tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760040054708643745.post2697551635325783200..comments2023-07-04T06:33:39.347-05:00Comments on Married to the Masala: Hiroshima and NagasakiHMDeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284726946682618065noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760040054708643745.post-33627549783527615742009-08-09T14:26:29.945-05:002009-08-09T14:26:29.945-05:00Well, I would like to add that it was Japan's ...Well, I would like to add that it was Japan's deplorable actions (see Pearl Harbor) that brought the US into the war. If we had not "dropped" (because at that time we did not have missile technology) the bombs, potentially thousands more Americans & Japanese would have been killed. Japan could have surrendered prior to dropping the bombs, as well as after the first bomb, but they (the Imperial Council and the Emperor) chose not to. It does not make it right for those who were victims, or in the eyes of those who look back on this now, but in the end, that is why the US form of government (for the people and by the people) is the best form, not a emperor dictatorship like Japan had at the time, where the people were subject to the whims (or poor decisions) of their leader(s). I might recommend you review the Potsdam Ultimatum that was issued to Japan on July 26th, 1945, twelve days prior to the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima. Please recognize that I see this as a tragedy, but there are consequences with everything we do each day.........including standing up to or not challenging our government.<br />Mike J.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760040054708643745.post-26000550450382810302009-08-09T08:13:17.535-05:002009-08-09T08:13:17.535-05:00Great picture and lovely post. The issue of passi...Great picture and lovely post. The issue of passive language is an interesting one. The use of the passive voice both in the US and Japan obscures human agency in the atom bomb atrocity (and others). Japanese history books describe how China "was invaded...Korea was annexed...the people of Nanjing were killed." <br /><br />As for having missed a visit to Hiroshima, what is most striking about going there is how normal Hiroshima, the city, has become. The Peace Park et al. is stirring, but any hint that the city was once the original ground zero (as is true of Tokyo and the firebombing) has disappeared. There was an interesting article on this by Ron Rosenbaum in Slate: http://www.slate.com/id/2187282/.<br /><br />All the best--<br />DarrylAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com