Hiroshima 75 years on...

75 years ago...

75 years ago on August 6th, USA dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. One on Hiroshima and a few days later one on Nagasaki. An estimated 90,000 to 140,000 people in Hiroshima (up to 39 percent of the population) and 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki (up to 32 percent of the population) died in 1945. source Of course this doesn't include the resulting damage to generations of citizens from exposure to nuclear radiation.

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Why do I care?

You might ask yourself why do I care? After all the bombs ended War War 2 and happened 75 years ago. Well before my birth and I had no relatives involved.

1. I'm an American. If an American is in Japan and doesn't recognize what happened there that's really living life with blinders on...
2. I'm all for peace. And justice. Don't think the Americans dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan and left... The military is still there.

The Peace Museum

When I was in Japan 15 years ago hitchhiking around we went to the Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial_Museum. This should be required for any American visitor to Japan and used in history classes worldwide. I didn't pay attention in history class in high school but surely they didn't teach us the horror unleashed upon Japanese citizens by dropping atomic bombs on them... twice. That of course isn't the extent of the damage. Generations have suffered from nuclear radiation.

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It's not all doom and gloom. Really.

So sorry for all the doom and gloom. There is no glory in war despite what the propaganda like Top Gun and so might tell you. But to continue on with my personal story. As I said we were hitchhiking around and sleeping with a tent in the public parks. Japan is by far the safest country I've ever been to. Luckily I was with a Japanese girl (my ex-girlfriend) otherwise the language barrier could have been tricky. However, the Japanese are so very kind and would apologize at the end of the ride that they couldn't take us further. One lady actually called her friend to drive us to our final destination on top of a mountain. Legendary kindness. But oh I do ramble on... Let's get back to Hiroshima.

Hitchhiking in Japan

We were standing on the side of the road with our thumbs out, as you do... and a young guy picked us up. He was the first young man that gave us a ride. Normally it was middle aged women or businessmen. He drove us to his family farm outside of Hiroshima and his family allowed us to stay the night and eat dinner with them. After dinner he drank a large beer and told us his and his family's story with me asking some questions. Let me add that at no point did I feel any bad feelings from the family for me as an American. Earlier that day his grandmother showed us her garden and the bomb shelter they had built into the side of a hill near the house. After the Americans dropped the bomb on Hiroshima his grandfather walked the 75km or so to the city to clean up the dead bodies from the aftermath of the bomb.

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Recently, the grandfather had died... from cancer. The young man later told us he (the grandson) was a recovering Pachinko addict. He had lost all of his money and his girlfriend. The next day he drove us to Hiroshima city and we parted ways fondly.

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What have "we" learned?

"We" as in humans on this Earth. Because after all we are one. Flags, skin color, religion, lines on a map, languages... These are qualities we can celebrate the beauty of but no need to use these as divisive tactics. I grew up in the Cold War times and the arms race with the Russians. As kids we were taught to fear Russians and hate Iranians by the media. Who knows how many nuclear bombs exist today? Countless. Can blow up the Earth a million times. Insanity. I had never met a Russian person until I was teaching Russian kids a few years ago at an international school in Phuket. The parents were incredibly warm and friendly. They would bring me gifts from Russia sometimes. Stereotypes and politics can be interesting and even fun but let's not get carried away and believe in them too much. Nuclear bombs? There doesn't seem to be any solution to them besides de-arming them. Even then what to do with them? Bury them in a bunker in a mountain and wait a thousand years.

My Conclusion

War is hell. You don't have to be a soldier to know that. As Public Enemy said "Don't believe the Hype!" People talk about defunding the police in USA. Let's take it further and talk about defunding the military and using that money for peace and rebuilding the underfunded areas of the nation.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed! A bit of a somber post but important all the same I feel. If you enjoyed reading feel free to...

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