‘Instructor’s Name’
Answers
- Vietnam War is widely perceived to be a strategic misstep by the United States. The Vietnam War which was fought from 1964 to 1972 was another proxy war fought during the cold war era. In this war, the ultimate aim of the US involvement was to contain the spread of communism in Indochina. The war was between North Vietnam supported by its communist allies and South Vietnam supported by anti-communist countries mainly the US and as Zinn opines it was the tussle between the organized technology and human power, with the human power emerging as the winner. The American intervention in this war confirmed the common perception that America is a nation which is hungry for power and fame, as it used Vietnam, a peasant country, to send a message to the communist world, in particular to the U.S.S.R. the major lesson learnt from this war is the futility of war and how public anger can influence state policies.
- Youth movements played a huge role in ending the American campaign in Vietnam and there are many current issues which could be benefited by such non-violent protests. To name one such cause, the human rights infringements that take place in treating the prisoners of war, like we saw in the Guantanamo Bay controversy, can be put to an end if such mass public protests are organized. If the young minds of this country are exposed to the tenets of the American Dream they would understand how, this country which was found on the basis of individual liberty should uphold humanitarian values, and how it is the duty of the people to ensure that the State policies confirm to such ethics. The lack of such movements has impacted the second tenet of the American dream that everyone has an equal chance of pursuing success.
- The nostalgia for the past and desire to progress towards the future is similar, in terms of the similarity that exists between the core value of the Vietnam movement and the identified human rights movements, as both these movements are fought on humanitarian grounds. The United States have always upheld the cause of human rights in the past and would continue to do so in the future too, which is reflected in both these movements.
- As Zinn observes the bipartisanship nature of the American politics has left people with limited choices thus hampering the chances of many people in their pursuit of the American Dream. The policies of both Democrats and Republicans do not possess any significant differences, as both parties aim at increasing the wealth of one faction of the society through its policies while the other faction is plunged into deep poverty. Both parties blindly believe in the virtues of capitalism alone and frequently allocate huge budgets for wart expenditures. The lackluster voter turnout during the reelection of President Clinton, is an instance where the bipartisanship nature of American politics had rendered the voters choice less and thus impeded their American dream, as it had an adverse affect on creation of an economical and political environment in which an average American can pursue success.
- Though huge military expenditures prevented the government from investing more in the domestic programs, at time the expansion in defense spending has had a positive effect on the American Dream. The expenditures incurred on strengthening the military during the four decades of cold war era, ensured that the Communist powers were kept at bay and the free world was protected from its undue influence. Particularly immediately after the WWII, the American military was able to curb the power of forces under Stalin, who is considered by some historians to be equally destructive as Hitler, thus positively impacting the American dream. The negative impact of defense spending can be witnessed in Zinn’s example of how the Carter government increased the military expenditure by $10 billion, when in the same year the agriculture department cut down the spending of $25 billion on milk given to school children.
- Defense spending should be drastically cut in the coming decade, if America is to survive this economic downturn. With the communist Russia no longer a threat and the Taliban regime crushed, United States should stop inventing new enemies and direct its resources in domestic development programs. Bipartisanship in America is having a negative effect on the country’s progress mainly due to lack of fresh perspectives in the policies of both the parties. The country will be well served if a third front emerges with modern and practical ideas that will take the country in the path of economic and social progress, and thus aid in the fulfillment of the American dream.
- The war on Terror had a negative impact on the American dream. This is because the terror attacks and the resultant mass arrests that followed had a profound effect on people of a particular ethnic background. American prisons today are filled mostly with people of Arab origin and lives of Muslim Americans have completely altered after the war on Terror. This particularly affects the second tenet of the American dream which states ‘anyone can reasonably anticipate attaining success in America’.
- The political system in its current form is not sustainable as it does not pave way for an equal society free of prejudice, and does not encourage participation of all. The change required in the political system today, is for the government to concentrate on finding and destroying the root causes of terrorism, rather than to persecute a complete ethnic group in search of terrorists. The need is to strengthen the inland security framework and not to engage on a war with other nations. War and the resultant life losses will only nurture hate towards the country, which is the basic reason behind the terrorist attacks the country had to undergo in the past decade.
- American dream in the past century had excluded many factions of the society. First it was women, Blacks and Latin Americans and today it is the Asian immigrants. But today is better than yesterday with the hope that tomorrow will be better than today.
- Constitution has granted both the federal government and the respective state governments, responsibilities for various policies and both theses governments have the supreme authority in their own sphere of power. The dual federal system was introduced with the motive to assure the states that their rights won’t be infringed, and they will have participative governance. But today we see that though the State government departments are successful in handling certain policies, due to lack of resources in few states, the quality of the policy implementation differs from State to State. Thus, though the states are allowed to have their own policies on any matter except the defense, it is sensible to allow the National Government to carry on polices which require central control and resources, like say the energy policies or health care policies. Harmony between the Federal and the State Government is of utmost importance for the successful implementation of public policies.
- The nostalgia of the past is romanticizing the ideals and values that constitute the American dreams, and a desire for progress is the forward thrust the Dream gives the present generation to take these ideals and values into the future. American dream grants the citizens of this country both the nostalgia and desire to progress and in a way both these components are dependent on each other, as there cannot be any dreams if one do not want to progress to the future and a progress cannot happen if we do not learn from the past. It is a never ending cycle and both the nostalgia of the past and ambition for the future fuels the American dream.
- The international community perceives the American Dream to be a promise, that a person can become wealthy easily and in quick time in America, than anywhere else in world. Thus their view mostly concentrates on money and fame and leaves out the other ideals of the Dream which are equally, if not more, important such as virtue and hard work. It is important to consider the perception of other towards this dream as it elucidates the picture the international community has about America and its cherished dream.
