60 years after Hiroshima, America still lives in fear

60 years after Hiroshima, America still lives in fear - The Boston Globe

I agree with this commentary...I cannot imagine living in a world without nuclear arms, having grown up in the Cold War after much of the results of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were made public and the early optimism about the nuclear age had evaporated. I for one feel shame that my government is the only one in the history of our world to use a weapon of such magnitude on civilians. I think victory could have been achieved without nuclear bombs, although I know of no way the war could have ended without civilian deaths, and that is a sad testimonial to the horrors of warfare. The fact that we live in a post-Cold War world where no one's sure where all the nuclear material is or whether it might be used by another nation or terrorists brings an uncertainty that is less focussed but no less real than the days of mutual assured destruction.

For those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I am sincerely sorry for what happened. That doesn't mean I let Japan off the hook for its actions during the war. Certainly I'm rather glad that none of the enemy states got the Bomb first, either, but I'm very sorry that these two cities became a testament for the destructive power of man.

I don't think of nuclear bombs every day, just like I don't think about terrorism on a daily basis. To live with that sort of fear means that those who want to spread terror win automatically. But I do not turn a blind eye to what could be, either, and if nothing else, every August 6-9 I stop and consider what happened all those years ago, and what it meant, and what it means. Maybe, if the rest of the world would do the same, and those in power stepped away from their weapons and their programmes and dismantled them, then we could all breathe a little easier. But that isn't going to happen, unfortunately. At least it doesn't seem realistic in light of current events. But perhaps, in my lifetime....But it has to be a worldwide effort; I don't believe that the United States has a right to tell another country not to develop these weapons; that is hypocritical. But there are worldwide efforts to bring about true disarmament, and so long as this work goes forward, there is hope.

For now, the Doomsday Clock, the symbol of nuclear danger, stands at seven minutes to midnight, the same time as when it debuted over 50 years ago. We've been closer, of course, but the clock ticks with each new day that brings news such as Iran's decision to go ahead with its development plans for nuclear capability.