Editorial: Should We Have Dropped the Atomic Bomb?

The decision to drop the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima was a mistake on the part of Americans. It may have brought a quicker end to the war, but innocent people, American or not, were killed by this extremely powerful weapon. American officials also said the bomb was dropped in order to prove the point that American forces would continue to attack Japan until a surrender had been declared. Neither of these reason seem to justify the killing of thousands of innocent people.

A quicker end to the war would have been nice for everyone, and was enjoyable for Americans. But this joy was a result of the fact that many innocent lives were taken in Japan due to the Atomic Bomb. Our justification for this was the fact that dropping the bomb saved many lives of American soldiers, not to mention time, money, and anxiety. But innocent civilians do not belong in the middle of warfare. It is the soldiers duty to fight a war, keeping it away from those innocent. This is not what happened in the case on the attack on Hiroshima. In order to save soldiers, thousands of Japanese civilians were sacrificed.

There is also a moral perspective that comes to mind when contemplating the bombing of Hiroshima. The Americans wanted to prove a point to the Japanese. Americans wanted to show Japan the power of our weapons, and our lack of hesitation to use them. We also wanted to tell Japan that we would continue to bombard Japan until surrender had been declared. Lives of thousands of people are worth more than proving to Japan the power of our nation. Power is not always the amount of destruction one can create, but I can also be the ability to resolve conflict and communicate without use of force.

Americans made a mistake by dropping the Atomic Bomb. The amount of lives lost in the attack on Hiroshima held more value that the effects that came about as a result of the bombing.