Which side are you on? As if death takes sides.
Parochialism applies as much
to war and death -- as it does to elections and pie.
The world will never forget the morning of 60 years ago, August 6, when the first atomic bomb exploded 580 metres above the city of Hiroshima , Japan.
First there was an intense flash of light and blast in the city's downtown, followed by a thunderous roar, with enormous pillars of flame bursting upwards.
On people's memories will also be seared the date August 9, for on that day 60 years ago at 11:02 am, the second atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki, Japan.
Why do some folks think that the only deaths that count in a war are American?
Every year on these days, the world is reminded of the devastation and destruction nuclear weapons can wreak upon humanity and the earth.
Reminiscing perhaps most of all at this time of year are the Japanese, as victims of the horrific weapons.
But in a way, the atomic bombs have become the only memories of the Second World War for quite a few Japanese politicians, as they try to obliterate from living memory the atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army against millions of people in the Asia-Pacific region.
In most of the American press, articles written about commemoration of those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- are followed within a few breaths by nationalist blogs about “the bombs ended the war” and “the Japanese deserved it”. Yet, the nation which suffered the most from Japanese imperialism and militarism -- China -- manages to encompass both sides of the dialectic of death that is the core of all wars.
In a resolution passed early this week, the lower house of the Japanese parliament went so far as to deliberately delete the terms for "colonial rule" and "aggression" from the country's past. The same phrases were used in a similar resolution it adopted a decade ago.
Some Japanese officials and lawmakers continue to visit the Yasukuni Shrine - where Class A war criminals are enshrined with other war dead. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited the shrine four times since he took office in 2001.
Why do some folks think that the only deaths that count in a war are Japanese?
If we people of the world truly hope to maintain peace and prevent war and tragedies like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we should not only commemorate those who died but also never lose sight of what caused the war and the suffering inflicted by Japanese imperialism.
War criminals should forever be nailed to the pillory of notoriety.
Posted: Sun - August 7, 2005 at 07:57 AM