Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Acceptance of Violence
In discussions we have had the question of the choice of the United States to drop the Nuclear Bomb on the Japanese. Many argue that it was acceptable as it saved countless lives on both sides, but this position is taken so nonchalantly. Those 1 million or so lives that are estimated to have been saved, were the lives of soldiers, people who volunteered to fight a war knowing that death was probable. Those people that were obliterated by Fat Man and Little Boy were innocent civilians whose only crime was being a citizen of a warring country. My main bone to pick is that we even discuss this question because giving such a situation the light of day, to me is breeding a next generation with the inkling, however subtle, that violence is just an assumed aspect of life that we will all one day encounter. The only way to stop a trend is to just get off the train. Walk away. What are your opinions on the issue of the nuclear bombings as well as the assumptions of violence in our 21st century society.
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I agree that it was wrong of us as a nation to drop nuclear bombs on Japan. When you say this: "Those 1 million or so lives that are estimated to have been saved, were the lives of soldiers, people who volunteered to fight a war knowing that death was probable." does that mean the soldiers lives are any less valuable than civilians? In my opinion, soldiers are as innocent as civilians and their lives should be valued equally.
ReplyDeleteI do not mean to degrade the lives of soldiers in anyway, I agree that every human life is equally valuable, I just mean in the worst of the situation when one group will have to perish, the one that has volunteered is a better option.
ReplyDeleteI think that these bombs are just another symbol of the violence that America, and the world, has had to accept throughout history. You are right in that the children of the next generation will think of violence as a simple fact of life, but this is how it has been since the beginning of time. The only new aspect is the technology, and the resulting elevated amount of violence around the world. Danger is inevitable, and there is no way for us to simply "get off of the train" and "walk away." I don't mean to sound all dooms day-like, but I think this is the reality that we all must come to accept and be aware of. Talking about events like this in history only helps us. It makes us aware of the wrongs that we have committed in the past, and can hopefully help us (the next generation) stop things like this from happening in the future.
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