An article recently added to the News section of this site introduces the results of a Quinnipiac University poll which shows that 61 percent of Americans agree that using nuclear weapons to bring World War II to an end was the right thing to do.
Although I was discouraged at first, I did find some grounds for hope from this research.
In the poll, the question was restricted to whether “dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki” in WWII was the right thing to do. Therefore, the result cannot necessarily be interpreted as meaning 61 percent support the use of nuclear weapons in any war.
Among younger voters from age 18 to 34, the number of respondents supporting the use of nuclear weapons during WWII drops to 50 percent, compared to the 73 percent of older voters aged 55 and over who approved.
The researcher interprets the decline in support among younger respondents as being due to the fact that, unlike the older generation, they have not lived with the fear of WWII and the Cold War.
Reading this, I felt really strongly how important it is to create a world in which future generations will never have to experience these fears.
The other day, an article in one of Japan’s leading newspapers described how an increasing number of Japanese youth are taking action for nuclear abolition because they have realized that the average age of A-bomb survivors is now 75 and they are determined to abolish nuclear weapons while these A-bomb survivors are still alive.
I believe that young people have a responsibility to do something for the cause of nuclear abolition and take the lead in creating a world where all people can truly feel secure. I feel even more determined to work to make this happen.
Name: Nobu
Age: 32
Gender: Male