It was 64 years ago today. There had been all out war for 4 years, and more war elsewhere for years before that.
In addition to the war of bullets and bombs, planes and boats, there was a war of cultures. One side was totally unfathomable to the other, for they had different ideas about battle, about valor, about death. It was as if they had nothing to lose. And they kept coming. There always seemed to be more of them, no matter how many were killed. And it was this way mile after mile, island after island.
As for them, they were defending lands they considered theirs by divine right in the name of their divine ruler, descended from the gods themselves. Why would they do anything less than fight to an honorable death in His service?
There had to be a better way to defeat this nation than to kill everyone.
Instead, they choose to drop a new kind of bomb. A bomb so destructive that the mere threat of using another one would surely cause a quick surrender to ensue. This is what happened. This is more of what happened. And this is what it looked like. In the end, a second bomb was still necessary — why would anybody have two doomsday weapons? But if two, why not a thousand?
We have many times over broken the promise of “Never Again” when it comes to genocide. Let’s mean “Never Again” when it comes to this destruction.
In closing: a few facts and one concern on “Cash for Clunkers“, a government success story which will save citizens money and help the environment; speaking of the environment, things are worse than scientists thought, and Americans are uniquely oblivious; contraception is more popular than puppies; guess what medical procedure is more common than open heart surgery and hip replacement combined (hint, it can happen after contraceptives fail); size acceptance my ass, obese people spend $1500 more per year on medical expenses; why can’t the tea-party crowd fill Washington with a million supporters? Farrakhan managed it; let me get this straight, I’m supposed to live in fear because some anti-social psychopath can’t figure out how to masturbate?; on graduate placement offices; on unpopular laws; Medicare is a government run health plan, and a lot of people think it works pretty well; bipartisan health care reform is neither bipartisan, nor health care, and it certainly isn’t reform; gee, maybe research on what works best is a good thing; the real math on rescission; and only in Vegas does this sort of thing happen. A man is walking a tiger (yes, a tiger) on a leash when it breaks free to chase a rabbit. No troubles, the man coaxes the tiger (yes, still a tiger) home before the police arrive. I will always be extra careful in that neighborhood from now on. After all, I would hate to accidentally hit a tiger!
Today is Midori No Hi, or Greenery Day. Originally celebrated in late April as the [previous] Emperor’s Birthday, Hirohito-sama’s love of nature prompted the current Emperor Akihito-sama to make it a permanent holiday celebrating the great outdoors. It is part of a “Golden Week” of holidays, so don’t plan on getting anything done with business associates in Japan this week.