This picture, while not nearly as immediately stirring as the photo of the actual explosion, depicts the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan in World War II. The city was almost completely destroyed on impact, save for the scant few buildings shown standing, though the true scope of the damage was much more far-reaching and long-lasting than initially believed.
We bombed Hiroshima (and later Nagasaki) as a means of forcing the Japanese to surrender - by showing off our new atomic toy and destroying as many cities as was needed to end the war. Though controversy still swirls around whether or not we should have dropped the bombs, the truth still stands that their effects were devastatingly painful, as well as both immediate and long-lasting. Survivors of the initial blast were not only injured by flash burns, they suffered from radiation poisoning as well. Though the two cities are no longer radioactive, the shadow of the bomb still lingers as a grim testament to the atom's destructive potential. Though it could be said that the bombs were dropped to help end an already bloody war, it's undeniable that what happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a true tragedy as well as a warning - a warning as to the true cost and suffering of using atomic bombs.
No comments:
Post a Comment