In November 2015, I wrote a piece about four million people escaping Syria into Europe, relating it to Japan’s historical era of warring factions. Recently, I saw a Frontline documentary called, “Children of Syria,” which originally aired on April 19, 2016. My heart bleeds for the family, each of the four adorable children, and their mother.
Having spent my entire formative years in post-World-War-II Japan, I believed that war, any war, was a thing of the past, never to be repeated by any of us humans for eternity. Some would call this view of the world naive. Or is it?
Living in today’s world as a naturalized American citizen, I’m beginning to understand that this peaceful view of the world is correct if, and only if, we were referring to the countries that were involved in WWII, and if the world still remained filled with those who remember the unfathomable misery that a war brings to humanity. Unfortunately, it seems that history is about to be repeated by those who are too young to remember or who are not given a chance to learn about the nature of human conflicts which, when allowed to fester, will end in a much more horrific way than anyone can fathom.
The sad truth is that, today, so many children in some parts of the world, especially those who are impacted by Muslim extremists, are having to cope with the harsh realities of brutal conflicts. Many of them grow up to be part of 1,400 years of conflicts, and the cycle of brutality stays intact. No Muslim leader seems to care to learn the lessons from WWII.
Or, perhaps, they simply don’t care. All they seem to care is to wipe out the infidels, while ignoring the all-too-obvious consequence, which is that they, too, will likely be wiped out in the process. Such ignorance will surely lead to the annihilation of all living things on earth.
I don’t understand why the Islamic world seems to be incapable of putting a stop to this utter madness. Muslims are killing other Muslims. It is as if millions of Muslims’ lives have to be sacrificed before they may finally come to their senses, if at all.
While the historical backgrounds are different, the effects of what is happening today are quite similar to what was happening in Japan during WWII. If you are a Muslim leader and care about the future of YOUR own children, the lessons learned by the then emperor of Japan are likely to help open your eyes.
When I was growing up, a particular notion was being ingrained in the minds of all Japanese school children. And that notion is that all humans, despite all our differences, must work toward a peaceful world. Japan had freshly come out of a devastating war, which was headed for an annihilation of the entire Japanese population. This sobering realization finally came to the then emperor of Japan because of an atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, followed by another one on Nagasaki. These two bombs, combined, killed 105,000 people, not to mention having caused long-lasting illnesses among the survivors.
It must be pointed out that these two were the world’s very first atomic bombs used in combat, meaning, quite rudimentary in its power. More specifically, the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki exploded with the yield of 15 kilotons and 20 kilotons of TNT (TriNitroToluene), respectively. In contrast, the first test of a thermonuclear weapon (hydrogen bomb), in the United States in November 1952, yielded an explosion on the order of 10,000 kilotons of TNT. (Atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs are different types of nuclear bombs.) Today, the world has not just 2 but 15,375 nuclear weapons.
Let’s do a simple math, assuming that the power of hydrogen bomb has stayed constant with the level shown in the 1952 experiment.
- 10,000 kilotons of TNT / 20 kilotons of TNT = 500 times more powerful per bomb than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
- 105,000 instant deaths with two bombs = an average of 52,500 deaths per bomb in 1945.
- Many were scorched (i.e., fried) to death; some literally melted instantly.
- 52,500 deaths per bomb x 500 times more powerful per bomb x 15,375 nuclear bombs = over 400 billion deaths.
- The above calculation does not even address the long-term harmful effects of radiation on all living things.
- But, wait, the world has only 6 billion people. In other words, there will be no one left to care about the radiation.
As you can see, the world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons – as it exists today – makes what had happened in Japan in 1945 look like a child’s play. Yet it was one of the most horrific events in human history. It makes me wonder if other planets, with no known living creatures today, were also destroyed by their own so-called “intelligent” beings who nonetheless could not figure out how to get along with those who held different views from their own. Imagine if their destiny, due to their lack of emotional intelligence, was to destroy everything and everyone, including their own kind. I say this because this is precisely where I see the world headed. We are in the midst of a perfect storm of (A) intolerance, religious or otherwise, by some extremists who have no regard for life, (B) the stockpile of nuclear weapons among many nations, and (C) a lack of world leaders who have the fortitude to do what is necessary to take out humanity’s cancer before it’s too late.
Here is a call to action for all world leaders: Why not learn from the lessons of what had brought about the end to WWII?
Over three decades ago, David and I took our children to visit Pearl Harbor and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum – so that they could get a sense of how America got involved in WWII, and how the war came to an end after nearly four years of brutal fighting, finally bringing peace among nations.
It is alarming that people in many parts of the world allow those who have no understanding of human history to rise to positions of power. It would be a sad day for humanity when history is repeated by ignorant world leaders.
“Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.”
Victor E. Frankl, author, “Man’s Search for Meaning”
