Victor in Terror

Victor in Terror

We all know that Japan was badly battered after the two atomic bombs were dropped by the USA in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which put an end to the World War Two. There is no denying that the nuclear age was coming. There is no doubt that the USA was proud of their great progress in science and technology, because they were the first country to possess the nuclear weapon. But was that all? The answer is no.

And today I would like to share with you something else besides the sense of achievement in America after it conducted the two atomic bombings. I’d like to tell you the psychological reaction of American public to the atomic bombings. Actually, America was a victor in terror at that time.

After the explosion of Little Boy in Hiroshima, the news was reported by the American press immediately and they described the atomic bomb as the greatest advancement in technology. The NBC said that the atomic bomb was the greatest progress ever in human history. However, in this same piece of news, it also firstly put out a disturbing warning that with time passing, the weapon they now used on their enemies would one day finally aim at themselves. Even the president Franklin Roosevelt said in the national news broadcasting after the second explosion in Nagasaki that they were grateful that God let America have the atomic bomb rather than their enemies. Later, more and more became aware of the threat of the atomic bomb and it was called the most deadly weapon in the history. The New York Herald Tribune said people were trembling inwardly. A reporter of The New York Sun said people in Washington D.C were all talking about the atomic bomb and the city was overwhelmed by the tension. So we can see the whole American public was obsessed by the fear, the fear of that weapon, and even the surrender of Japan cannot remove that fear.

Then came the actions. American people felt that they have the sacred duty to respond to the challenges brought by the atomic...