ODE TO THE LITTLE BOY OF HIROSHIMA
On August 6, 1945 my heart was joined to an eleven year old little boy in Hiroshima whose whole world was shattered in a few seconds by an Atomic bomb ( named Little Boy ) ~ that signaled to the world that we now have the capability of destroying ourselves: Allen L Roland
It was a strange summer day, that 6th day of August in 1945, and I was sitting by myself just across the street from my home in Nahant, Massachusetts.
I remember the moment well ~ I was gazing towards the south, towards the Atlantic ocean and suddenly I felt a shudder from deep within myself .
It was a momentary sense of deep collective loss and shortly after that I saw my twin brother excitedly running towards me.
He told me that he had just heard on the radio that we had dropped an Atomic bomb on Japan and that thousands had died in the blast.
I felt very sad for part of me innately knew my world would never be the same and I knew I had felt, at that exact moment, the collective loss of thousands of Japanese children who were incinerated, maimed and left homeless by this unnecessary barbaric attack. I also had a profound feeling that something very ominous for humanity had just happened ~ and I was right !
The following extraordinary 10 minute youtube video is all in Japanese but English subtitles are not necessary ~ for it fully captures the joy and then utter despair of a young Hiroshima boy and his family on that fateful August day in 1945.
Take some time to watch it today and then sign a grassroots campaign calling on President Obama to begin multi-lateral negotiations to abolish nuclear weapons.
This internationally coordinated campaign will collect millions of signatures from people across the globe. Peace Action's goal is to contribute at least 100,000 signatures by year's end. Sign the petition today !
Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2009/08/06.html
Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com )
