Call to mind the dates of the greatest terrorist attacks in history.
You immediately thought of 9/11, whether you really think it was that bad or not. Maybe you also conjured up 12/7, when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Many, I dare venture to guess most, of you probably neglected to remember perhaps the worst episode of terrorism ever, which occurred on this day 64 years ago.
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on a civilian center in Hiroshima, Japan. This was done for two major reasons: 1) “obtaining the greatest psychological effect against Japan” and 2) “making the initial use sufficiently spectacular for the importance of the weapon to be internationally recognized when publicity on it is released”. Put a different way, the bomb was dropped to strike terror in America’s enemy (Japan) as well as the rest of the world.
Mourn and grieve today for the unimaginable decimation of human life that occurred on that day. Pray for the Japanese, who suffered through that nightmare and still suffer its effects today. Pray for the American and international world leaders, who have seen the destruction mankind is capable of, and pray they would never see fit to utilize such means again. Pray for peaceful resolution to global conflicts so that atomic bombs, fighter jets, millenium guns, and battle tanks can be converted into plowshares, combines, and tractors so that we can stop ravaging the land and start replenishing the earth with food for our hungry brothers and sisters all over the world.
