History, like humankind, has its days of hope and many more that might best be described with the words, “What were you thinking?” On August 6, 1946, the US dropped the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, killing between 90,000 and 160,000, mostly civilian, Japanese. The photo above is the shadow of a man and his ladder imprinted on a wall by the force of the blast that morning.
America has long rationalized the use of “the Bomb” as a means of shortening World War II, and I’m not qualified to debate that question, but I do recognize the horror of such weapons, as should we all. There are now enough in the hands of nine countries to wipe out all of humanity and most of nature many times over.
Some say that the existence of nuclear weapons has deterred wars (though not the Cold War) over the past 80 years, and in a perverse way, that thought may have a kernel of truth to it. In a way that seems like the argument that if we all had guns there would be less killing. Just weeks ago the US used the largest non-nuclear bomb ever constructed to deter Iran from becoming the tenth nuclear state. That act runs counter to such an argument, but trying to reason over violence and war is perverse, if essential.
I have no good answer to all of this, but please put me down as rooting for humanity’s survival, one small act of kindness at a time, hoping they add up to enough.
And as it happened, one meaningful act occurred sixty years ago today, with the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by President Johnson. For 100 years after the Civil War, voting rights for all (well, women had to wait) were granted by the 14th and 15th Amendments, but had been deterred by numerous laws and practices, most notably in the South. Voting Rights have had their ups and downs since then, but the Act changed the balance once, for all and for good.
Today is a good day to do some good.
