Stop, Drop, and Roll

“The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb,” though it relates both reasons for and against dropping the bomb, seems to condemn the decision that was made. It demonstrates that this act that may trouble today's Americans only once and a while, still has a serious impact on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is an interesting perspective because it does not attempt to cover American guilt in the situation any more than it does that of the Japanese; on the whole, it is without bias. That people's idea on this event has changed over time is unquestionable. Trueman may have been ecstatic when he heard that "the baby was born alive and kicking," but most people of today would feel deep guilt or at least grim resignation even if they felt that what we did was necessary. Of course, everything is easier in retrospect. Yet, even then, Major Sweeney had misgivings about their decision, made evident when he says, "I did have an instant thought that, for better or for worse, if it works or if it doesn't work, it's too late now, because there are no strings on it to pull it back in." On World War II in general, this proves that none involved were wholly guiltless, not even the victors who knew the horror of what they did even as it was done. Though history may be written by the winner, we tell ours in a way that expresses our dissatisfaction that we chose this path.