Should We Have Dropped the Atomic Bomb?

Should we have dropped the Atomic Bomb?

Ever since Einstein first discovered the treasure trove of energy contained in a single atom, the world has felt the repercussions. Culture has changed tremendously since then. We now have new energy sources to power cities over the entire globe, but on the other hand we now possess the ability to leave most of them in ruins. All it would take is for one country to utilize the other product of nuclear fusion: the atomic bomb. The first time the bomb was dropped in a deliberate offensive attack was August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima. It destroyed 4.1 square miles of the city and left a mushroom cloud that could be seen 180 miles away. It killed an estimate 400,000 innocent lives and left many injured and disfigured from radiation. The result of August 6th sparked the Arms Race which brought the number of nuclear weapons into the hundred thousands.

I suppose history speaks for itself when one considers if the initial dropping of the atomic bomb was a good idea. But if I must speak for it, I would say it was worst scenario ever manifested by the human race, solely for the reason that never in history had we possessed the power to destroy the entire human race. And now at our present date, the quantity of nuclear weapons has grown like an infection that we can no longer simply call to a halt.

Do I believe that we could've succeeded in WWII without the atomic bomb? Yes I do. I also believe that it would've cost more American lives as a result. But I weigh the entire population of the human race much heavier than the number of soldiers we would've placed in combat. I also believe that Truman was careless in estimating the possible future outcome of the event, and I consider it one of our biggest failures in the history of the United States