This year - Aug. 6 and 9 - marks the 65th, anniversary of the dropping of the' A-bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Since then, many have questioned whether the atomic bombings were necessary to save Allied lives and end Japan's threat to world peace: After the war, assistant secretary of war John McCloy explained that a military rather than a diplomatic approach was used because "everyone was so intent on winning the war by military means that the introduction of political considerations waS almost accidental."

However, the emphasis on military solutions, as opposed to diplomatic efforts may lie in the emotional desire for revenge that accompanies war.

As the mother of four sons, I often contemplate the sacrifice many mothers and fathers have suffered and continue to suffer due to war and remember Julia Ward Howe's call made to women in 1870:

"Arise, all who have hearts ... we will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies - our children shall not come to us reeking of carnage or for caresses and applause or to be taken from us to unlearn all our teachings of charity, mercy and patience."

To live with integrity in today's diverse times, Mahatma Ghandi advised: 'We must become the change we seek in the world."

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