The United States (US) is grappling with a culture war which is polarizing the nation. Workers who were considered solidly pro-war protested the Gulf War in 1991. What historical event or events may have led to this change? It will be argued that the Viet Nam War changed people’s minds about war.
Stephen Briar interviewed labor union members who were protesting the Gulf War in 1991. This population demographic had been historically considered pro-war. Ten of the union members were quoted in Briar’s interview; out of those ten, 50 percent mentioned class and 50 percent mentioned oil in their answers. One of the lessons the Viet Nam war impressed on the working class was that the American losers in the war have historically been the working class. The answers were not divided along racial lines either. When the working class was mentioned the speaker added that he or she was talking about Latinos, blacks and workers. The assumption is that the definition of workers means non-Latinos and non-blacks who are mainly whites.
The reason for the war was most often said to be a war for oil. Power or hegemony both were mentioned in connection with oil. The definition of hegemony is ‘to have dominion over someone or something.’ The union members interviewed felt the money could be better spent on social policies including support for Viet Nam veterans. The thesis was that lessons were learned from the Viet Nam war which changed workers into anti-war proponents instead of supporters of war. Based on the interviews this is the case according to the quotations offered.
The Iraq War had an interesting and unusual effect on the daily life in the United States. Compared to the Viet Nam War and before that World War II as far as most Americans were concerned the Iraq War may have been taking place on another planet. Or perhaps most viewers of television and listeners to talk radio considered it more of an entertainment opportunity. For people with loved ones in Iraq the war was deadly serious though. Although the Iraq War was protested by thousands of people across the country (and millions around the world) a consensus did not seem to be formed among Americans against the war. This essay argues that Congress may have given the impression that Americans supported the war but that may have not been a factual calculation.
Globalization has led to advances in communication that are technologically sophisticated. I have friends from every continent of the world. I can Twitter with them, get to know them better on Facebook, and see them in person with Skype. Ironically as communication makes the world a smaller place the US seems to be less able to communicate within its borders. The popular media is in every corner of daily life. Unfortunately the media is the main reason for the polarization between people in the US. People are copying the same style of communication. Serious political discussions are hard to find.
A solution to this could be if the leaders in Congress decided to start having serious political discussions. They did not do this before the Iraq War or if they did they not seem to notice the large number of people protesting the war. People would remember how democracy is supposed to work if Congress was working democratically. The polarization could be reduced. If Senators and Representatives were interested in what I had to say, I would ask them to think about what life was like before 2001. Next I would ask them to think about why the atmosphere is so polarized and unhappy now in the US, but I would give them particular instructions. I would ask them to think about whether or not they had helped make the situation better or worse. They would need to forget about blaming everything on Muslims. I would remind them that they are important leaders so they must take at least some responsibility. Their job is to improve life in the US so I do not think they would be able to refuse to take some responsibility. I would tell them to be brave about globalization and not fearful. Globalization offers a way for good communication that should be embraced by Congress not discouraged.
The response of Congress since the attacks on the East coast in 2001 have proved that they are not sophisticated enough to solve problems that come up due to globalization. They have not been able to take advantage of the opportunities either. The US is behind now in education, science, technology and health care from other countries around the world. The culture wars have been won by people that fear change and fear foreigners. Maybe the generation in college now will be able to produce changes to make progress and help the US catch up with the rest of the world.
The thesis of this essay was that Congress may misrepresent the population’s support of war. This has not been proved, but the disconnect between the citizens and Congress has hopefully been explained with some degree of success.
