Abomb 2

Four horrific events took place that would stand out from the countless other atrocities
comitted during the second World War: The mass murder of the Jewish in internment camps,
the battle of Stalingrad, the creation and use of the first atomic bomb, and the creation and use
of the second atomic bomb. The creation of the first atomic bomb marked a turning point in
world history that would thrust us into the age of modern warfare. Atomic bombs rendered all
traditional ways of warfare pointless. The use of an atomic bomb signaled the absolute
obliteration of a target, and all chance of life existing within the surrounding area impossible for
up to sixty years after. The use of the atomic bombs on Japan was a grave error on behalf of the
United States, not only did the use of the atomic bombs open the world to the threat of nuclear
warfare, but they also permitted killing en mass that was quicker than anything previously
invented all with the push of a button.
The atomic bombs are deadlier than any other weapon of mass destruction in human
history. They were able to instantly obliterate anything within a certain radius of the blast and
continued to do further damage to the environment and surroundings further still. The effects of
the bombs are described as such, “Thermal radiation is so intense that almost everything close
to ground zero is vaporized. The extreme heat causes severe burns and ignites fires over a
large area, which coalesce into a giant firestorm. Even people in underground shelters face
likely death due to a lack of oxygen and carbon monoxide poisoning.”
(https://www.icanw.org).The bombs were perfect instruments of death, able to kill even
survivors, and able to cripple genetically across generations if those who managed to survive an
atomic bombing had children. The areas of Japan around the explosions became poisoned by
toxic radiation and were rendered uninhabitable for a short time, and even without the radiation,
cities were wiped out in seconds that would take great effort to rebuild.
The detonation of the first atomic bomb signaled the dawn of a new age of warfare, an
age of fearmongering by the fearful. Modern day politics are greatly shaped around the threat of
nuclear warfare, with the most powerful nations in the world often possessing some of the
largest numbers of nuclear weapons in the world. The nuclear weapons present today exist as a
result of the bombings of the trinity tests, “On 16 July 1945, the 'Trinity' nuclear test plunged
humanity into the so-called Atomic Age. The first-ever nuclear bomb was detonated in New
Mexico…” (https://www.ctbto.org). Had the Atomic bombs never been constructed it is possible
that we would be able to maintain a political scene and civilian daily life that was not dictated by
the threats nuclear weaponry posed by simply existing in our world. Fear takes hold of many
when they learn of the existence of these weapons and it had taken hold of me the moment I
heard of them as well.
A common counterargument in favor of the atomic bombs is the fact that they were
instrumental in ending the war in the pacific. It has become public knowledge that a great
amount of deliberation was made about the potential impact of the atomic bomb, American
politicians were locked in heavy debate over the decision on whether or not to drop the bomb,
but eventually came to the decision that it would be of greater benifit than hindrance, “Casualty
predictions varied, but all were high. The price of invasion would be millions of American dead
and wounded. Estimates did not include Japanese casualties” (https://www.nps.gov). This
argument is often used to attempt to discredit claims against the use of atomic bombs, but they
fail to account for the fact that this only focuses on the short term impact. We are still feeling the
effects of the use of the atomic bombs today as they have left a long lasting worldwide impact
that will never leave. It is impossible to undo the effects of the use of the atomic bombs and now
we are forced to live with the consequences.
The atomic bombs continue to prove themselves as the world’s greatest mistake as we
move further into the future. Dropping the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima were
completely and entirely unjustifiable. The long term impacts were likely something that the
people in command did not know woul come at the time, but now we must continue forward into
the future while suffering the damage their decisions have made on the nature of human
relations and warfare. The atomic bombs should never have been dropped on Japan.

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Four horrific events took place that would stand out from the countless other atrocities

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