Only the United States Used Nuclear Weapons Against Innocent People
Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart
One year before my mother gave birth to me, Japan
surrendered and WWII came to an end. President Harry Truman knew that the war
was won, but to prevent the loss of more American lives. he made the most
controversial decision in the history of the world. Truman ordered the murder
of tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children. It was of no interest
to many of our nation’s leaders because they were Japanese.
On August 6, 1945, 80 years ago today, an atomic bomb was
dropped on Hiroshima, and on August 9, 1945, another weapon of mass destruction
leveled the city of Nagasaki.
[The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945
killed an estimated 100,000 to 146,000 people by the end of 1945, with
Hiroshima accounting for roughly 66,000 to 140,000 deaths, and Nagasaki for
approximately 39,000 to 70,000. Many more deaths occurred in the following
years due to radiation-related illnesses like cancer, leading to combined total
death tolls of over 200,000, with some estimates reaching as high as 210,000 by
the end of 1945.]
I remember studying American history in high school. This
was one of the events which forced me to question our leaders in Washington. The
facts about the effects of a nuclear explosion raised even more. Those who were
not killed immediately suffered extremely painful deaths. Of those who
survived, the pain and agony of radioactive poisoning, and disfigurement caused
by extreme heat must have been unbearable for the victims and their families.
Bombs make no judgment. Men of all ages, women, and
children, big and small were murdered or maimed by the devastation of a nuclear
explosion.
However, as devastating and inhumane as this travesty was,
several nations have ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads awaiting
launch today. It seems to this old man that all atomic/nuclear weapons should
have been banned forever after August of 1945.
"I know not with
what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with
sticks and stones".
This quote is from Albert Einstein. He had a small role in
the creation of the atom bomb, but was not directly involved in its development.
[Albert Einstein indirectly contributed to the development
of the atomic bomb by signing a 1939 letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
warning of Nazi Germany's potential atomic weapons program and urging the U.S.
to research them. This letter helped initiate the U.S. atomic program, but
Einstein was denied security clearance and had no direct involvement in the
Manhattan Project due to his pacifist views and left-leaning politics.]
As I aged, I learned. The more I learned about countries,
leaders of nations, the good and bad about human beings, and mankind’s propensity
for conflict and wars, the more I denounced Truman’s deadly decision.
The truth remains: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely.”
Several of the men who resided in the White House had little
regard for human life, including the lives of American citizens.
Reagan’s policies made women and minorities more susceptible
to hate crimes. A decision made in anger resulted in the firing of all Air
Traffic Controllers, making it unsafe to fly on commercial aircraft for an extended
period of time. His failed fiscal policy of “trickle-down economics” resulted
in a loss of jobs, the closing of small businesses, and a dramatic increase in
the national debt, affecting generations to come.
George W. Bush invaded Afghanistan and Iraq under false
pretenses. He displayed little concern for the lives of American military
forces, or Afghani and Iraqi civilians. His policies resulted in great harm
within the housing market, as foreclosures escalated dramatically.
Trump has no interest in the lives of anyone other than himself:
period. His “big, beautiful tax bill” will remove life-saving healthcare from
millions of low-income or impoverished Americans.
Truman was not alone with his lack of interest in the loss
of human life. But I am.
I am proud to be both an Independent voter and a pacifist. The
reason we have a corrupt and totally incompetent government is the direct fault
of voters. Voting exclusively for a political party, often discounting the best
candidates, is moronic. Wars are never won. Nation’s leaders, the super-rich,
and sons and daughters of politicians are rarely forced to serve their
countries. Men and women who fight what are often unwinnable wars and the
families they leave behind bare most of pain and suffering, during and after
the guns cease firing.
All people of all nations have common goals: a life which
offers fulfillment, security, respect for their human rights and free choice,
and the hope of an even better future for their children and grandchildren. We
do not create wars or choose to take the lives of others on a battlefield. This
single fact proves that ‘all governments are bad; some are simply worse than
others.’
Another fact all of the world’s people share is our hope
that our leaders will have the intellect, the wisdom, and the courage to
provide a better quality of life for all of his or her people. Few leaders
fulfill our hopes and dreams. Some, like Trump and his puppeteer, Vladimir Putin
don’t care about their nation’s people. The result is a country composed of
unhappy men, women, and children who struggle to survive and worry constantly
about their futures.
Trump is winning battles, but the American people and the
leaders of nation’s affected by his bully tactics cannot allow him to win the
war.
Hitler was defeated, and surely an old, obese, mentally and
physically challenged dictator can be deposed and exiled into irrelevancy.
Op-ed by James Turnage
Follow my blog and be informed
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cwye6k0xn7zo
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment