From: Marycarol Beardsley (selket8@NETNITCO.NET)
Date: Sat Apr 10 1999 - 20:23:47 PDT
Hi Cara...
Would there have the bombing of Hiroshima if the Japanese had not
bombed Pearl Harbor?
Marycarol
Tim Merry wrote:
> At 07:01 AM 9/04/1999 -0700, Terry Healy wrote:
> >>From Cara:
> >Did you think that dropping the bomb on Hiroshima was
> >right or wrong? What do you think now?
>
> Hello Cara,
>
> At the time - well, it was the best thing that could have
> happened! Your question suggests that you don't altogether
> approve of 'the bomb'. I can understand that, especially
> in the light of what we now know about its side-effects.
>
> But consider: the war had been going on since 1939 for most
> of us; and the Japanese were fanatical in their ways, and
> had absolutely no respect for others (like me); they were not
> likely to say "enough is enough, let's stop fighting and make
> friends" - not a bit of it! They would fight to the bitter
> end - and that would mean for me, personally, an uncomfortable
> voyage to the Far East, followed by more hand-to-hand fighting
> in the jungles and mountains - for years. I'd have contracted
> tropical diseases of one sort or another; and probably been
> wounded, or killed. And even had I survived I'd have been
> physically and mentally scarred, and been fit for nothing.
> Can you imagine that?
>
> So, yes, it was right to have dropped the bomb! Two things
> you should bear in mind: first, whether one is killed or
> maimed by a 'big' bomb or a small bomb makes no difference
> to the person affected - even an old-fashioned hand-grenade
> can do terrible things to you, and so can an ordinary bullet.
> We cannot say we approve of small bombs, but disapprove of
> big bombs - makes no sense; secondly, you may feel that
> 'innocent' civilians should not have been targeted. Do you?
> You see, Cara, there are no innocent civilians - not really,
> because they either appointed their political masters or in
> any event applauded them when their side was winning! After
> all, it's hardly fair to say a young man pushed into the army
> is guilty (and it's okay to kill him), but the people who
> pushed him in are innocent. Think about it, Cara, and if
> you don't agree.......just try to forgive me.
>
> What do I think now? It was unquestionably the right thing
> to have done at the time. It stopped that long and ghastly
> war immediately!!! It was a veritable sine qua non.
>
> >>From Jessie: Do you think the bomb would have been
> >made if Japan had offered a conditional surrender?
>
> Hello Jessie,
>
> Good question. I'm afraid so. The Germans were well on the
> way to developing the bomb, and for this reason the US made
> the decision to push ahead with its own bomb - and just as
> well. But would it have been dropped if Japan had offered
> a conditional surrender? I think it might have postponed
> the dropping; but you see the allies had resolved that they
> would never accept a conditional surrender from Germany
> (which meant that the war in Europe went on for longer
> than it might have), so for the same good reasons Japan would
> have had to surrender without conditions. But would they
> have surrendered before the bomb? I doubt it very much.
> They were fanatics remember, and were probably unaware of
> 'the 'bomb', which was kept pretty secret after all. So I
> think what happened had to happen. War is bad news, and the
> people who start wars are bad news too.
>
> Just think about it, Jessie. There are no easy solutions
> in this world so long as people are greedy and care nothing
> for other people. Which is where we're at today, I regret
> to say.
>
> Our best hope is that the young people of today - like you,
> Jessie, and you Cara - can adopt an attitude which includes
> respect for others wherever they may be.
>
> Well, that's all for now. My best wishes to both you girls,
> and remember -
>
> "This above all: to thine own self be true,
> And it must follow as night the day,
> Thou canst not then be false to any man."
>
> (Polonius's advice to his son, in
> Skakespeare's HAMLET)
>
> Be well and happy,
> Tim
>
> PS. I've just remembered something. In my TM.1 I
> talked about my school days, and mentioned that our
> German-language masters had both left as soon as the
> war started: well, I heard much later that one of
> them (who happened to be our school padre) had joined
> the Parachute Regiment, had dropped with his men just
> east of the river Rhine towards the end of March 1945
> (when the invasion of Germany began), and had lost
> his life. He was a really nice man. Tim