Daryl Zamora

Bloganuary writing prompt

If you could un-invent something, what would it be?

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The atomic bomb.

The issue of nuclear armament is complex and brings with it a complicated context. But putting myself in the shoes of the thousands of innocent who perished in Hiroshima, and the threat we are now actually under because of the advances in nuclear weapons since the Second World War, I say it has generally done nothing good.

I visited Hiroshima last November and did a tour of the district (now a huge park) where Oppenheimer’s “gadget” was first detonated. I was emotional seeing the “Atomic Bomb Dome”. It was a government building where people used to conduct exhibitions — until the first A-bomb exploded some 200 feet above it, so the destruction would have a bigger radius.

The museum adjacent to the park displays grim remembrances of that fateful day in human history. The death and sufferings that the Japanese people went through were captured in great detail. The bombing and its aftermath was total hell. No one, especially civilians, deserves such tragedy.

Of course, this is not to belittle the sufferings of those who were victimized by the Japanese in those years. I am a Filipino, and I still remember my grandfather’s harrowing stories of when he was a kid hiding in the mountains to avoid the cruel Japs hunting them in the towns.

Instead, this is to join the clamor of all innocent civilians who simply, genuinely crave for peace.

* Little Boy was the name of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima

Image created with Canva Magic Media.