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hiroshima day
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never be repeated due to the inherent violation of human dignity and the profound moral implications associated with such destructive actions. As Christians, our emphasis must be on the significance of human responsibility and the ethical imperative to preserve life and protect the sanctity of human existence. Here are three key reasons why the atomic bombings should never be repeated, based on this theological perspective.
On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Japan during World War II. The first was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The second bomb would be dropped a few days later, on Aug. 9, on the city of Nagasaki. It’s estimated that 70,000 to 135,000 people died from the first bomb and 60,000 to 80,000 people died from the second.
On the morning of August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m. above the city of Hiroshima, Japan, the unthinkable happened. A B-29 aircraft flew overhead, a parachute opened and then a flash, an enormous blast and then a deafening silence as a mushroom cloud of smoke, flame and destruction blotted out the sun and engulfed the landscape. The United States had deployed the world’s first atomic bomb, instantly killing over 80,000 people. Three days later, we did it again over the city of Nagasaki, killing another 40,000. These two bombings, arguably the most violent and destructive wartime acts in the course of human history, effectively ended the second World War. They also completely destroyed two cities and ended a multitude of predominantly civilian lives, tens of thousands of whom succumbed to radiation-related injuries and illness in the aftermath of the devastation.
Two years ago, I had eye surgery to restore my sight. As I glanced at the bottle that I use to put in contacts that give me my vision back, I noticed the writing was in Korean. It was a bottle that I had purchased in Seoul, during our Presbyterian Peacemaking Travel Study Seminar, and once emptied have used for these drops. It reminded me how easy it is to also lose sight of major issues facing our world today.
Today at 8:15 a.m., the exact time that the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, the Peace Bell at the Hiroshima Peace City Memorial Monument will ring. Residents of the city, whether at the Peace Park or elsewhere in the city, will pause for a minute to pay their respects, to pray for peace and to remember the horrors of war and of nuclear weaponry. Now, 74 years later, this moment of attention still seems like a sensible and prudent thing to do.
On a recent Sunday morning, I learned about the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi. It happened during the children’s time, when the leader held up a broken vase, a cherished family heirloom, that had been glued back together. And rather than a careful repair job that made the vase look like new, the broken places on this vase were highly visible, actually accented with what looked like raised golden paint. When you looked at this vase, you knew that it had been broken, and exactly where it had been broken. Kintsugi teaches that broken objects aren’t things to hide or throw away, but to display with awe, reverence, pride and restoration. The gold-filled cracks of a once-broken item tell a story; they are a testament to a history.
Today at 8:15 a.m., the exact time that the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, the Peace Bell at the Hiroshima Peace City Memorial Monument will ring. Residents of the city, whether at the Peace Park or elsewhere in the city, will pause for a minute to pay their respects, to pray for peace and to remember the horrors of war and of nuclear weaponry. Now, 73 years later, this moment of attention still seems like a sensible and prudent thing to do.
