Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these two quotes \"The atom bomb was no
ID: 3487816 • Letter: D
Question
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these two quotes "The atom bomb was no 'great decision'...it was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness." - Harry S. Truman"It matters not whether these weapons of ours are humane; if they gain us our freedom, they are justified before our conscience and before our God." - Adolph Hitler Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these two quotes "The atom bomb was no 'great decision'...it was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness." - Harry S. Truman
"It matters not whether these weapons of ours are humane; if they gain us our freedom, they are justified before our conscience and before our God." - Adolph Hitler
"It matters not whether these weapons of ours are humane; if they gain us our freedom, they are justified before our conscience and before our God." - Adolph Hitler
Explanation / Answer
Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. I recommend adding some content from your textbook to support the response below.
(Answer) In order to best comprehend the connotations of a statement by a leader, it is pivotal to understand the nature of the time when they made these statements. Harry Truman made this statement because the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki under his presidency.
The Tripartite Pact was signed in Berlin between Germany, Japan, and Italy. These were the major axis powers of World War 2. The allied powers attempted to thwart the plans of the Axis powers. When America used their atomic arsenal to beat Japan, there was a major dent in the Axis powers. This put the Germany in a weak spot and was one of the many attempts that were responsible for weakening the Axis powers and ending the Second World War
From Truman’s point of view, the “ends justified the means” or he cared about the “greater good.” It has happened many times even in everyday life that we may adopt questionable methods for acquiring our little victories. At such a time, the sight of the goal makes us blind to the casualties of war.
Similarly, with the statement made by Hitler; he did not care about the means as long as he achieved his ends.
It would be foolish of us in current times to study such individuals of the past with motives other than, avoiding such people to rule in the future. It is all good to write biographies and read about such individuals on museum plaques. But are we truly analysing their psyche for our scholarly work or to actually make sure that people who show similar personalities don’t acquire nuclear codes?
The most impactful and basic trait evident in both these individuals is plain selfishness. They are too conceited about their own ideologies and principals. Both Hitler and Truman did not care who was getting hurt or how millions of little children, teenagers, working parents and retired grandparents would be blown up with a single weapon.
They believed that as leaders, their beliefs were the cornerstone of their decisions. On the contrary, a great leader is one who respects the beliefs of his own people and even considers the beliefs of his opponents.
“Casualties of war” and “the ends justify the means” are statements made by fanatics who are too obsessive about their own beliefs to actually be compassionate towards people with different beliefs.