I asked a little girl what her name was today.
She said, "Barbie."
I thought, Well, that's not the worst I've heard.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hiroshima
I left off at Friday...we spent Saturday, Sunday in Hiroshima, then took the bullet train back to Osaka early the next morning after a substantial breakfast where we visited the aquarium and the world's largest Ferris wheel (or so it advertised).
But more on Hiroshima (pronounced "Hi-RO-shi-ma"). Nagasaki may be anti-American finger pointing (and perhaps justifiably so, am not going to touch that), but Hiroshima is anything but. It is not an embittered desolation; it is, in fact, a beacon of world peace.
Bill and I took a leisurely walk around the Peace Park, at least I believe that is what it is called.
But the museum was what really hit me.
There was bits of paper with characters burnt out iron doors blown out, wax figures skin dripping off bodies. And yet, I was most impressed by the vision of peace, no hint of guilt or finger pointing, even an upfront admission of the fact that Korean and Chinese slaves were also killed in the blast, followed by a lengthy presentation of Hiroshima's development as a significant military city before beginning to talk about the bomb. The only times the words "American" or "United States," came up was a single bilboard presentation with the question, why did the US bomb Japan, answered very matter of factly.. because of feeling threat from Germany and so forth, and also included what was described as a "suprise attack" on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Very simple, clean. This is why war is horrific. And now a sincere wish for peace. The thought crossed my mind, what changes a city from a war stronghold to a city of peace, an atomic bomb.
It's amazing. I wrote in the journal put there for visitors to the museum
This may sound strange but there are few times that I am genuinely moved by humanity and this was one of them. As an American I did not feel ashamed but rather informed of the horrors of nuclear war and moved to strive for world peace as a worthy endeavor not hopeless. I admire Hiroshima and wish the best in their vision
I want to write the NYT about this. How i felt, why Hiroshima is worth visiting.
At night we took pictures with the full moon in the background behind the A Dome and pictures of our shoes on the T-bridge where the bomb was supposed to hit.
But more on Hiroshima (pronounced "Hi-RO-shi-ma"). Nagasaki may be anti-American finger pointing (and perhaps justifiably so, am not going to touch that), but Hiroshima is anything but. It is not an embittered desolation; it is, in fact, a beacon of world peace.
Bill and I took a leisurely walk around the Peace Park, at least I believe that is what it is called.
But the museum was what really hit me.
There was bits of paper with characters burnt out iron doors blown out, wax figures skin dripping off bodies. And yet, I was most impressed by the vision of peace, no hint of guilt or finger pointing, even an upfront admission of the fact that Korean and Chinese slaves were also killed in the blast, followed by a lengthy presentation of Hiroshima's development as a significant military city before beginning to talk about the bomb. The only times the words "American" or "United States," came up was a single bilboard presentation with the question, why did the US bomb Japan, answered very matter of factly.. because of feeling threat from Germany and so forth, and also included what was described as a "suprise attack" on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Very simple, clean. This is why war is horrific. And now a sincere wish for peace. The thought crossed my mind, what changes a city from a war stronghold to a city of peace, an atomic bomb.
It's amazing. I wrote in the journal put there for visitors to the museum
This may sound strange but there are few times that I am genuinely moved by humanity and this was one of them. As an American I did not feel ashamed but rather informed of the horrors of nuclear war and moved to strive for world peace as a worthy endeavor not hopeless. I admire Hiroshima and wish the best in their vision
I want to write the NYT about this. How i felt, why Hiroshima is worth visiting.
At night we took pictures with the full moon in the background behind the A Dome and pictures of our shoes on the T-bridge where the bomb was supposed to hit.
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