Essay/Term paper: Unjust bomb

Essay, term paper, research paper:  History

Death is a reality. Men should be conscious of that

reality. I say men, because the willingness to die for

a cause is most likely inherent to our sex. We (the

man) were hunters running after wily beasts, and

nature most likely gave us the cruel gift to be

contentedly conscious of our fate ( the jaws of the

prehistoric predator before us!)



If the soldier can imagine his enemy to be the beast,

then perhaps he can die with this intrinsic honor.

Throw total war away, leave the unprepared civilian

be.



The death of a civilian, bombarded by the atomic

bomb is beyond all wrongs. The atom bomb is a

manipulated force, the product of the human mind,

misdirected to defile humanity and nature

simultaneously. It gives the victims no time to

prepare their life for their sudden exit, or worse, for

a life tortured by atomic mutilation and shame. May

a human be granted a death of peace, or at least,

one of honor?



The soldier has been forced to accept his role. He

is fighting for his nation, against another nation,

which is his enemy and he, perhaps, can perceive

as evil. Perhaps he has considered his death. This

will give him honor in that death, an otherwise empty

destination.



Let they who do not wish to be heroes or enemies,

be. It is indeed morally wrong to end a war by killing

civilians, regardless of whether their lives will save

the lives of soldiers.



To save our American soldiers these bombs were

hurriedly created by physicists under the guidance

of Oppenheimer. Later he would refer to it as the

"scientist"s sin".



Perhaps all of human civilization is an atom bomb.

We harness nature, in order to destroy both it and

ourselves. Yet nothing in our civilization is as overt

as the atomic bomb.



Who are these moralists? These moralists who

bear objective truth? There is no truth? The atom

bomb is natural? It is in our nature to destroy

ourselves? So it is inevitable that we would forge

the bomb, that our destructive nature would reach

for the golden apple.



But what is it? It"s a vile apple with worms and rot

and dripping poison. We annihilated two cities filled

with human civilians,( not living in a democracy, but

under an emperor, with no influence on the

government"s decision to bomb Pearl Harbor), for a

golden bomb. It wasn"t gold. The United States

would not extend an apology years after the fact. An

apology would mean nothing. But the absence of a

national apology leaves one wondering if we still

justify Hiroshima? There is no honor in the bomb. It

is not gold. The atom bomb is not just. The bombing

of Hiroshima was immoral beyond justification.



Bibliography



Lifton, Robert and Greg Mitchell, Hiroshima in

America, NY:1995, Avon Books



Hershey, John, Hiroshima NY:1995, Avon Books