August 13, 2024 The Bomb

79 years and 7 days ago, the USA dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, followed three days later by the dropping of a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.  On today's show, we connect dots from the founding of the USA to the dropping of these bombs in 1945 and to today, August 13, 2024 for your critical-thinking minds to ponder.  

Starting in 1776 (and it could have been 1492) the Americas were colonized and/or conquered.  The land that became the USA was settled and after successfully winning its war against England in 1783, spent the next 129 years expanding from sea to shining sea and beyond via land purchases from France and Spain, genocide and/or placing on reservations of the indigenous living on those lands, and victories in wars against Mexico, Hawaii, and Spain to acquire additional lands.  Upon entering WWII in 1941, the USA had hegemony in its sights, particularly to establish domination over its ally, communist USSR.  The technology was at hand to build the bomb, and its use in August 1945, not only forced Japan to surrender, but, as the only country in possession of the bomb, also demonstrated its hegemonic dominance in the world.  The USSR developed and tested the bomb in 1949, and thus began the never-ending Cold War that has brought the Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight and discussions about the possibility of "limited nuclear war" against those who challenge USA hegemony.  

Please join us next Tuesday, August 20 when we will talk about the search for elusive affordable housing in Savannah.