While white supremacy is under critical scrutiny, is American suprem­acy embraced? How will history judge the U.S. military ­occupation of the world?

Seventy-five years ago, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days after Hiro­shima, the U.S. dropped another A-bomb on ­Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Thousands more died from the delayed effects of radiation poisoning. With Japan on the cusp of surrendering, did the U.S. really need to do that?

Probably yes, if American supremacy is the starting principle.

In the 1990s the right-wing think tank Project for the New American Century produced a document, “Rebuilding America’s Defenses,” which called for “full-spectrum dominance” of land, sea, air and space — a bold doctrine of U.S. supremacism. PNAC was the brainchild of such ideologues as John Bol­ton, Dick Che­ney and Paul Wolf­owitz.

The endless war on terrorism and uncontrollable military budgets that have come in the wake of PNAC seem to be accepted as normal national behavior. One great enabler of this scourge of militarism is the annual cozy cooperation of Republicans and Democrats to pass military budgets like $740 billion for 2021. Here is one congressional action where all differences are laid aside. It is a wonder to behold.

On this Hiroshima/Nagasaki anniversary, let’s pause to wonder whether there will ever be remorse for the greatest of all human evils: war itself. Will we allow American supremacy to replace white supremacy?

John K. Stoner
Akron, Pa.