Let us Begin: What are we Making Weapons for?

[gregorysams1]

"Let us hope, most of all, that our descendants reach the day when they look back with incredulity at the thousand billion dollars plus of our money that each year funds the purchase of military technology designed to destroy us, our buildings and our infra-structures. What could be more bizarre than this?" (extract from the book Sun of gOd)

[Earthsupport]

Just as well I have a sense of humour. I was, (probably still am) a hippy back in the 70's!!

[bmwm3cs]

We make weapons to KILL hippies... Just kidding

[PURPLEBEATTIE1]

I have always found this song to be so powerful.What a song ! Its literally prophetic .God bless you John Denver.You stood up to the machine and I admire you no end for that.God bless

[Detallado]

American lives to Americans are more valuable than Japanese lives.

But for me a non-north american person, there aren't lives more valuable than other lives, we all are human beings, why your life would be more valuable than the life of anyone else?, that's just selfish.

[mommanoo123]

This made me cry. I was so busy with my life I never heard this song before today. Thank you for putting this here. I would like to share this with the whole world!

[robertelliottlangs]

Their is no difference communism and democracy are the same,coin just different sides,while greed is in the heart of man you can call your society anything you like ,it wont make a shred of difference...

[DENNISTMNS1]

Enough finger pointing; we are all to blame for the mess in this world. One day we will succeed in destroying our planet; then what? NOTHING!

[dianaamman]

I know I have posted this previously, but will continue to post it until we "hear" the message...

[Earthlinked]

WRONG!!!! Emperor Hirohito of Japan had already sent troops to teach the Japanese public how to set booby traps and he was CONSTANTLY publicly stating their intent to fight on to the bitter end. The US War Dept estimated 250,000 dead if forced to invade Japan. After the August 6 and 9 atomic bombings Russia declared war on Japan August 9 and invaded Manchuria. THIS was what made Japan surrender and nothing else!!!! They chose NOT to surrender until AFTER the atomic bombs were dropped.

[Earthlinked]

PLUS In order to dominate you must teach those that you are dominating a few lessons of war MOST notable NEVER ATTACK ME and think you will get away with it. Japan deserved a good kick in the balls for attacking Pearl Harbor without provocation and they got it Hiroshima and Nagasaki!!!!! This also serves to warn other countries NEVER attack unprovoked or suffer the consequences however harsh they may be!!!!! YOU decide to attack WE decide the consequences!!!!!!!!!! PERIOD!!

[part2themovie]

@Earthlinked WE? wars arent declared anymore. if what you say is true, then america deserved 9/11. too bad it wasn't really in retaliation for all the stuff america is doing across borders. war is a game like anything else on the planet. losers, winners, and fans

[Earthsupport]

I agree with your comments of having democracy for the entire world.

Please note that Saddam and a lot of other "idiots" have been initially installed by the US. Please understand that the US has the greatest vested interest in keeping "war going". It has the largest arms industry in the world. It supplies these arms indiscriminately.

[Earthlinked]

Business is business!

And America has had it's share of starting many wars - but NOT World War I or World War II.

And what a stupid statement!!! Yes America does have a great interest in war - and you are blaming America because they make the best weapons? Foolish - the most popular attack gun on earth is the Russian AK-47! There is NOBODY to blame - or blame everybody - either way - you achieve nothing by finger pointing - and this helps nobody!!! Just make it STOP!!!!!!!!!

[Titan752]

Easily the BEST song by John Denver and Alexander Gradsky sung with power and meaning... with a warning... If peace is ever to be a way life for all of us on this fragile planet, then we must agree to end all wars for all time.... or the price that we pay in the end will be the end of life and the destruction of our beautiful Earth! God grant us the widom and courage to learn how to live as a world of peace! The continuity of humankind in the future depends on the decisions of today!

[Earthlinked]

There will ALWAYS be a Hitler, Saddam, or other idiot that will keep war going. However they are becoming more and more limited - but they will pop up every now and then.

IN ALL OF HISTORY - NO DEMOCRACY HAS EVER DECLARED WAR ON ANOTHER DEMOCRACY - NEVER!!!! So when democracy rules the earth - war ends!!!!

[part2themovie]

@Earthlinked democracy is an illusion of choice. a pacifier for deluded folks. when all the world is a democracy then you will see why communism has such a stigma. too bad most people can't see similarities as well as they can differences, i blame sesame street. patriotism is like greedy/selective communism. choice and competition, marketing terminology for a commercialist society.

i am eager to see where humanity is headed

[Outlaw1257]

I'm eager to find out what 2012 will be about. Methinks it will be an epochal year; hopefully one that ultimately leads us to enlightenment.

[Earthlinked]

Yes - it is very easy to say it was the greatest song recorded by John Denver and "Sasha" or Alexander Gradsky. It is also the ONLY song recorded by these two musical greats!!!!!!!

I agree with Reagan - Peace through strength!!! There are MANY future dictators that will ONLY understand this and nothing more!!!!

[Fatman7risca]

The whole world should listen to this song and weep for what we have allowed to happen

[panga3a]

Yep. What are we making weapons for - they serve no one; kill all; destroy all. Is that what we want?

[Smorgasbordbeauty]

With the Gaza bombing haunting the world's conscience, this song is very relevant.

[Smorgasbordbeauty]

What is worse is that before the bombing,civilians were not warned that there was going to be a military operation in the area. That is why 150,000 to 200,000 died instantly. The area was not cleared of civilians. Now what kind of a country does that?

And hey, the protagonists fought the war not on American soil. It is easy for Americans to say the operation was justified. My country the Philippines was caught in the crossfire only because we were then an American colony due to US deception.

[Earthlinked]

Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed because they were major steel plants - if you cannot make steel - you cannot make war!!!! Japan had already said they would NEVER surrender. If people MUST die due to Japans decision why should they be Americans - let them be Japanese!!!!!

Also - Japan had to be hit and hit HARD - for the Pearl Harbor bombing - which MANY civilians were killed - with no warning - and NO declaration of war. When you attack unprovoked - you must expect retribution!!

[Earthsupport]

American lives are no more valuable than other countries. Bombing Japan was a long-term, strategic economic decision. Even though Americans are $11 Trillion in debt, its military spending still accounts for 48%, or almost 1/2, of the worlds total military spending; more than the next 46 highest spending countries combined; 5.8 times more than China & 98.6 times more than Iran; almost 55 times the spending on the 6 rogue states (Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan & Syria).

[Earthlinked]

It COMPLETELY depends on WHO is being asked the question!!! Ask ANY American - would you rather loose 1,000,000 more soldiers (Dept of War estimate in 1944) OR kill MANY Japanese women/children with atomic bombs - American lives are MUCH more valuable,

It was Japans decision NOT to surrender - so they must pay the price for their decision!!!

Defense contracting also provides MANY jobs. And OF COURSE America spends more - other countries are still throwing stones at each other!!!!!!

[Earthsupport]

US Generals and experts agree Japan were about to surrender, with minimal loss of additional US soldier lives. The US government choose to ignore this reality for the sake of making a "UNFORGIVABLE STATEMENT" with the BOMB to the world, at the cost of over 200,000 innocent civilian lives, mostly women and children. This was mainly for long-term economic, power status positioning. (Absolutely deplorable!) Try a little bit of unbiased research as a global citizen. The information is all out there.

[Earthlinked]

The MAIN reason was very simple: To teach the world that you DO NOT surprise attack America without a declaration of war. It was payback for Pearl Harbor - which was also an attack on innocent civilians! Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and Nagasaki WERE strategic military targets, surrounded by civilians. Emperor Hirohito stated in July 1945, Japan will NEVER surrender!! So where do you get experts agree Japan were about to surrender? Deplorable - YES - necessary - YES!! Better them than us!!

[panga3a]

The Japanese never actually bombed Honolulu. The civilians in the city who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor died because American anti-aircraft shells were improperly. This is known because unexploded American anti-aircraft shells were found in numerous places around Honolulu.

[Smorgasbordbeauty]

You know, when I was a student in the 1990s, I had occasion to visit Hiroshima. And believe it or not, there are still people who suffer the effects of the 1945 bombing.

There was no military necessity to the bombing. Even recent documents prove this. Please do not use Pearl Harbor as a justification because recent CIA documents shows that the US had a role there.

[Earthlinked]

Your are simply re-writing history! If we knew then - what we know now - they would have NEVER dropped the atomic bombs!! But the Japanese put MANY civilians on top on valuable military targets - as Saddam once did!! They even moved schools to be closer to steel factories - knowing that they were valuable military targets.

How to stop war is very simple - wait for China to collapse!! NO DEMOCRACY HAS EVER DECLARED WAR ON ANOTHER DEMOCRACY!! If the earth is all democratic - WAR ENDS!!!

[Earthsupport]

Nothing you can say will change the simple appalling fact that this act was horrific beyond any measure in human history. If you wish to continue to defend it that is your choice. I acknowledge your right to your point of view. I send you the abundant blessings of peace and happiness for you and your family.I wish you the very best out of life. I send you my best wishes for a good and fulfilling life full of love.

[Earthlinked]

The bottom line was that EVERY American general knew that invading Japan would add another 2 years to the war - and cost thousands of American lives. Japan was training civilians in guerilla tactics and terrorists activities another 2 years of a blood bath. And the day the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki Russia declared war on Japan!! So although it was inhumane it stopped the war in one week - Japan surrendered - which beat 2 more years of war!!

I hope we never see it again!!

[Earthsupport]

As I said before, nothing you can say will change the simple appalling fact that this act was horrific beyond any measure in human history. As you say, let's hope nothing will beat that!!

[Earthlinked]

I agree - you would rather spend billions - have more Americans killed and extend the war for 2 - 4 years as American war planners said. I would prefer to drop the bomb - kill 200,000 people - innocent and guilty - but Japanese people - NOT Americans! And remember they were the enemy and had bombed Pearl Harbor UNPROVOKED!!

Lets see who can sell their plan to the American people?

You are simply taking todays morals and ethics and placing them +60 years ago so your point is moot!

[Earthsupport]

The ONLY fact in your comment is that 200,000 Japanese people were killed. The rest of what you say, may or may not have become true. You appear to be saying, that at any human cost and in all circumstances, American lives are more valuable than any other nationality?

I also suggest you read the following regarding Pearl Harbor for another point of view:

apfndotorgforwardslashapfnforw­ardslashpearl_harbordothtm

[Earthlinked]

Yes - American lives to Americans are more valuable than Japanese lives - that is the way THEY thought before Pearl Harbor was surprised attacked!! So you are saying that this was OK - we should let other nations kill our men, women and children - and then do nothing - because killing is bad!!! Should we simply forget Pearl Harbor?

War is the worst possible solution - and America did not want to be in the war - be you cannot allow other countries like Japan, to bomb you country!!! WAKE UP!!

[Earthsupport]

All lives are valuable, that is the way it is. (You obviously did not bother to read my reference link to Pearl Harbor. Maybe you need to wake up as to how government leaders and the military industry work around the world.) I did not say it was OK for other nations to kill your men, women and children. Yes, killing is bad. (Americans murder more Americans every year than any other nation.) No, we should not forget Pear Harbor.(You should investigate this further.)

I agree war is the worst!!!!

[Earthsupport]

We ought, therefore, to apologize in unequivocal terms at once to the whole world for our misuse of the atomic bomb." (David Lawrence was an avowed conservative, a successful businessman, who knew eleven presidents of the United States intimately, and was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Richard M. Nixon,) April 22, 1970.

[Earthsupport]

On November 23, David Lawrence wrote, "The truth is we are guilty. Our conscience as a nation must trouble us. We must confess our sin. We have used a horrible weapon to asphyxiate and cremate more than 100,000 men, women and children in a sort of super-lethal gas chamber— and all this in a war already won or which spokesman for our Air Forces tell us we could have readily won without the atomic bomb.

[Earthsupport]

The Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America issued a formal statement in March 1946, "The surprise bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are morally indefensible. Both bombings must be judged to have been unnecessary for winning the war. As the power that first used the atomic bomb under these circumstances, we have sinned grievously against the laws of God and against the people of Japan."

[Earthsupport]

It is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to December 1, 1945 and in all probability prior to November 1, 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated."

[Earthsupport]

U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey report of July 1, 1946 states, "The Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs did not defeat Japan, nor by the testimony of the enemy leaders who ended the war did they persuade Japan to accept unconditional surrender. The Emperor, the lord privy seal, the prime minister, the foreign minister, and the navy minister had decided as early as May 1945 that the war should be ended even if it meant acceptance of defeat on allied terms....

[Earthsupport]

The decision by the US government to drop 'atomic' leaflets on Japanese cities was not made until August 7, the day after the Hiroshima bombing. They were not dropped until August 10, after Nagasaki had been bombed. We can say that the residents of Hiroshima received no advance warning about the use of the atomic bomb.

[Earthlinked]

And one more thing - I just love John Denver - been a fan since 1973!! His voice will be missed forever!!

[Earthsupport]

General Curtis LeMay, chief of the Air Forces, p.334, "The war would have been over in two weeks without the Russians entering and without the atomic bomb. PRESS INQUIRY: You mean that, sir? Without the Russians and without the atomic bomb? LeMay: The atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war at all." September 29, 1945

[Earthlinked]

I think that EVER private to General - has teh same 20/20 vision AFTER the fact!! All we knew was that the Japanese were told NEVER to surrender and civilians were being taught how to fight. Now - knowing ONLY that - does that sound like it would end in 2 weeks??? LeMay was GREAT and re-writing history - once the battle was OVER!!!!

[Earthlinked]

Too many "could have" - "should have" - "would have"!!! He was simply against the atomic bomb - because - although terrible - using the bomb - ended several more years of war with Japan. Does that mean he wanted the war to continue for YEARS? Tell me TODAY - the solution to the next war - and I can prevent the war for happening!!! As LeMay does - you first must wait for the war to end - AND THEN - AND ONLY THEN - he can find a better solution!!! Japan was training civilians for war!!!

[Earthlinked]

That being said - I think it was a step too close to extinction! The great armies are armies that can kill effectively - that is all! But this actually was too effective - it wiped the land clear.

And I think today - knowing that a nuclear might wipe out the entire planet with a "nuclear winter"! Hopefully we will never see another nuclear burst - it could be the very last thing we ever see!!

[Earthsupport]

Admiral William D. Leahy "It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagaski was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons."

[Earthlinked]

Earthsupport: The dropping of the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was done ONLY after the Japanese said they would never surrender AND they were training civilians to kill! Both bombs were dropped on steel plants to crush Japans ability to make war. Although the death count was high - they were not American lives. Invading Japan would have taken years and cost many American lives. Japan surrendered ONLY after being told that we had more of these bombs and would drop one every 2 days!!!

[Earthsupport]

Consider the following: On August 6, 1945, a uranium bomb 3-235, 20 kilotons yield, was exploded 1850 feet in the air above Hiroshima, for maximum explosive effect. It devastated four square miles, and killed 140,000 of the 255,000 inhabitants. Thus, between the two cities, 4.4% of the total death toll was made up of military personnel. In short, more than 95% of the casualties were civilians." In fact, many thousands of the Hiroshima casualties were children sitting in their classrooms.

[Earthlinked]

There were 2 groups of people - ones that wanted to use the atomic bomb and ones that did not!! Each will ALWAYS win their arguments - AFTER the fact!! It did kill mostly civilians - but you NEVER mention the strategic value of the target - and the FACT that it also destroyed Japans largest steel manufacturing area - thereby preventing them from making war!! The site was chosen ONLY because of military value!

The Saddam did the same thing - he put civilians around valuable military targets!!!