“The Forgotten Bomb” is a documentary about the atomic bomb that the US dropped on Japan, July 16, 1945, during World War II. The video showed people from both the United States and Japan and their responses to the event. The response was the same for many of the Americans interviewed in the film: dropping the bomb won us the war. However, consequently by dropping the nuclear bomb on Japan, the United States catapulted the world into the atomic age.
I really enjoyed this video because it shed a lot of light on not only the atomic bomb, but the events that surrounded the situation and the horrible repercussions of it. The consequences of negligent leadership were truly emphasized in this video. It is amazing how selfish we can be as human beings and sad to say, especially Americans! The video expounded on how the atomic bomb wasn’t as necessary to use as many people think. In fact, the world had a chance to get rid of the atomic bomb but President Truman ruined those chances. Our leaders didn’t know and, even worse, didn’t care to know what atomic bombs could do. It reminded me of what we talked about in class this past week about the responsibility for our leaders to know the meaning behind the symbols that they use and I think that this is an example of it. What the United States told the world by dropping the atomic bomb is that we will stop it nothing to win and appear the best. It doesn’t matter who we have to step on, how many innocent lives we will destroy- we WILL get our way at any cost of others. And what is even worse in my opinion, is that afterwards we will cover up how gruesome our behavior was so that the Americans will continue to be ignorant of what our country is capable of. The video talks about how many people are currently fighting to keep the effects of radiation a secret. The museums in the United States don’t show how intense the bombing was in Japan compared to Japanese museums which are incredibly graphic about what happened and how people were impacted. The exposure to the radiation caused survivors to be unrecognizable to others. Stories were told about how maggots were growing in and eating the flesh of people, how insides were completely destroyed and how people were forced to watch neighbors, friends, and loved ones die excruciating deaths without being able to help them.
I wonder how many of our leaders would have thought twice about dropping the bomb on Japan if they were forced to watch the video of the damage they would create in these lives. So often I feel as though we see things very generally: we are at war with this country. Do we ever stop to think that this “country” that we personify is made up of hundreds of thousands to millions of people just like us? The choice to drop a nuclear weapon on a country is choosing to destroy millions of human lives. I know that there are instances where people are going to be hurt, especially in a war. It is the responsibility of the country’s leaders to keep them safe, but at what point does it turn from self-defense to murder? Then at what point does it turn from a leadership issue to everyone’s issue? As we talked in class this week about responsibility, we also mentioned that it is our responsibility as the people to be educated on the issues so that we can correctly support or not support what our leaders’ decisions. Sometimes there is very little that the people can do to sway the opinions of leaders once in office, but during elections we have all the power. We need to take the time to learn about our leaders so we can place the right person in office: the person who stands for the same things that we do and who we know will accurately represent us in this world. But for now, we can still make a stand. The effects of radiation are a serious matter. Many workers right here in the United States have died due to the exposure of radiation. The video gave numerous contacts that are fighting against these issues that people can support. Once we are exposed to a situation, we have a responsibility to speak out against it if we don’t agree with it. The purpose of the documentary was to expose nuclear weapons for the terror that they are so that people can help put an end to their use. It’s risky exposing the government and our leaders the way that this video did, but you have to take risks if you want change. It always amazes me the common theme throughout all the key players in any significant change and that is their ability to stick their necks out for what they believe. The response for the video at Busboys & Poets alone was phenomenal and I can only assume that it is continuing to grow as the video is spread throughout the nation and it is all because one man’s conviction.
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