the post WW2 era devoid of war or its miseries. (Huh?) They just mean it hasn't happened to them.<br /><br />So I was glad to reflect upon this post. It is liberal arts-history-that keeps us from becoming culturally insensitive. By God it is worth something. maybe everything.<br /><br />Great post! I'll definitely be back!<br />Ann T. HathawayAnn T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11128699035211561119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post-46638002898746204122010-08-09T14:41:42.032-04:002010-08-09T14:41:42.032-04:00Historian John Lewis Gaddis calls the era followin...Historian John Lewis Gaddis calls the era following the end of WWII "the long peace," primarily because we have not experienced a third world war. He is quite correct in one sense: the advent of nuclear weapons and the threat of mutually assured destruction, etc., did lead to an uneasy "peace" between the US (and our major allies) and the USSR (and their major allies). But in another sense, his phrase is woefully misleading. The Cold War and other ramifications of WWII unleashed hell on the so-called Third World, where most of the 40+ million deaths, either from war or by "human decision," have occurred. So today, while we are thankful there have been no more Hiroshimas, no more Nagasakis, we still forlornly hope for peace...and mourn the casualties of war.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by.<br />Tomorrow's subject: hummingbirds!Carolina Lintheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16335905555994442416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post-47414681099937071742010-08-09T14:15:01.974-04:002010-08-09T14:15:01.974-04:00I'm pretty much with alter ego, humans will ma...I'm pretty much with alter ego, humans will make war forever I think, given the chance but we can but hope that the likes of the internet will ensure that people know about war and its effects and maybe if enough people really know it, there will be less incliniation to do it.Argenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10532506690426639326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post-64118524073407628192010-08-09T12:08:36.657-04:002010-08-09T12:08:36.657-04:00As long as human beings yearn for power and contro...As long as human beings yearn for power and control there will be war. Sometimes it's between individuals, neighborhoods, cultures, countries... It will continue unabated until we finally destroy each other, I fear. <br /><br />And yet, I am a person of hope. In spite of feeling a tug of resentment toward that Lord who allows us to yield to our primal fears and natures at the expense of what is best in us, I dig deep within to counter that tendency, to believe in what is good, to advocate for its dominance against the apparent odds. <br /><br />Glad you've joined the blog world. I appreciate having some substance to read out there.altar egohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11564052536173244610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post-28127326203270657842010-08-09T08:05:34.830-04:002010-08-09T08:05:34.830-04:00It's very sad, but as long as people live ther...It's very sad, but as long as people live there will probably always be war. "How long, oh Lord?" Indeed , He's the one who has the answer, all the answers.DUTAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12979375799258978432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6450087739317969489.post-76389067129280255672010-08-09T06:36:44.770-04:002010-08-09T06:36:44.770-04:00Welcome to the addiction that is blogging!
Inde...Welcome to the addiction that is blogging! <br /><br />Indeed, as we go years and years into this current "war on terror," I often wonder what history will have to say about the loss of life and cost to the people and culture.Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14057094040409159429noreply@blogger.com