Resonating Words

I read that the official survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings has died today. At the end of World War II, Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima for a business trip, when the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. He surived with serious injuries and later traveled back home (Nagasaki), where the second strike took place.

Unlucky to been stricken twice, lucky to have survived both attacks. He turned what might have been his worst experiences into a mission to educate people about the dangers of using such weapons and  he gave numerous talks and written books about the subject.

I remembered Professor Maurice Wilkins (1916-2004) who was supervising on the social impact of the biosciences course. He had strong opinion about these weapons and where to draw the line in science. Science is like a double edged sword that can be used for good or evil. I still remember his face and how he was telling me that we should always think of the purpose of the science and how it is our responsibility to be honest with ourselves and be clear about our intention.

There should be a more unified global agreement and watchdog for such matters rather than a super power limiting the use of nuclear technology to specific friends and banning them from foes. The stop should be for all, because we cannot be certain that in either East or West, there would not be someone who would justify the bombing of civilians in some way.