Monday, April 25, 2011

I read your posts about the Nuclear Bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I have a different point of view from yours. My Dad and my Uncle (my namesake) would have been landing on the beaches of Japan - two 'country hicks' from Carson City, MI would have been engaged in God knows what to defeat the Empire of Japan. I take this personally. In all likelihood, they would have both been killed in action - so when it comes to war (real war) a country has to absolutely devastate the other country's willingness to fight - you need to kill/destroy everything that stands in your way - which is why war is ugly and serious and why a war declaration should not be taken lightly. People die - including civilians - very hard to reconcile. Personally, I am glad that Truman made te decision that he made - I honestly believe that I am here because of that decision. Taking about 0.5 million US casualties was simply not acceptable when other means - however destructing - were available. ~KL

The only reason your dad and uncle would have been landing on the beaches of Japan is because Truman--and FDR before him--insisted on Japan's unconditional surrender. If you have a beef with people who put soldiers' lives at risk for no good reason, you should take it up with Truman and FDR and their apologists, not with me.

You're the one who has swallowed the U.S. Empire's false alternatives of invasion or dropping the Bomb. Again, Japan was trying to surrender. A negotiated settlement would have spared soldiers' and civilians' lives. Why was the only civilized option off the table? Because neither FDR nor Truman was civilized.

Moreover, I take very personally the idea the Forces of Good (whoever they are) have free rein to devastate another country's infrastructure and civilian population. My mom and her townsfolk dodged British and American bombs in German-occupied Northern Italy during World War II. Many of them were killed by their purported liberators.

Too many otherwise intelligent people still believe you can kill to advance the Greater Good. It's the terrorist's mentality, and I have no use for it. In fact, I wrote a column about it a while back:

http://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/pivetta_abattoir.htm

Labels:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home