FREE ESSAY ON DECIDING FOR THE BOMB

DECIDING FOR THE BOMB

Deciding for the Bomb
There are many reasons that the Atomic bomb was used on Japan. There are many that
criticize the bombing, but I support it. The main reasons for President Harry Truman
decided to drop the bomb were, to save lives (American Lives), to bring about a quicker
resolution to the war, and to send a message to the world that we now had military
supremacy. Growing up in a military family, (with a dad a Vietnam vet, and a grandfather
who would have fought in Japan if we had invaded), may have biased my personal opinions,
but in my mind it is all a matter of numbers when it comes to war. War is a matter of how
many lives each side has to waste, and who runs low first generally surrenders. War is
hate by it's own nature. It is a hate that reaches to the core of every citizen, of each
side, at some level. I do not believe the bomb was dropped in hate, but in a step toward
peace, saving perhaps more lives, than the bombs killed. 
When looking at the Japanese, I agree with Fussell, on his ideas that the Japanese
citizens were going to continue to fight for their side, even when the ranks of their
army had been depleted. At this we see Fussell reference images of children and women
with bamboo spears fighting our troops, which very well could have been a reality, but
possibly more horrific with perhaps suicide bombings as seen in other later wars. The
honor these people feel for their country and heritage drives them so much. To give up,
and especially giving up the emperor, would have been turning their back on their
culture, and this dishonor they could not stand for. They had the belief in them that
they were right and their own hate fueled them enough to be admirable fighters. A culture
with beliefs such as Hare-Kari, (the precursor to kamikaze) and high values of honor,
they were not simply going to give up. The fighting would have continued, and many more
troops would have lost their lives. The bomb was dropped to save lives, American lives
and Japanese. People say that the Japanese were getting ready to surrender, but the bomb
sped up the process. Time was of the essence, Allied casualties were running over 7,000 a
week, (Fussell 18), and Japanese casualty rates were even higher. 
The bomb's mass destruction left the Japanese with no other choices. A surrender was on
the way, but who knows how far away that was, and how many lives would have paved the
way. Harry Truman decided for life, maybe not for the Japanese, but for his own soldiers.
Some people argue it saved only American lives, not Japanese lives. At this point to
those quick to criticize, I must say the bomb kept my grandfather's platoon from having
to invade, which is why I agree with Truman's decision. The bomb also saved Japanese
lives in the long run, because many more would have died in an invasion battle. The bomb
and it's mass destruction was such a force that the Japanese could not match, it made the
Japanese feel, that they could withdraw from the war without dishonor, (Fussell 21),
which made way for a surrender.
Dropping the bomb also sent a message to the rest of the world. It was the benchmark of
our military supremacy. With Russia frantically trying to develop their own Atomic bomb,
and preparing possibly to invade Japan, we let it be known clear that we had the upper
hand. Had the bomb not been dropped on Japan, it would have only been dropped somewhere
else in the near future. Had it not been dropped who knows how the cold war and arms race
could have turned out, and where it would have started. Before people would be afraid of
the bomb, they would have to see it's destructive force. Later wars may have turned out
very differently. The Cuban Missile Crisis could have been a more violent an episode.
Once the bomb had been made it was going to be dropped, it was going to be used, the
message had to be sent. It is a message that ended a war, and started another. 
In conclusion I support the decision of President Harry S. Truman of using the Atomic
Bomb. One of the main reasons for dropping the bomb was to save the lives of the many
soldiers who would have died and became statistics, like my grandfather. Another reason
was to bring about a quicker resolution to the war, to bring peace faster, by showing the
Japanese our superior weaponry, which they could not match. A final reason we dropped the
bomb was to win the urban-proverbial pissing contest. It sent a message to the world that
we now had a military might of a new unseen kind. This would lead to years of tension
between world super powers. The dropping of the bomb started the pissing-contest that
would result in an absurd race for destructive power, but a race we could not escape.