Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

As time goes on, people have become more and more doubtful about whether dropping the atomic bomb was an ethical decision. Americans today are pretty divided about if it was the right thing to do or not, although at the time, the country felt almost unanimously that it was necessary. Although the bomb successfully ended the war in the Pacific and it doubtlessly saved thousands of American lives, it affected Japan in horrific and brutal ways. And because our more recent generation did not experience WWII, we can look at the atomic bomb with a critical eye unclouded by fear. I believe that PBS published this video on the atomic bomb in 1995 because of the doubts and guilt filling the Americans of today. The video showed both sides of the argument, displaying fearful Japanese schoolchildren and determined US soldiers side by side. They probably wanted to honor the 50th anniversary of the bomb by informing people of both sides of the story, along with showing what a horrific tragedy the bomb truly was.