Enola Gay
Protests over the public display of the Enola Gay, the plane thatdropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in WWII, serve as an important symbolof the public struggle between conservative and political ideologies inAmerica. History is largely written by the victors, and it is the victorof this ideological struggle that will shape America's furtherinterpretations of the war. As such, as the protesters urged a display ofvictim's names alongside the Enola Gay, they are symbolically asking forAmerica to redefine its ideas about the root causes and ultimate costs of Human memory is notoriously fallible, and society's recollection ofhistory is largely dependent on what is written in books, academicjournals, and what is portrayed in the media. However, our records ofhistory of are largely often determined by social and political concerns.It is commonly said, that history is written by the victors. As such, thecurrent clash of ideologies over the Enola Gay is more than a simp
Thesupporters of the display represent the conservative ideology in Americathat sees American military intervention as a patriotic duty that ensuredthe might of the nation, and the freedom of its inhabitants. Assuch, it is intimately tied up in America's memory of the war, andinterpretations of the justification for dropping the bomb. Perhaps one of the most identifiable symbols of this ideologicaldebate emerged in recent controversy over the Enola Gay. As such, the displayof the Enola Gay is not a trivial issue, as the side that ultimately 'winsout' in this issue may be the side that determines whether American historyis written with a conservative or liberal slant. " The protest againstthe display of the Enola Gay is also part of a larger resistance toAmerican military power, and the current war in Iraq (Ford). They argue that there is no truth in the protestor's impliedassertions that the Japanese were victims of America, and that America wasa bully (The Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association). " The Manhattan ProjectHeritage Preservation Association says "Revisionist historians and anti-nuclear wackos have chosen to focus on the Enola Gay in the furtherance oftheir agendas". Agence France Pressenotes that activists opposed to the Gay display hoped to "stir debate aboutthe tens of thousands of warheads in the current US nuclear stockpile andplans for mobile, battlefield nuclear devices. In contrast, supporters of the public display of the Enola Gay seethe WWII airplane as a meaningful symbol of America's military triumph overthe Japanese. Today, America is often torn between conservative and liberalpolitical ideologies. The debate over the Enola Gay is simply part of a larger attempt toredefine history in terms of current social ideology. This division can be seen in current politicaldebates about abortion and health care, and even in campaigns for theupcoming presidential election. For protesters, the exhibit of the Enola Gay "portrayedthe United States as engaged in a war of vengeance, against a Japan tryingto defend its culture against western imperialism. le debateover facts; it is a war between clashing ideologies for who will ultimatelybe able to write the history of America's use of the atomic bomb. In short,liberals see the Enola Gay as symbolic of America's destructive war-liketendencies and disregard for human suffering, while conservatives see theEnola Gay as a symbol of America's right to preserve democracy and freedom.
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Acceptance Essays
