Topic: Arguing Against the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Large-scale tragedies are not a new occurrence in history, but the same cannot be said for the horrific events that occurred on August 6, 1945, when the Japanese city of Hiroshima became the world’s first victim of atomic weaponry. That morning, a B-29 named Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy,” an inaptronymous five-ton atomic bomb, onto the civilian city under the directive of the United States government. There is no doubt that it brought WWII to a preemptive end—the Japanese officially surrendered on August 15 following the bombing of Nagasaki—but it also catalyzed the Cold War. Moreover, tens of thousands of lives were lost as a result of the immediate blast, and thousands more from the fallout. Additionally, violence doesn’t always have to precede further violence; there is nothing that cannot be handled peacefully, especially in regards to relationships between nations. And in the end, the decision to drop the bombs was unjust and genocidal.