August 9 – One Heck Of A Day In History! What Happened?

How much history does a person need to know?  Spanish-American philosopher, poet, and humanist George Santayana famously wrote in The Life of Reason, 1905. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

We talk about it all the time on the Morning News and we are continually amazed at how uninformed or misinformed so many people seem to be.  The information is out there and the founding fathers were adamant about the public doing the work of being educated and the press being "free" to help in that process.  (time to check yourself national press)

All that being said as a backdrop to three major events that occurred on this day in history that still have implications for life in America today.

So while the schools are still closed for summer break and teachers are working their side-hustles, we'll play the part of professor and share the crib notes on August 9, in history.

The Atom Bomb

AUGUST 9, 1945...NAGASAKI, JAPAN... three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, with its death toll of 80,000 killed and 35,000 injured, apparently wasn't enough devastation for Japan to accept unconditional surrender  So at 1:56 a.m. on August 9, a specially adapted B-29 bomber, called “Bockscar,” took off for Japan carrying a second nuclear bomb nicknamed “Fat Man.”  The world's second atomic weapon exploded over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.   Six days later the Japanese surrendered.

Some say it was the Russians entering the war that forced the surrender but one thing for sure is that nuclear weapons have been a balance of power concern ever since.  Today, the prospect of North Korea using one or Iran getting and deploying one remains a threat to the safety of the world.

The Great Disgrace

AUGUST 9, 1974...WASHINGTON, D.C.... under threat of impeachment on charges related to the Watergate scandal, President Richard M. Nixon formally resigned at noon,  becoming the only president in U.S. history to step down. Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as president later in the day.

Since then, faith in government and the media has greatly declined, two Presidents have faced impeachment and "Watergate" has become the touchstone of reference for claiming political corruption.

The Racial Seismic Shift

AUGUST 9, 2014...Ferguson, Missouri... 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown was killed by a white police officer setting off more than a week of demonstrations.  "Hands Up -Don't Shoot" was determined to be a lie but it fueled the start of the Black Lives Matter movement which has resulted in 2 billion dollars in destruction of American cities, numerous deaths and injuries as well helping to usher in the woke, cancel culture, CRT, hyper-racial world we live in today.

August 9...some serious, long-lasting impacts....Class dismissed.