Please do not be surprised with this seeping in of a post with heavy political overtones. The thought for this post came up after a discussion over lunch with my American colleagues.
Imagine this.
You are a young child, say a teenager. You have a debate at school. You are asked to defend the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on a purely rational basis. What would you do?
Having been brought up in India, this same topic would have assumed an altogether different angle. What makes it harder for the American children, is their need to justify the savage act of their previous generations. The war reached such horrendous proportions, that at that point of time, hurting the enemy in any manner was an acceptable solution.
How would a German justify what the Nazi's did to the Jews. How would a Spaniard/Portuguese justify the horrendous acts of his/her forefathers with the rape of Latin America. How would a Japanese justify the rape of China? How would one justify the aftermath of the Partition of India? How would one justify the slavery and harsh treatment meted out towards Africa? Infact, how can anyone justify the acts of the imperialists, dictators and terrorists?
Well, no justifications, whatsoever. Have you ever thought of this? The world has never been peaceful. There has always been a simmer of discontent, violence and war. It is no different now from what it had been all this while.
We need to find that peace and harmony amidst all chaos.
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