Comparing J. Samuel Walker's Prompt And Utter Destruction

War is hell, to say the least. When one country finds itself the victim of another’s attacks, there is a certain unanimity that accompanies retaliation; a patriotic refusal to back down by doing whatever it takes to ensure victory. Despite opposition from some, weapons such as guns and traditional bombs are expected in battles. Without disregarding the lives lost in war, nobody bats an eye at a bullet. The trouble comes when a weapon with the eventual power to destroy all human life is introduced; a weapon that can so easily be used haphazardly with a big picture blindness disguised as an ultimatum. This weapon is, of course, the atomic bomb created to be dropped on Japan under the watch of President Harry Truman. For decades, Americans have had their own personal war

However, too much credit is given to that defense. One of the largest factors was a jingoistic pride spurred by racism, the Pearl Harbor attacks, and a presidential ego. In J. Samuel Walker’s book Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against Japan, Americans of the time are said to have viewed the Japanese as “subhuman” and as “vermin” and “apes” (Walker 21). Even the White House released a statement that Japan had been “repaid many fold” with the bombs (Walker 76). While he was a product of the same society and time in America, Truman’s mirrored racism should not be overlooked. In his documentary The Untold History of the United States, Oliver Stone discusses Truman’s belief that all men are equal so long as they are not a “nigger or a Chinaman” (Graham, Kuznick, and Stone), a bias that would undeniably have followed him through his presidency. In addition to the general prejudice most Americans held for the Japanese, the previous events of the war, including the mistreatment of American prisoners of