[Msisle Dad]

That's more like it. Not 'We were the forces of good battling evil'. That's simply childish.

Not It's not childish. It's the truth.

 

[MikeD]

Wasn't the Japanese government already asking the Russians to intercede for surrender, which was intentionally ignored by Russians and United States for various political reasons? One of which being the desire to show off the new Bomb? That is almost like . . . [unconditional surrender]

No, it's not. Surrender can be unliateral. You don't need external agents or offers or conditions or even the acknowledgement a priori from your opponent...you stop fighting and give up your arms. The Japanese were putting out feelers as to what conditions we'd accept on their surrender, which it turns out was "none." Too bad for them.

The combination of Japanese Militarism, Ultranationalism and political oppression within the country from about 1925 all the way up to WWII was the cause of the problem. It would not be factual to characterize the whole nation and every single Japanese as "people who only understand the language of force...people who have eggrandized themselves as the master race(s) of their hemispheres who have a manifest destiny to conquer all others". There were many Internationalists and Realists, whose voices were repressed towards the beginning of WWII. Does it sound a little like USA TODAY? NO?

I never said anything about the US today or my feelings about it or how it's related to or justifying the Bomb. Hell, I've spoken about how the motives of Bin Laden and associates can and should be seen in practical terms rather than simply as 'evil,' and expressed reservations about where things may be headed for our society.

Still, as a practical matter, in a total war, framed in the context of a global conflict, attacking civilians was seen as necessary and proper, and was a standard set by the Japanese themselves. We can't pick and choose who to kill in this scenario (or even in modern war; not as precisely as news briefings would have it anyhow), nor should we be concerned about preserving Japanese civilian lives at the expense of our ability to win the war and secure our interests and security afterwards (ie, checking Russia's designs).

You may call it "ancestral racism", but some might just take it as the "respect and love for parents and their parents and . . . all the way to the source of LIFE". This sentiment undoubtedly is shared by ALL humankind, including yours, MikeD!

Those are two different aspects of Japanese culture, and I'm not saying that the US hasn't had its share of shameful and racist behavior in the past as well. (Beyond just the Indians and slavery...look at the Philipenes et. al.) However, the Japanese had a homogenous tradition of over a thousand years of culturally instilled and encouraged racism...not passing judgement on it in hindsight, but I think Japan has progressed a lot more as an international economic machine than it did as a rareified and isolationist recluse with occasional imperialist tendencies.

I don't see where it attacks the case for the Bomb, in any case.

MD

 

[N8 v2.0]