As we remember the 72nd anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August, it is so important that we, as the most enlightened species on the planet, ensure that this never happens again. We need not rehash the debate about whether we should have used nuclear weapons in 1945, but rather learn from the horrendous damage they can unleash on people and the land and take steps to make sure they are never used again.
Although it is not getting much attention in the news media, there are successful efforts underway to do just that. Thanks to the efforts of a number of people and organizations, the number of nuclear weapons on the planet has been reduced from its high of 70,000 in the 1980’s to approximately 17,000 today. Earlier in July the most powerful treaty yet to ban nuclear weapons was signed by 120 nations at the United Nations; unfortunately the United States, along with the other nuclear weapon states, were not signatories.
For moral, economic, and environmental reasons, I hope all concerned citizens of our nation will join this effort to make our world a safer, saner planet.
Harvey Zendt
Oxford
Gren Whitman says
Tularosa Basin’s Dead Man’s Walk—
Journada del Muerto—
In a bone-dry depression,
Ground Zero’s what’s left of the steel structure
that cradled Gadget before its 19-kiloton fireball.
As Gadget blasted open the atomic age
Robert Oppenheimer murmured from the Bhagavad Gita—
“I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
His colleague Ken Bainbridge was closer to the truth—
“A foul and awesome display. Now we are all sons of bitches.”
Reads the obelisk:
“Trinity Site, where the world’s first nuclear device was exploded on July 16, 1945.”
Across the vast Pacific,
Hiroshima Peace Park’s cenotaph is inscribed,
“Rest in peace, for the mistake will not be repeated.”
Martin Hersey says
If you can get through it, I encourage you to read my father John Hersey’s “Hiroshima.” A must-read for people born into the atomic age and for anyone coming after. This short book appeared full length in the New Yorker magazine. A product of the new journalism, this book presents in objective language, an account of the bombing of Hiroshima, in the words of six survivors.