Hell On Earth

This Essay was published in Gathering of Voices in 2003.

Clayton Ray Randell
English 101 Section Q
October, 30 2003
In Class Persuasive Essay/Mid-Term-----(1,007 words)

Hell On Earth

“One of evil’s principal modes of being is looking beyond (with indifference) that which is before the eyes” (Berger 596). On August 6th 1945, evil was unleashed on the citizens of Hiroshima by President Truman. Are there reasons for creating terror on such a scale? I do not believe America or any other country can justify the use of nuclear weapons.

John Berger in his essay “Hiroshima” discusses the situation in Japan after the dropping of two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Using excerpts of personal testimony from victims, Berger illustrates the horror of atomic weapons. The scale of death, disfigurement and pain created in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are unequaled in human history. When confronted by the stories of children burned and crying over their dead parents, I was struck by an overwhelming sorrow. The tales of peoples skin falling away made my stomach turn in disgust. Yet there are those that assert there was no other answer to the situation the United States was in. The war in the South Pacific was hard fought and thousands of U.S. soldiers lost their lives. Japan had attacked first at Pearl Harbor and destroyed much of the Navy’s fleet. America’s forces were far from home and vulnerable. Perhaps Japan’s immediate surrender may have saved more lives overall than were lost in the firestorm of the atomic bomb.

There has been much discussion about the decision to drop these weapons labeled “Fat Man” and “Little Boy”. Was it appropriate to drop them on civilians living in their homeland? Were American lives saved by the destruction of these cities and subsequent surrender of the Japanese? In William L. Laurence’s essay “Atomic Bombing Of Nagasaki Told By Flight Member” he shares with some pride that the “gadget” (247) as he affectionately calls the atomic bomb, could release the blast force of twenty to forty thousand tons of TNT. Laurence also states that the endeavor to create the bombs was the greatest effort of human intellect in history (247). The members of the flight crew aboard the plane that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki were of the opinion that no nation could withstand such an assault for long. This was obviously true as Japan surrendered with little delay after the attack.

Was it possible that America would have been defeated by the Japanese had we not developed the atomic bomb in time. Berger’s stance is that this question and others like it are irrelevant. Despite arguing the statistics and possibilities the fact remains, what occurred in Japan was evil. These two acts of premeditated mass murder were perpetrated on two large cities populated by civilians. The heart of the mushroom cloud “was 300,000 degrees centigrade” (592). Thousands died in a flash of light while others had their flesh scalded. The American Military targeted people who were not fighting in their Emperor’s war. Berger asserts that under any other circumstances these two attacks would be openly classified as “terrorist acts” (595). The United Nations has decrees stating that an attacking force cannot target civilians or civilian infrastructure. Why would the United Nations have such decrees? Because, these atrocities are unconscionable.
How could the American people accept the bombings? Reading over the straight statistics that have been gathered, one does not realize the impact on the lives of an entire nation. When perusing the accounts of the technical aspects of the bombs, one does not see the loss of humanity both physically and philosophically. People are insulated from the realities of war here in America. Few Americans have seen the results of machine gun fire or anti-tank missiles. During World War II people were quite happy to do their patriotic part with little thought as to what our armed forces were doing.

In Zoë Tracy Hardy’s account in “What Did You Do In The War Grandma?” she explains how she very naively participated in the construction of the planes that carried the two atomic bombs to Japan. Hardy and her compatriots at the time were excited about helping in the war effort. They were diligent and worked long hours at the factory. Most of her friends were elated when the war was declared at an end. Zoë Tracy Hardy however was downcast by the realization that she was involved in such destruction. Hardy asks if delivering such destruction to a nation that was on its way to losing “…wasn’t sort of like kicking a dead horse---brutally” (145).

My opinion about nuclear weapons is one of many. There are those that believe the end of communism came through the bankruptcy of the Soviet Union in the arms race. Others say that the deterrence of total annihilation kept the nations of the world from battling each other to destruction. I feel the reality is that no person can make the decision to destroy without inviting evil into his or her heart. No one can murder without accepting that some people do not deserve to live. It is impossible to fight evil with evil, as it only multiplies itself. Love comes from understanding and communication. The absence of love is hate which springs from fear and ignorance. The people of Earth must exchange ideas and goods. The moral arena of politics often has little to do with real ethics. If we can keep hold of our leaders hearts and minds we will not be a party to such evil again.

Berger, John “Hiroshima” Fields Of Reading. Ed. Nancy R. Comely Et. Al. Bedford/St. Martins, 2001. 590-596.

Hardy, Zoë Tracy “What Did You Do In The War Grandma?” Fields Of Reading. Ed. Nancy R. Comely Et. Al. Bedford/St. Martins, 2001. 139-146.

Hersey, John. “Hatsuyo Nakamura” Fields Of Reading. Ed. Nancy R. Comely Et. Al. Bedford/St. Martins, 2001. 203-211.

Laurance, William L. “Atomic Bombing Of Nagasaki Told By Flight Member” Fields Of Reading. Ed. Nancy R. Comely Et. Al. Bedford/St. Martins, 2001. 247-252.