An unfortunate incident

An ordinary scene. Unsuspecting people frolicking with their children in a colourfully painted yet slowly rusting playground. Yellow, gaudy paint peels off the supporting poles on the swings, and the merry-go-round creaks cheerfully as it spins the children into dizzy euphoria.A woman clutches at the wire fencing enclosing the scene, rattling the fence with all her might. 'Get out!' She screams, already knowing it's far too late. 'Get OUT!'Some parents look suspiciously on at this apparently raving cilvillian. They mutter amongst themselves ominously, wondering whether to say anything, but her desperate cries are barely audible above the screeches of the birds and happy children's laughter.Suddenly a white light fills the darkening sky. Cries of pain fill the thickly resonating air as the once cheery people writhe in agony, their eyes destroyed by the impossibly bright flash. A fiery shockwave forces its way through the city; the people burst into flame in the unbearable heat. They scream and curl into the foetal position and the most intense pain imaginable ripples through their frail bodies. A little girl stares at her mother's melting face and whimpers, otherwise in silence. Elsewhere in the centre of the city, buildings crumble with the force of the flame peppered waves that are destroying this once mighty city. Skyscrapers fall as if they were no more than dust in the wind.Back at the playground, all who once lived are ashes. The bones of the woman at the fence's fingers are clearly visible through her charred emains, and what is left of her disperses in the slight breeze. Nothing is meft.In the deathly silence, all that can be heard are the ghosts of tormented screams in the majestic half-light. Shadows are burned into walls. Cars are but twisted molten wreckage. The only proof of life is the dead; all is still.The aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic bomb was unfathomable. Countless people were killed instantly in the most horrific war action of all the century, if not all time. the few that did survive often died withing a few months from their horrific burns or radiation poisoning. Even to this day, these mighty civilisations lay empty, the remains of loved ones lost to the ages.So the question remains, what was the point of any of this? Was it truly necessary to destroy so much and kill so many? Some would argue yes, that the bombs dropped on an unsuspecting japan were required to halt the war, otherwise peace might never have been restored to our planet. It seems unfeasible to say the least, but perhaps Earth would become a dead and uninhabited planet, desptroyed by the very race that sought to save it in their bids for power.However, if these nuclear weapons hadnnot been used, would the outcome have still been the same? Indeed, Japan had over five million soldiers willing to die for the cause; they were virtually unstoppable. Some say they would never have surrendered, even when their impending defeat was ascertained. Protesters claimed after the event that shaped the lives of a nation that the bombs were unnecessary; an experiment by the US government that was both murderous and callously evil. It all depends which side of the moral fence you sit on.The moral fence divides the world like an iron curtain, simultaeneously dividing and uniting the planet. But how to choose what side to reside on? That is the common man's decision.Peacekeepers might choose the point of view that catered for their anti-war beliefs and reservations when it came to violence, but it must also be taken into account that sometimes violence is a much needed ingredient to end a conflict. Sometimes that final blow is all it takes to blow a war apart.Budding politicians, however, would likely argue that is was a necessary precaution to avoid further death of civilians and soldiers. In number form, the total of casualties from the atomic bombs was much lower than those from the bombings of London, but could they have been avoided too?I don't by any means hold the answers to this moral riddle. All I can say, however, is that no matter how we side now, it's far too late to go back and pull out that final nail that the president nailed into Japan's coffin.