Last week, the United States President Barack Obama visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Hiroshima, Japan and delivered a speech. He is the first sitting US President to visit the city. There were many questions raised as to whether or not the President should offer an apology for the bombings that occurred 71 years ago.
For those of you who are a bit rusty on your US history: on August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, followed by the release of a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, Japan.
Now, let me tell you what I will and won't do here. What I won't do is debate the merits of detonating the bombs in the first place. There are longstanding arguments as to whether it was necessary to carry out the bombings, with valid points raised on each side. And as much as you all know that I love talking about WWII, I'm not going to touch that side of this topic. Way too messy.
What I am more immediately interested in is the many calls for President Obama to apologize to Japan for the United States' decision to drop the bombs which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Japanese people in the process.
Let me make something clear: I in no way, shape, form or fashion am in support of the use of weapons of mass destruction. However, I stand firmly by my opinion, which is that there is no place for an apology on President Obama's part.
To see things from my perspective, you have to have an intricate understanding of WWII. And lucky for you guys, I have an unhealthy obsession with that particular time period, so I can give you a tiny bit of that insight right here(:
To me, the most vital thing that must be understood is that if the United States did not use the atomic bomb first, someone would have. Let me repeat: IF THE US HADN'T USED THE A-BOMB FIRST, SOMEONE ELSE WOULD HAVE DONE IT. Why do I seem so comfortable making such assertions? Because it is true. By the 1940s German scientists were already hard at work to perfect a nuclear weapon, with Russia trying to pursue such technologies as well. Of course we only know one course of history, so it it terribly hard to imagine what would have occurred if the Nazis had been the ones to use that technology first, and how that would have effected how we know life in the world as it is.
Under this calculus, I see no need for any apology. It was a last resort action, that likely would have occurred through one course of action or another at that point in time. It is ignorant of me to say that the way that it occurred was the best, since I have no knowledge of what it would have been like otherwise, but considering what the other regimes at that time stood for, I'm glad that it didn't happen any other way.
Now thankfully, our current commander-in-cheif handles himself with such grace and charisma, that he blew me off his feet by how he addressed the bombings and the aftermath they left on the Japanese and their nation. He spoke of the lives that were lost with great respect and remorse, while highlighting how far we have come, and how far we as humans have to go in order to ensure that nuclear technologies don't result in more catastrophic future consequences. I can't imagine any better way to go about it. His demeanor towards the entire situation was truly remarkable, and while he did not apologize, I think that the words he spoke held far greater weight and importance than 'I'm sorry' could ever capture.
Thanks for reading.
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