Wow, David, that was a pretty bluff posting. I don't have a
          quote function on my email, but I think that you are rushing
          to some conclusions that don't need to be made.
 
          I'm sure that *many* people in America were pleased and
          excited that the war was over. There were also probably alot
          of people who reacted with the "Hooray, we blasted them"
          comment that you (I assume with a little of your tongue in
          your cheek) suggested. I'm sure hundreds of thousands of
          Americans also were overwhelmingly relieved that they
          wouldn't have to die in the Asian theatre.
 
          Putting aside what the Japanese might have thought of this
          for a moment, there were also many thoughtful people in
          America who questioned the wisdom of the decision to bomb
          Nagasaki and Hiroshima, among these doubters were people who
          contributed to the creation of the bomb. These weren't
          necessarily academics or people whose lives weren't on the
          line, though, again, I'm sure that you are right in saying
          that most servicemen were glad that these bombs made it
          unnecessary for them to risk death.
 
          The point isn't that the veterans are right, or those who
          question the bombing are right. The point is how does one
          balance competing points of view in an "official" exhibit. I
          sure wouldn't want the job of convincing anyone that their
          deeply held point of view is wrong. What I hope museums can
          do is to place those deeply held views in the context of a
          range of views, so that an informed debate can happen
          individually and across groups.
 
          I don't know enough about the texture and history of this
          question; I have found, in general, that the rationale
          behind demonized points of view and demonized groups become
          much more complex and humanly comprehensible when they are
          understood more fully. Therefore, I think that it is
          worthwhile understanding the Japanese militarist point of
          view, as well as the degree to which the Japanese in the
          street suffered from the War.
 
          Eric Siegel
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