Jeroen wrote:
> At 07:52 26-7-01 -0400, John Giorgis wrote:
> >Americans have been deeply troubled by nuclear weapons ever since we used
> >them.
> >
> >Maybe you don't hear much about it in Europe, but there is a vigorous
> >debate in this country on whether bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the
> >right and proper thing to do at the time. There are a great many people
> >who think that we should never use these weapons again.
>
> Having a vigorous debate about it does not mean the population suffered
> personal emotional damage from it. Many people in the debate weren't even
> born when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuked.
>
> Personal emotional damage requires help from professionals (such as
> psychiatrists) to help you deal with it. Is the debate in the US lead by
> psychiatrists? If it isn't, there isn't much personal emotional damage
from
> the bombings.
>
> If the debate *is* lead by psychiatrists, then it isn't a debate -- it's
> group therapy. :-)
OK, I made the statement that got this ridiculous subthread going, so I'm
going to try to offer some clarification.
It was not my intent to state, nor do I think it's what John or Alberto
meant, that the population of the US as individuals suffered either
emotional or physical damage. That's as INDIVIDUALS. It'd be easier if
English had a word that means "we, in that collective,
it's-something-we-all-argue-about, as a society we're not sure it was a good
idea".
I was speaking to the continuing debate in this country about our
responsibility as a people for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and whether it was a
good idea to use atomic weapons on civilian populations, as well as what our
level of accountability is to the world as a whole for being the first
nation to develop atomic weapons and the only nation to use them. *As a
people*, collectively, we're still unsure. The longer it is since 8/7/45,
the more unsure we are.
I never, ever claimed that the American people could be diagnosed as
suffering some lasting emotional trauma as a result of those weapons being
used. If you want to argue the morality of the use of atomic weapons, do
so. I, Ronn, Dan, John, Kat and many others would be delighted to engage in
that discussion. It's *good* to discuss that. It's a waste of time to
chase in silly circles after you like greyhounds chasing the mechanical
rabbit at the dogtrack.
Adam C. Lipscomb
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
ICQ# 32384792
