Yesterday was the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki.
A few days before, the anniversary of Hiroshima.
In Japan Catholics observe what is called The Ten Days for Peace. Cardinal Turkson visited and called the bombing, "a “frightful wound inflicted” upon the people of Japan and the whole human family."
"That wound affected the whole of the human family. Hiroshima and Nagasaki: few events in history have had such an effect on man's conscience." - John Paul II
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteLast night, I watched the Season 1 episode of Sliders (Yeah, how 90s. I know. Hear me out . . .) in which they slide to a world where bombs were never dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because all the bomb tests failed. The bomb itself became known as "Einstein's Folly." One of the characters guesses that the alternative world's Einstein realised what would happen if he built a working bomb, and decided to nip the project in the bud.
The problem is that this other earth is about to be hit by an asteroid, and our heroes have no way to slide off it before disaster strikes. So the scientist decides to help a mad genius to re-engineer the bomb so that it works. Of course, the key word is "mad" and the genius wants to do more than save the planet with his newly found powers.
It is one of the more chilling episodes, because it insists that we cannot have our cake and eat it, too. That is, that we cannot have nuclear power for good uses and not also have nuclear bombs.
Plus it saved countless numbers of our fighting men's lives. Not to mention it actually saved Japanese lives as if we would have invaded it would have taken at least 4 months of fighting, not only on the islands, but on the mainland. American soldiers were outnumbered 1 to 3 in some places..it would have been a bloodbath. If Japan has just surrendered it wouldn't have had to happen.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that Nagasaki was considered the Catholic center of Japan? I watched a documentary on the apparitions of Akita. There was reference made by a convert to Catholicism of a "sacrificial holocaust" of the Japanese Catholics in reparation and expiation for the world. I watched another film some time ago about Japanese survivors of the bombing. Most of them could not fathom how the "Christian Americans" would do such a thing to fellow Christians. That was how they thought at the time. There are many things for which our nation shall be severely judged one day (treatment of the American Indians, overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, abortion on demand and I think this bombing of Japan).
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