Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the dropping of the 2nd atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I've always been extradordinarily interested in the atomic bomb detonations in Japan because I was born in Japan.
It is also intriguing to me how Japan moved away from its aggressive nation-building stance that was so destructive and replaced it with a pacifist liberal democracy. I wonder what it took to change the people's outlook on life, behavior, and goals? (Obviously it can be done, and I wonder if this is the goal in the Middle East?) Yea, yea, I know the war... but I think it had to eminate from the top down. The leaders must have really wanted their nation to change.
Since WWII, Japan has created the second largest economy in the world. So while not a military might any longer (and in fact was/is a protectorate * of the US) Japan's economic status makes it a force to be reckoned with.
This day also marks the 33rd anniversary of the resignation of Richard Nixon as the President of the United States. American Minute had an interesting quote from our 36th President,
"Good evening. This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office...To continue to fight...for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress...Therefore, I shall resign...If some of my judgments were wrong...they were made in what I believed...to be the best interest of the Nation." Nixon continued: "In the Middle East, 100 million people in the Arab countries, many of whom have considered us their enemy...now look on us as their friends. We must continue to build on that friendship so that...the cradle of civilization will not become its grave."
* Protectorates were established as a result of the adoption of the Monroe Doctrine .)
Things that occupied my mind today, although not from my children, these ideas and thoughts and how they will play out in the world will affect my children, and yours.
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2 comments:
This brought to mind the year before President Nixon resigned -- I spent it glued to the TV and the Watergate investigations. I was newly married, didn't work, had no money so this was a cheap time filler!
I vaguely remember them, as I was just 12/13 when the Watergate Hearings were going on. My dad was active duty Air Force then.
I do distinctly remember begging my mom in '72 to vote for Nixon instead of McGovern, and then being disappointed when the Watergate stuff started coming out. My mom did a good job of letting me know that we'll always be disappointed in something about public figures but that we should concentrate on what they do that we admire and think is good for our country. Those words come back to me time and again when it comes down to voting and politics!
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