Nobody will argue that 2020 has been a terrible year for the world. And this summer continues to be difficult, what with the Coronavirus cases and fatalities both on the rise. So it's unsurprising that the 75th anniversary of the Atomic bombings of HIroshima and Nagasaki Japan are not the focus of anyone's attention, right now.
Nevertheless I feel it's important to acknowledge this anniversary of the first uses of Atomic weapons in war, because they changed the world forever. The bombings did achieve their immediate aim which was to end WWII without having to invade Japan itself, avoiding high casualties on both sides. The world also learned a valuable lesson to fear the power of nuclear war, seeing how dangerous those bombs were even in their crudest early form. In ending one war, we learned we acquired the means to destroy ourselves. The decades long Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union lead to a costly arms race of developing and testing weapons we still hope we'll never have to use. It is also important to acknowledge the fearful price the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki paid for the end of World War II.
August 2020 observes the 75th anniversary of the first use of Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. The bombings ended WWII, but our new capacity to destroy ourselves changed the world forever. And the citizens of both cities paid a high price for peace.
