Journal 7- Annie Wheeler

Part One:
      One insight to the Japanese culture that Hiroshima brought was how the Japanese were so patriotic.  On page 87 Hersey included what Tanimoto wrote in a letter to an American, "But now I have gotted my mind to dedicate what I have and to complete the war for our country's sake.  Thus they pledged to me, even women and children did the same."  Another story Tanimoto went on to describe was that of a professor of Hiroshima University and his son.  After the bomb went off, these two males were stuck under their house that had caught fire.  During their time being stuck they decided to give their lives for the Emperor by dying under their home.  Tanimoto quoted the professor, "It was my first time I ever tasted such a beautiful spirit when I decided to die for our Emperor" (89).  This showed me that the Japanese had so much enthusiasm for their country that they would die for it.  This is a small example compared to kamikaze's, these men in the military literally gave their life for the country and what their country believed in; this is what leads me to believe that it would have been very hard to beat the Japanese in WWII.
      The second biggest takeaway from the book Hiroshima is how much the people of Hiroshima suffered after the bomb.  On page 51 it is described how Father Kleinsorge found 20 military men in the brush area of Asano Park, "he saw there were about twenty men, and they were all in exactly the same nightmarish state: their faces were wholly burned, their eyesockets were hollow, the fluid from their melted eyes had run down their cheeks.  (They must have had their faces upturned when the bomb went off...)."   This imagery was very vivid and made me realize how much the affected citizens went through.
Part Two:
   While listening to Dan Carlin's podcast I heard some very shocking statistics and stories from survivors of WWI and II.  I'm sure we talked about The Blitz in my high school world studies class, but I don't remember any of the facts or significance of it.  Dan Carlin shared that this attack on London was the first of strategic bombing and it killed about 40,000 people.  The part that is most interesting to me was that it is hard to find reports and stories from the British citizens.  The British government didn't think sharing/writing stories would help the British's moral going onward, as a result we don't have stories from the survivors of The Blitz. 
Part Three:
     I don't like war, I don't like men, women or children dying, I don't like citizens of a country suffering because of war, I don't think many people like any of these things.  I wrestled with this question of how can we avoid catastrophes in the future.  My modest opinion is that it can't be avoided.  Just think, from the start of time there has been war.  Way back when the first weapon of choice was rock and sling, then new technology was implemented with the bow and arrow, then sword, then gun, with gun powder and ammo, then bombs and nuclear weapons.  There are always going to be people in the world that invent and come up with weapons that kill and destroy lives.  As recent events have shown us, not only guns and swords are weapons are used to destroy civilizations.  Everyday common vehicles, pressure cookers, chemicals and disease can be used as weapons of destruction. 
 As long as ISIS, people like Kim Jong-un and Putin exist, we are going to be reminded that there is no one way to think, not every one is going to agree on how to do things or agree on one religion or one belief.  With these points in mind I believe there is always going to be a bully on the playground.  Should we, as a country, stand by and watch them abuse or annihilate the weak?  No, as I was taught in middle school, you have to stand up for yourself, you can't keep letting them pick on you and hurt you, you have to show them you can fight back and you are not going to let them harm you.  If this means dropping a nuclear bomb on Japan because they attacked Pear Harbor, then so be it.  Not every country plays by the same moral or ethical rules.  There is always going to be somebody that throws the first punch and you have to decide if you are going to let them get away with it or are you going to defend yourself and your countrymen?