Enola Gay essays

Enola Gay essays Protests over the public display of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in WWII, serve as an important symbol of the public struggle between conservative and political ideologies in America. History is largely written by the victors, and it is the victor of this ideological struggle that will shape America's further interpretations of the war. As such, as the protesters urged a display of victim's names alongside the Enola Gay, they are symbolically asking for America to redefine its ideas about the root causes and ultimate costs of Human memory is notoriously fallible, and society's recollection of history is largely dependent on what is written in books, academic journals, and what is portrayed in the media. However, our records of history of are largely often determined by social and political concerns. It is commonly said, that history is written by the victors. As such, the current clash of ideologies over the Enola Gay is more than a simple debate over facts; it is a war between clashing ideologies for who will ultimately be able to write the history of America's use of the atomic bomb. Today, America is often torn between conservative and liberal political ideologies. This division can be seen in current political debates about abortion and health care, and even in campaigns for the Perhaps one of the most identifiable symbols of this ideological debate emerged in recent controversy over the Enola Gay. The Enola Gay is the airplane that dropped America's atomic bomb on Hiroshima (Thomas). As such, it is intimately tied up in America's memory of the war, and interpretations of the justification for dropping the bomb. In short, liberals see the Enola Gay as symbolic of America's destructive war-like tendencies and disregard for human suffering, while conservatives see the ...