‘Instructor’s Name’
Core
Associated press Photo from Vietnam in 1968
Source: The New York Times
The above photo taken during the Vietnam War, where a wounded soldier signals to an unseen helicopter to a place where other injured comrades are waiting to be rescued, describes in a nutshell what this war meant for the USA – a catastrophe. The World War II is remembered for the end of the fascist rule of the Axis nations (Germany, Italy and Japan) and the recent war on Afghanistan is remembered for the end of the Taliban. But what are the memories the world has of the Vietnam War? Just the bloody scenes a war would present and nothing else. Though the war was said to be fought for the sake of keeping communism at bay, this war is not credited with any ideological victory.
Thus according to me it confirmed the image, the people of the world had about America being a country, which is just after wealth, fame, or power, and that the country would leave no stone unturned in the ruthless pursuit of these goals. It is a war America could have done without. Particularly, the part we learnt about from the book by Howard Zinn, where he states during the course of the Vietnam War, the small peasant country of Vietnam was bombarded with 7 million tons of bomb changed the way I thought about the war. Though we have heard of the causalities of the war before, this statistics of a 500 pound bomb for every single Vietnam citizen, multiplied the apathy I had towards the war many a fold.
The anti war movements in America, like the protests organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, had a huge role to play in forcing the Government to end its campaign in Vietnam. There are many current issues today which would benefit, if the youth of this country take similar initiatives to protest against the Government policies. One such issue is the gun control laws. Sandy Hook, Washington Navy Yard and many such incidents in the recent past, has shown how guns in the wrong hands can be extremely hazardous. Thus, a law such as ‘the universal background check’, if implemented, will help scrutinize fire arm purchasers, and deny access of guns to persons with criminal and mental health records. This is a contemporary cause which might hugely benefit by a movement organized by the youth of this nation.
Such a youth movement would reinstate the faith the nation has in the American dream, particularly of the second tenet, which states that success is achieved through hard work and prudence. However steep might be the cause a person has undertook, in this case making the powerful right wing gun right proponents to yield to pass the gun control law, it can be achieved if they put in the hard work of relentlessly expressing their views, and if they are prudent enough to select the right media where they could garner popular support for their cause, they would be able to achieve their goal. Thus, increased exposure of the youth to the American Dream is essential, to make a difference in the country’s political scenario.
The nostalgia for the past and desire to progress towards the future is similar. As we saw during the Vietnam War, the youth and other activists by exerting immense pressure on the government achieved, what was right for the cause of Vietnam and the United States. And today, through the TV media and various other channels, we see that the public opinion still has a great influence on the policy making of this country.
