Not really sure how to take that, or if it was directed at me at all. But since I tend to smile and get on with what I was doing, thanks!?
It's not meant to be taken in any particular way, actually. It is what it is. I just found it interesting the story of your mother who had a reason for ill feelings towards the Japanese, and then you saying you have no ill feelings towards them, even going to the point of saying that those of us who never lived through that cannot understand what Obama's gesture meant (even though it made you sick to your stomach even though you didn't live through WWII and therefore don't really understand what the gesture meant). Also, for someone who holds no ill feelings towards Japan, that position seems a little incongruous with subsequent posts of your where you dismiss the admirable cultural qualities of the Japanese in favor of the biting, sarcastic and sardonic recitations of the less-than admirable Japanese cultural qualities and actions of the past.
Clearly, there
are, in fact, some ill feelings there, but since you didn't live through it, those feelings can only the result of the transfer of feelings from your mother, at a time when you were young and impressionable, and certainly highly influenced by your mother. It's neither a good thing or a bad thing, it just is what it is, and it's a good illustration of how indoctrination (in whatever form) can have a lasting impression on us.
It has overtones of influence, indoctrination, prejudice, lots of things. It's not about you in particular, but your example is a classic example of it. This is just the amateur social scientist in me at work, something that has been a hobby and an interest of mine for a long time. People and society, what they do and say, and why, is something I find fascinating. Recognizing it in others helps me recognize it in myself. That doesn't mean I can change it, for the good or the bad, but at least I can recognize it. Like everyone, I took on the feelings and prejudices of my parents, justified or otherwise, and some I have been able to shake, some not.
I was only being mildly flippant and comedic, but very serious about it being an excellent presentation of an example of how we are influenced for the long term.
The vivid illustration of dragging your mother back to the car was awesome, BTW. It showed great passion on her part, and great devotion on yours. Hard to argue with that on any level.
Also, while it's
probably true that dropping the bomb, twice,
probably saved lives overall, Allied lives in particular, we really don't know that for sure. It's all conjecture, same as the alternatives that people put forth. If we hadn't have dropped the bomb Japan may have picked up the phone and surrendered three days later, anyway, despite the accepted convention that they were prepared to fight to the last man. Conversely, they may very well have become even more desperate than the Kamikaze by utilizing the "banzai charge" more and more, since the Bushido Code was such an integral part of the Japanese military, and more lives than the accepted estimates may have been lost in that case. But we really don't know for sure.
Side note to Dennis:
"And as far as the "guys in the hood"... something tells me the the Hood in any major city is just a bit different then being at war with a foreign power....."
It's really not, though. It's just a matter of scale. Most wars have been turf wars, or wars because you just don't like the other people over there, just like in The Hood. Another example of scale are the childhood spats, bullies, wimps and whiners on the playground, which is just a small-scale version of Congress.
